Why Your House Might Smell Bad When It Rains
Have you ever noticed a foul smell in and around your home after rain? While a nice rain can clear the air and keep our lawns green, a foul odour can be a telling sign there’s a problem in your home’s plumbing or septic system.
Believe it or not, rain can significantly affect plumbing and septic systems, and that’s why it can be more common for you to smell a foul odour after heavy rain. If this happens regularly, you may need to consider a professional plumber or call for a septic tank service to diagnose the problem right away. Here are some potential issues you may be encountering when you notice unpleasant odours in your home after a rain.
You have a dried-out water barrier
If your house smells like sewer after it rains, it may be because you have a dried-out water barrier in the sewer trap. The water barrier is a reinforced pipe intended to protect water and plumbing pipes from contaminants. A dried-out water barrier pipe is typically caused by lack of use. If you have a bathroom shower that hasn’t been used often, for example, the water barrier inside the sewer trap can dry out.
Your septic tank is full
A foul smell while raining can be a tell-tale sign that your septic tank is full. Heavy rainfall can saturate the soil, preventing your drain-field from working properly. Instead, new wastewater will be forced back through the pipes, producing a foul smell.
You have clogged drains
Drains play a crucial role in transporting toxic waste through the septic system. If you have been flushing or pouring out items that shouldn’t be put into your drains, they can cause sewage backup, which may worsen after rainfall if rainwater drainage enters your plumbing system. Without the help of a professional drain unblocker, these clogs can continue to decompose, producing a foul smell in your home.
You have a broken pipe
Depending on the location of the fracture, broken pipes can let water in or out of your plumbing system. Either result can cause odours in your home. Broken pipes releasing sewage underneath floorboards or near your home’s foundation can result in foul smells, but you can also have a problem when pipes are allowing water to enter your system. Rainwater will find the lowest point, sometimes seeping through cracks in pipes and finding its way to your septic tank. This causes the sewer gas to rise, potentially forcing it back through the cracked pipes or your drains.
It’s important to have your septic systems checked
Septic tanks can last a long time with proper maintenance, but they won’t last forever. Therefore, routine maintenance is vital to ensure your system remains in good working condition for as long as possible.
Though a foul smell can be bothersome, it’s not the only problem you should be worried about. Foul odours can be hazardous to your health. Sewer gases are produced by waste mixing with other household products going down on your drains. These gasses, such as ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and hydrogen sulphide, can be toxic and produce potent smells that linger in your home.
Depending on the levels of sewer gas present, you may experience a range of symptoms, including nausea, fatigue, vomiting, and more. In more problematic cases, where there are high levels of sewer gas leakage, you may experience lung irritation, pink eye, loss of smell, and even seizures.
Call the professionals when you encounter sewer smell
When you notice chronic sewage smells after a rainfall, it’s vital to act right away to avoid putting you and your family’s health at risk. It’s best to call a septic tank specialist to address the problem. We at Streamline have years of industry experience and are equipped with the right tools to help you get to the root of the problem. As experts, we can fix the problem with minimal disruption using industry-leading equipment and methodologies. Get in touch with us today!
