Sewer Smell & Odor Detection
A sewer smell in the house isn’t something to air out and hope for the best. That rotten-egg odor is sewer gas, and it means there’s an opening somewhere between your drain system and your living space. The hard part is finding it. The smell drifts, it comes and goes with the weather, and the room where you notice it often isn’t where it starts.
Biagi Plumbing tracks down sewer odors in North Shore homes and fixes what’s causing them.
Try This First
If the smell is in a basement or a bathroom nobody uses, pour a gallon of water down the floor drain and run the sink and shower for a minute. Every drain has a trap that holds water to block sewer gas, and when it dries out, the gas comes right up. If the smell goes away, that was it. If it comes back, call us.
Where We Look
- Floor drains and traps that have dried out.
- Ejector and sump pit lids that aren’t sealed.
- Toilet wax rings that have failed.
- Vent stacks that are blocked, cracked, or disconnected.
- Cracked cast iron or clay drain pipe behind walls or under the floor.
How We Find It
We start with the simple checks and work toward the hidden ones. When the source isn’t obvious, we use a camera to look inside the drain lines and a smoke test to show exactly where gas is escaping.
Schedule Service: Call (847) 512-8921 to talk through your project.
Contact Us
Sewer Smell FAQs
Is sewer gas dangerous?
In a home, it’s mostly an unpleasant smell, but it shouldn’t be ignored. Sewer gas can cause headaches and nausea, and a steady smell usually points to a plumbing problem that will get worse.
Why does my basement smell like sewage?
The most common cause is a dried-out floor drain trap. Other causes include an ejector pit lid that isn’t sealed or a cracked drain pipe under the floor.
Why does the smell come and go?
Wind, temperature, and how much water you’re using all change the air pressure in your drain system. That’s why a sewer smell can be strong one day and gone the next.
What is a smoke test?
We push harmless, non-toxic smoke into the drain system. Wherever it comes out inside the house is where sewer gas is getting in.
Sewer Odor Detection From Biagi Plumbing
Biagi Plumbing has served the North Shore since 1989 from our home base in Lake Forest. We find and fix sewer smells in homes in Deerfield, Northbrook, Glenview, Highland Park, Lake Bluff, and nearby towns. Call (847) 512-8921.