Sewer Smell in Your House? Causes and Fixes in Greeley
Rotten-egg smell in the basement, the bathroom or the whole house? Most of the time sewer gas gets in through one of six spots, and several are cheap to fix. Find the source with the checks below, or call SewerProof Greeley 24/7 to talk to a local sewer pro.
Talk to a local sewer pro
Smell won’t go away?
Call and tell us where it’s strongest and when it shows up. A local sewer pro can tell you what to check first and what a visit costs.
Where sewer smell gets into a house
Sewer gas, the source of most sewer odor in Greeley homes, should stay inside the pipes. Every drain has a water-filled trap that blocks it, a vent on the roof lets it out, and seals at the toilet and cleanout keep it in. A sewer smell in the house almost always means one of those barriers has failed.
The cheapest fixes sit at the top of the list: a dry trap or a worn toilet seal. A cracked line in the yard is less common, but it’s the one that needs a camera to find.
On this page 9 sections
First: is it sewer gas, natural gas or something else?
Sewer gas smells like rotten eggs. So can other things in a home, and one of them is an emergency. Match what you notice to the likely cause:
If you suspect natural gas, don’t stay inside to look for the source. Get everyone out first.
Find the source in 15 minutes
Most sewer odor in Greeley homes can be traced with a nose and a bucket of water. Go room by room, lowest floor first:
Sewer gas at the low levels found in homes mostly irritates. But your nose can get used to a smell after a while, so ask someone who just came in whether they still notice it.
Why the smell comes and goes
A smell that appears and disappears is still a clue. These patterns usually point to one cause:
When you notice it | What it often means | First step |
|---|---|---|
After coming home from a trip | Traps dried out while drains sat unused | Run water in every drain |
On windy days | Air at the roof vent pushes gas back down, or the vent is cracked | Ask a plumber to check the vent |
When an exhaust fan or dryer runs | The fan pulls air from the house, and it can pull gas through a dry trap or a loose seal | Refill traps, then check toilet seals |
After a shower or a flush | A worn wax ring or a slow drain lets gas escape at the fixture | Check the toilet base and that drain |
At night, with windows closed | Less fresh air, so a small leak builds up | Find the room where it’s strongest |
With slow drains or gurgling | The main line is partly blocked | Clear the line, then a camera check |
In Greeley’s dry air, water in an unused trap can disappear faster than you’d think. That’s why basement floor drains are such a common source. Drains that gurgle as well point to a vent or a slow line; see gurgling drains.
Still smell sewer after refilling the drains?
Call any time, day or night. A local sewer pro can tell you whether it sounds like a seal, a vent or the line itself, and what the visit costs.
Is sewer gas dangerous?
At the levels usually found in homes, sewer gas is more of an irritant than a poison. Hydrogen sulfide, the gas behind the rotten-egg smell, can irritate the eyes and throat and cause headaches. Very high levels are dangerous, but state health guidance says those aren’t expected in a home.
How a pro finds a hidden sewer smell
When the easy checks don’t solve it, the source is usually hidden in a wall, under the floor or in the yard. Smell outside too, over a wet spot? See soggy yard over the sewer line. These are the common tools:
Fixes, from cheapest to biggest
Most sewer smells end with a small fix. Start at the top:
Cause | Usual fix | Size of the job |
|---|---|---|
Dry trap | Run water through the drain; a trap seal can help on drains that dry out often | Do it yourself |
Slimy sink overflow or drain | Clean the overflow and the drain | Do it yourself |
Loose or missing cleanout cap | Replace the cap | Small |
Worn toilet wax ring | Pull the toilet and replace the seal | Small |
Blocked or cracked vent | Clear or repair the vent pipe | Small to medium |
Partly blocked main line | Clear the line, then a camera check | Clearing usually about $125 to $315 |
Cracked pipe or separated joint | Repair that section or line the pipe | Medium to large |
A camera check usually costs about $175 to $350. If it finds a crack in one spot, a spot repair often fixes it without replacing the whole line. For full price ranges, see sewer line repair costs.
Your line or the City’s?
In Greeley, the City maintains the sewer mains, and residents are responsible for their own service line from the house to the main. A sewer smell inside the house almost always comes from your own plumbing or line.
If neighbors notice sewage in the street or several homes back up at once, the City main may be the problem. The City runs a 24/7 sewer line for that. See what to do in a sewer emergency.
Outdoor odors are a different call
Some smells in Greeley come from farms, feedlots or industry outside town, not from any sewer. The City has an odor hotline for outdoor smells. If the smell is only outside and drifts across the neighborhood, that’s the place to report it.
Keep the smell from coming back
A few habits keep sewer smell out of Greeley homes for good:
Smell plus roots or slow drains that keep coming back? Read about tree roots in a sewer line. Outside Greeley? See the towns we serve.
Frequently asked questions
Call about a sewer smell in Greeley
Tell a local sewer pro where the smell is strongest and when it shows up. Ask for the price before work starts and for the camera footage if they check the line. Call any time, day or night, about a sewer smell in your house in Greeley or a nearby town. More on Greeley sewer repair, from the camera check to the fix.