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How to Test for & Trace Sewer Gas Smells and Septic Tank Odors in a Building SepticAPedia ©

How to use the TIF 8800 or similar combustible gas analyzers to test for and trace the source of sewer gas or septic gas or methane gas leaks in buildings Sewer gas smell diagnosis - plumbing checklist Septic gas smell diagnosis - septic system checklist

This page describes how to How to Test for & Trace Sewer Gas Smells and Septic Tank Odors in a Building or how we might trace "gas odors" in buildings with a focus on homes with a private onsite septic tank or for owners whose home is connected to a public sewer system as well. What makes the smell in sewer gas? Sewer gases are more than an obnoxious odor.

Because sewer gas contains methane gas (CH₄) there is a risk of an explosion hazard or even fatal asphyxiation.

Sewer gases also probably contain hydrogen sulfide gas (H₂S) In addition some writers opine that there are possible health hazards from sewer gas exposure, such as a bacterial infection of the sinuses (which can occur due to any sinus irritation). Depending on the sewer gas source and other factors such as humidity and building and weather conditions, mold spores may also be present in sewer gases.

Also see Wet Weather or Cold Weather Septic Odors or Sewage Odor Diagnosis & Repair Guide for additional odor tracing and cure advice for odors occurring during wet or cold weather.

Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted. Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved to the author. Technical review by industry experts has been performed and is ongoing - reviewers welcomed and are listed at "References."

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Tests for Indoor Sewer Gas & Septic Odors - Indoor Gas Leaks using the TIF 8800

Tests for sewer gas or septic odor gas leaks: When looking for gas leaks and tracking gas smells, one method to get more precise is to use an instrument sensitive to a broad range of combustible organic gases.

We use a TIF 8800 combustible gas analyzer set at its most sensitive setting to sniff for gas leaks.

This instrument will respond to a very wide range of volatile organics, including pipe dope on a plumbing joint, so be careful.

The TIF8800 will also respond a little to the gases found at almost any plumbing drain since the trap is often producing some organic gases.

But if you find that there is one drain that responds unusually strongly, or if you find a leak in a fuel gas line, you've found a problem to correct before going further.

Many home inspectors have this tool and can be hired to apply it carefully in your home, or it may be less costly (than hiring an inspector) to just buy the tool itself.

Here are some ways we use the TIF 8800 to screen for and trace sewer gases in a building

• Turn on the instrument outside (not near a busy highway or running vehicle) and enter the building to screen for the detection of any combustible gas;
• Enter each building area with the instrument freshly-set to outdoor ambient air conditions
• Don't forget to try the sensor tip at different heights indoors - warm air rising can carry flue gases or other combustibles to unanticipated areas higher than the gas source
• Adjust the instrument to its most sensitive setting, using its response sound to move towards stronger sources of any gas that has been detected.
• Remember to check not only plumbing drains but gas fittings
• Remember that the presence of organic solvents in some pipe joint compounds may make the instrument respond even though no leak may be present
• Confirm that the instrument is responding to gases by testing it such as in or near a (not too hot) heating flue, gas source, or preferably, using the sensing tip calibrating vial provided by the manufacturer.

Also see SEPTIC METHANE GAS for more sewer gas test advice and reference material.

Also see Using the TIF 8800 Gas Detector for a detailed procedure of how this instrument is employed and for a list of gases to which it will respond.

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

MVOCs & MOLDY MUSTY ODORS
ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE
PLUMBING TOPICS
GAS MEASUREMENT TOOLS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS HOME
SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONLINE BOOK
SEPTIC SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS
SEPTIC DESIGN ALTERNATIVES
SEPTIC INSPECTIONS
SEPTIC & CESSPOOL SAFETY
SEWER GAS ODORS
  First Steps for Sewer Gas Odors
  Dangerous Conditions
  Building Drain & Sewer Line Odors
  Cure Odors in Septic Systems
  Other Causes of Odors from a Septic System
  Plumbing Fixtures or Traps
  Plumbing Vent Definitions, Types
  Plumbing Vent Defects
  Septic System or Sewer Piping
  Site, Weather, or Failing Neighbors
  Tests for Indoor Sewer Gas
  Tracking Odors to Source
SEWER GAS ODORS in COLD WEATHER
  Short Answer in Cold Weather
  Diagnosing Sewer Odors
  Cold Weather Plumbing Vent Blockage
  Trap Siphonage and Sewer Gases
  Building drain odor source
  Fixture versus system blockage
  Odors in Wet Weather
  Indoor Septic Odors Outdoor Causes
  Outdoor Odor Sources
  Sewer Odor Tracking
  Remedies for Sewer Odors
  Odors and Drain Lines
  Failed Drainfields and Odors
Toxic Gas Test Procedures

• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• Thanks to Slade Franklin for the reminder that a leaky wax ring at a toilet can lead to septic odors in bathrooms. 11/2007
• Thanks to J.V. (privacy protected) for the reminder to make a detailed inspection of the plumbing vent system when sewer gas odors are present. 07/2008
• Thanks to Roger Hankey & Cheryll Brown, www.hankeyandbrown.com, ASHI home inspectors in Minnesota, for the deteriorated transite pipe gas flue vent photograph and comments. Mr. Hankey is a past chairman of the ASHI Technical Committee, serves as co-chairman of ASHI legislative committee, and has served in other ASHI professional and leadership roles. 7/2007.

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Cold Weather Septic Odors or Sewage Odor Diagnosis for additional odor tracing and cure advice focused on sewer gas odor tracking in cold or wet weather.
• Drain Noises: may indicate defective or clogged plumbing: how to diagnose and cure drain sounds


• The Septic System Information Website home page for this topic
• Septic Systems Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance- online textbook. Detailed how to inspect, maintain, repair information
• The Home Buyer's Guide to Septic Systems
• Septic Tank Pumping Guide: When, Why, How to pump the septic tank
• Home & Outdoor Living Water Requirements
• Septic Tank Capacity vs Usage in Daily Gallons of Wastewater Flow, calculating required septic tank size, calculating septic tank volume from size measurements
• How Big Should the Leach Field Be? - table of soil percolation rate vs. field size
• Septic System Drainfield Absorption System Biomat Formation - what leads to drain field clogging and expensive drainfield repairs
• Table of Required Septic & Well Clearances: Distances Between Septic System & Wells, Streams, Trees, etc.
• 
  What is a Septic System An Engineer's View - Types of treatment tanks, adsorption systems, pumps, and other special equipment are discussed in some further detail in this text
  Components of a Septic System- the Basic Parts of a Conventional Septic Tank and Leachfield, a chapter in the Home Buyers Guide to Septic Systems
  A Toxic Gas Testing Sampling Plan for Residential Indoor Air Investigations

Pennsylvania State Fact Sheets relating to domestic wastewater treatment systems include

• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-161, Septic System Failure: Diagnosis and Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-162, The Soil Media and the Percolation Test
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-l64, Mound Systems for Wastewater Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-165, Septic Tank-Soil Absorption Systems
• Document Sources used for this web page include but are not limited to: Agricultural Fact Sheet #SW-161 "Septic Tank Pumping," by Paul D. Robillard and Kelli S. Martin. Penn State College of Agriculture - Cooperative Extension, edited and annotated by Dan Friedman (Thanks: to Bob Mackey for proofreading the original source material.)

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