There is nothing as dreadful as having your house chockfull of sewer odors all the time. This is one of the problems that you need to diagnose and fix as soon as possible. This means you need to understand the usual problems that cause sewer odors to permeate a house.

The Septic Tank Is Full

There is a limit as to how much sewer effluent your septic tank can handle. When it hits the limit, the tank loses its efficiency of handling the sewage waste. Not only that, but the wastes from your house will not have a place to go if the tank is full, and your drains will be slow. All these will combine to send sewer gases back into your house.

The Drains Are Dry

The drains in your house are designed to allow liquid waste to flow out while blocking gaseous waste from flowing back into the house. However, they can only do this if they are wet because it's the water that traps the odorous gases. Therefore, it may be that you can smell sewer gases in the house because the drains are dry and there is nothing to block the gases from reaching the house.

The Plumbing Vents Are Malfunctioning

You may not know it, but your plumbing vents also play a role in keeping your house free from sewer gases. They do this by making sure that any gases within the drains escape into the outside air instead of circulating in the house. Therefore, anything that blocks the plumbing vents may cause your house to have a sewer odor. This includes damage to the vents or blockage by debris or snow/ice accumulation.

The Septic Tank Has Failed

In some cases, you may also be battling with sewer odors in your house because of a failed septic tank. A failed septic tank is any tank that can no longer handle the waste it receives. A septic tank can fail if it's undersized, it's old, or it's poorly maintained.

The Manhole Covers Are Misplaced

Lastly, you may also be dealing with sewer odors in the house because the manhole covers are not covering their respective openings properly. In this case, the odor is technically not emanating from the house, but rather wafting in from the outside.

Don't waste time trying to deal with this problem if you can't see its obvious cause. Consult a company like Jarrach Cesspools as soon as possible for a diagnosis and solution because it may also point to a deeper drain problem.