Septic Tanks: What is Causing the Gas Leak?

By Clifford Woods 

From time to time, homeowners make a complaint about smells coming from their septic systems. While most of the people know that sewage has a specific smell, actions can be taken to reduce these smells both in the home and the backyard.

Fumes from an onsite septic system can also pose a health risk as well. These fumes consist of dangerous gases that you have probably heard of like methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. Inside a house these smells can be bothersome and poisonous.

In a backyard they are not generally present in high levels to be harmful, however they are still a hassle and do smell foul. There are many areas that can be affected by septic tank odors. 

These include:

• Close to a Pre-Treatment System
• Inside the Home

Below, is some information on each of these that may be helpful. 

Lawn Odors
If your backyard generally smells of sewage, then it might be that the plumbing vent pipe on the house or a neighbor’s home has to be expanded to eliminate the smells. Houses found in low areas, valleys, or forested locations might not exactly have the proper air flow to transport the smells away from dwelling locations and the backyard.

As a breeze blows across the home, the air flow currents which are meant to transport the gases upward and away may alternatively bring the septic fumes into the yard or back into the home. Extending the vent pipe will help reduce and eliminate the smells by transporting them away from your lawn and home.

Odors Near a Pre-Treatment System
There is an increasing use of pre-treatment products in onsite waste treatment systems. The most popular pre-treatment products are aerobic treatment devices. In the event that an odor is consistent close to one of these pre-treatment systems then an authorized onsite specialist educated to keep up with the particular unit model needs to be contacted as soon as possible.

Smells Inside the Home
Septic smells within the home tend to be rather unpleasant and can become a health concern as time passes. Odors within a home are usually a sign of a plumbing-related problem. An extremely frequent problem is the trap in a basement floor drain becoming dry which would enable fumes from the septic tank to travel back into the house.

This is often fixed by ensuring that all floor drain traps are regularly full of water. Furthermore, the clean out entry plug in a drain might be unfastened which might enable septic fumes to escape. Another frequent problem has to do with the plumbing vent found on the roof. The pressure within the drain pipes need to balance as sewage runs through them.

Without this vent your toilets, tubs, and sinks would gurgle. When traps dry up smells leak into the house. All these plumbing vents can get cold and freeze shut for the duration of extended wintry periods or may get clogged with foliage or various other debris. A comfortable couple of days will unfreeze the iced pipe; however leaves will have to be cleaned out manually.

Make sure you always follow the proper safety measures when working on a slick or steep roof top. A third popular concern is an incorrectly enclosed cover on an ejector pump basket in your downstairs room. The cover needs to be examined and a brand new seal will have to be placed on in order to protect against leakages.

While investigating the exact reasons for the odor, you can use an organic odor control product in the meantime. Look for one that mentioned "beneficial microorganisms" as this is the most effective type to use against odors. After the source has been fixed, use the solution as recommended until the odor is gone once and for all. 

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Clifford Woods is the CEO of Effective Environmental Services
and Organic Environmental Technology
We brew Beneficial Microorganisms and offer Natural Organic Solutions