When we purchased our home 3 years ago we had 3 company's come out to take alook at the system. the first company said the tank needed to be replaced and failed the system. The 2&3 said they could not do a proper inspection because the tank was pumped but said the system looked great. We ended up keeping the system and they installed risers and fixed some old piping to leech line.

The tank only sits 6ft from our master bed room and kitchen. The smell is so intense the it comes Thur our windows when closed. The company that did the work gave me a 5 year warranty as long as I continue to use them to pump the tank. I have had the tank pumped twice now in 3 years and he continues to say everything is looking great. I really can't get over the smell it's making most of us sick at times because the smell is so intense. The smell is not coming from anything in the house.

My question is this normal could this be because the raisers where not installed correctly and are leaking smell? I opened up both sides of the tank to take a look. The water side looks good no signs of sludge. The other side looked like a mountain of sludge not sure if this is normal?

this tank was just pumped 11 months ago 5 people in the home 1000 - 1200 gallon tank 28 years old cement Tank.

Any help to reduce the smell would be great.

 

It sounds like you have a traditional, gravity system (no pump tank). In that case then yes, it's odd to be getting a smell. Do you recall having the odor problem before the risers were installed? I'm wondering if the risers were not sealed allowing the sewer gas to escape.

Most risers use a mastic, goopy sealant to form a watertight and gas tight seal to the tank. Then each riser section and lid are sealed by a gasket. If the riser wasn't sealed to the tank or there aren't gaskets under your lid you could be getting that wonderful poo smell.

 

please describe your "risers" so we have a good understanding of what, and where they were installed.

 

The riser is like a manhole and makes it easier to access the septic tank hatch for pumping without having to dig it up each time but makes it easier for odors to come up into the air if the hatch is not adequately sealed between pumpings.

If you saw a mountain of sludge then was that section actually pumped the last time?

The septic tank is normally about 85% full which usually translates to the water level about a foot below the top. After a pumping it may take several days for the water level to get back up and until then no water exits for the leach field.

If baffles at the septic tank inlet and outlet are missing or broken then grease can migrate to the leach field, hastening the failure of the latter.

Pumping a septic tank a second (or third) time in quick succession is a waste of money unless the tank was not properly pumped the previous time or unless you needed to empty out the tank for inspection or unless the leach field has failed forcing you to change the role of the septic tank to holding tank temporarily.

 

That might just be the scum layer floating on the top – which is normal. Although it doesn’t seem like the scum layer should be very thick after 11 months. But I don’t know about a house with 5 people.

If – being very careful not to fall - you put a pole down on the top of the mountain of sludge and can move the stuff around, then it is just scum floating on the top.

 

Why did the first company say the tank needed to be replaced?
Who's "they" that did the repairs?

Sounds like a water leak is flooding the system, keeping the tank level high and smelly,
and keeping the tank pumper busy.

Check the toilet tank flaps, make sure they're still flat, plastic ones eventually curl and don't seal. Also check the surface the flap seals against, hard water causes scale to build up on the ring which prevents the flap from sealing.

Do you have a garbage disposal dumping ground up waste into the system?
Do you have a new dishwasher, which basically includes a mini-garbage disposal dumping waste into the system?

Basically, think of your septic system as an aquarium with bacteria sized goldfish.
Don't dump anything down the drain that you wouldn't dump into a goldfish bowl-
grease, chemicals, etc.

 

Stone-

If you look at the figure in the middle of the linked page that is probably like your setup. It sounds like you have 2 compartments.

Inspecting Your Septic Tank

If the system is working properly the “Liquid Level” as shown in the diagram stays at the same level – even with the inlet and outlet pipes. The sludge level increases over time and the scum layer gets thicker over time - but if the system is working properly the “Liquid Level” remains constant – about a foot down from the bottom of the riser (or I guess you could look at it as a foot down from the top of the tank). That’s where the outlet pipe is located.

It’s easy to check these levels (scum, liquid, sludge) levels yourself the way they describe in the article. You can get some PVC pipe and fittings at Home Depot, etc. and it’s cheap and easy to put together. I do it all the time – and you would be able to do it easily because you have risers which are exposed.

I just tape old white sweat socks to the bottom of the PVC pole and stick it down in the bottom of the tank and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. The staining easily shows you the sludge level. Scum level is easy to check also. Same with liquid level. All this explained in the article.

The only thing is you have to be careful you don’t fall in.

I think you should be able to get some idea if you do the above checks what’s going on with your system.

Maybe it's just as Pilot Dane is thinking - a problem with the risers.

Good luck!!

