How to get rid of that sewage smell?

[Jessika]

I live on the bottom floor of a condo complex and in our laundry room we have a floor drain. At first when we'd smell that "sewage-y" smell, we'd dump a gallon or two of water down the drain and in a few hours it would be gone. But now it seems like no matter how much water we pour down it, the smell is back within a day or two. Any suggestions? We've tried soapy HOT water, vinegar/water, etc. Or should we contact our landlord about it since we've tried and it may be something beyond what we can do?

[Karen]

It is something you should contact your landlord about, as anything you put down the drain is just going to be a temporary fix at best, and they need to find the source of the problem. They may even need to contact the city, as maybe some pipe is draining where it should not, etc.

[Freedom]

Sounds like the condo assn needs to work on this -- a job for a Roto Rooter sort of company. Either the pipes have gunk along them, or tree roots are blocking paths and holding the smell, or . . . ??? Must be other things, I'm not aware of, lol.

A temporary fix: put down a box of baking soda and then add white vinegar. This will foam up, and help clear pipes of gunk.

[Catty1]

Ditto on the soda and vinegar. Hold something over the top of the drain right after you do - even a huge towel - and press on it. This keeps the stuff from foaming onto the floor and directs the pressure more where it should go.

[Freedom]

Came back as I realized I am a bit confused if the laundry room is in your condo or if it is a community laundry room on your floor, lol. If it is IN the condo, the Karen is correct, you need to advise the landlord, not the condo assn.

[Taz_Zoee]

We had our tub and toilets back up a few weeks ago. The plumber came out and said the pipe was being blocked by the tree roots. He snaked it out as best he could, but said we'd need to have a camera take a look at the damage. In the meantime the roots can grow back and cause problems again.
Last night I couldn't even stand by the kitchen sink because the garbage disposal smelled so bad. :( Bruce thinks it's the plumbing again. Yesterday I was doing laundry and cleaning the bathroom. Plus he was working out in the garage. We just had a lot of water going all at the same time.
So I'm thinking maybe it is the sewer line is becoming blocked. You'll want that looked at before it's too late, like it was for us. That was a horrible night for me (I get up several times during the night to go potty).
You should definitely figure out who would be responsible for that and get it checked SOON.

[Jessika]

We have a laundry room in our own condo.

I've read about (but have not yet tried) the baking soda + vinegar... just done straight vinegar with plenty of HOT water... the smell is still gone today (dumped a few gallons of water down it yesterday) but lately it will go away for ~3-4 days and come back again. If we keep the laundry room door closed and walk in there it hits you like a brick wall... blahhhhhhh

Thanks, I'll probably end up contacting our landlord about this :)

[RICHARD]

Bleach.

And hot water.

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There used to be a product called Clear all or Kleer All that was a sulphuric acid drain cleaner- that stuff was really potent. I looked it up, but don't see it as being sold anymore?

If it does smell like rotting plant material, it probably is roots in the line.

Good luck

[beeniesmom]

Maybe bleach? I don't know. The baking soda and vinegar sounds good. Let us know what works.

[Husky_mom]

first of all.. wow.. hadn't seen you in quite some time!! :)

second, I too have that problem.. and it's because the respirator pipe is either too high or too low (can remember :P ).. but to get rid of the smell.. just make sure that the pipes always have water in them.. like in the sink that the bottom U shaped part has water, that way smell can't come through it

[pomtzu]

Household bleach isn't very strong and won't do much good, except for a couple of days maybe. Try this - it always worked for me with clogged or slow drains. Buy a small container of swimming pool chlorine powder and mix some (a strong concentration) with water. Don't inhale it - it will burn!!!!! Pour hot water in the drain and then follow with the chlorine mix, and don't flush the chlorine thru right away. Let it sit about a half hour or more, and then flush with more hot water. That will eat thru just about anything that is sitting and stagnating and giving off that foul odor. If that doesn't work (you might need a couple of applications), then I suspect that Roto Rooter is the only answer.

[Jessika]

I've read that the "U" pipe (or whatever letter it says it's supposed to look like, haha) can dry out and cause gas to leak up from the sewers; however, we have poured GALLONS of water/vinegar/soap (etc) into the pipes quite a few times... it may fix the problem for a few days but it always comes back. In the past when we'd dump a few gallons down, it was gone for months. But lately it keeps coming back just a few days after we try it.

We have contacted our landlord and left her a message... so, waiting to hear back (seems we leave her a lot of messages about things... ugh).


first of all.. wow.. hadn't seen you in quite some time!! :)
Yes it has been a few years!!!!

[Lady's Human]

Being that it's a rental property, I wouldn't use anything harsh without the landlord's approval IN WRITING.

Using harsh chemicals in old plumbing can actually cause severe damage.

[RICHARD]

So, what was the outcome?

I have been waiting!:)

[Jessika]

So, what was the outcome?

I have been waiting!:)

Haha with baited breath, I'm sure.

The smell went away shortly after posting this. Still comes back intermittently (but not as frequently as last time - maybe because it's been colder outside?). Called our landlord and will be having a plumber come out since our methods have not worked and since it's a rental property I don't feel comfortable doing more than what we've already done.