(that seems like a good question in previous post: what did first guy say was wrong?)

 

Thank you the systems seeams to be working fine. Everything looks fine in the tank based on what you have showed me. The liquid side is about a ft below where the lid should be and an inch below the outlet to the leeech filed.

Maybe the smell is coming from these risers however I'm not sure what to do next to test this?

The company that put them in insists it was done correct. I was not present when this was done but my neighbor says the tank was pretty bad and they had to patch part of the tank that fell apart during the install of the risers. I just can't get over this smell we can't even go onto the patio seems like your inside the tank.

The smell will come and go some days super bad others you can barley smell it or we are just getting used to the smell

 

Thank you for the reply.

The first company failed the system based on the tank. They said is was failing apart when they took the lid off it feel apart.

This was a huge issue with us and we did not want to buy the house until the seller fixed it.

-another company came out and said the tank was fine and said most company's are failing systems to take advantage of the sale.

It went so far that my wife called the county to come out and inspect it. However since the tank was all ready drained from the first company all they could tell us is that the tank would pass based on what they could see.


After this the owner agreed to have the leach filed dug up inspected and the tank. This is when they installed new risers and put a new junction box in.

I can't say how the smell was before as we did not live in the house. This is our first time on a septic system and I just can't get over how they can put the tank so close to the house of this type of smell is the norm

Now I guess I need to find a way to test the risers when I remove the lids to inspect the smell get s littler stronger but not much so it must be leaking some where or the tank is falling apart slowly

 

Thank you for your help

I can't say how the smell was before as we just bought the home.

After reading a lot of info here it seems like the tank is working correctly and the smell looks to be from the risers.

Do you know how I could test the risers ? The company that install is going to keep telling me they are good as I have a 5 year warranty twitch them if it fails they have to replace

 

If you open the port lid over the Outlet of the Septic Tank, and then someone goes into the house and flushes a toilet, can you visibly see 3 to 6 gallons of water exiting the Septic Tank on its way to the Leach Field ?

 

Stone –

I have no expertise here, but I heard or read somewhere that sometimes if the vent pipe for the system up on the roof happens to be in a certain location and the drafts and winds etc. around the house are of just a certain type, you can consistently get bad odors blown down into the yard. That sounds like a long shot - but maybe something to easily check.

I guess you already checked this but I guess you have to make sure that the riser covers themselves are sealed properly.

Is there any way you can use the nose test and see if the odor is worse right around the risers? That may not be possible I guess because if the whole area really pews then probably no way to isolate it to a small area. But who knows.

Maybe if worse comes to worst you could dig down yourself and inspect how the riser is attached to the tank, and maybe see that it is not properly sealed as Pilot Dane suggests. As far as I know you don’t need a permit to dig down to the tank – but maybe the other guys would know for sure.

 

I had exactly the situation that Zoesdad describes when I first moved into my present home 22 years ago. The vents from the individual drains were all tied into a common roof vent that was not visible from the front of the house. More concerned with the look of the vents than the function LOL. We had constant odor problems. I separated the maze of vent piping (from 3 baths, laundry and kitchen) from 1 pipe thru the roof into 2, and- no more odor problems. Not saying this is your problem, but it's worth considering. Good luck, Steve

 

I have this issue on the really cold days in the winter time, but the smell is not that bad, and it certain doesn't come into my house. The cold air can be in layers I guess (you see it with wood smoke sometimes) and the smell just sits around the house.

I know a fellow you had your issue one time in another way. The smell of sewage in the summer time was freaken nasty, almost make you throw up. The source was his neighbour’s septic field leaking badly. Regretfully he had to fight the Dept of Environment for 4 years to get them to move the repairs along. Regretfully their first solution failed pretty much right away, and so the Dept of Env. had to try again. Sad when you think about it, that the Gov Dept of Env took 4 years to get a septic field fixed.

Anyway, maybe you should walk around your property and do some smelling. You might have a leak in a spot your field that you missed the first time around, or in your neighbours yard. Also try to determine a pattern to when it occurs. Was your water usage high; say did a few loads of laundry, or maybe it occurs when your neighbour puts clothes on the line.

 

Have you asked your neighbors if they detect a odor from your area ? Why not cap all the risers and see what's what.

 

zoesdad is correct. Frequently, if you are situated near a hill or line of trees, it can create a wind vortices that can push the air down to the ground. If that is the case, you can utilize a septic vent filter. It's an activated carbon filter that fits on the vent pipe. One company that makes them can be found here: Residential and Industrial Vent Filters and Odor Control Solutions.

Hope this helps.

Andy