Over the past year or so I have intermittently smelled ammonia when running water from the faucet. For a while (week or so) it was just the sink in the master bath that had the issue, and it eventually went away as mysteriously as it began. During this past winter the kitchen sink had this problem for many weeks but again it eventually went away. Several days ago, however, a strong ammonia smell came through the house while running the washing machine. And now every drain in the house produces the smell - in varying degrees of intensity - when the water is running (or within seconds of turning the water off).
I am on a septic system that is about 20 years old. It backed up and was pumped out 12 years ago, and I've had no issues since then. There are no sluggish drains, no gurgling, no faucets that don't get used regularly. I have 2 full bathrooms, kitchen sink, and washing machine. There are only 2 adults in the house, no pets or kids.
I have run the water directly into a bucket instead of the drain, and no smell is produced. The water itself does not smell. I have also put my nose to the drains when no water is running, and the drains do not smell. The ammonia scent is only generated when the water is running.
My neighbor is a commercial plumber, so he came over and checked the traps to make sure they all have water (they did), and he put trap deodorizer in them just for good measure. He ran a snake through the plumbing even though there was no sign of a clog. He went in the crawlspace and found nothing out of the ordinary. None of his efforts solved the problem.
Although I'm convinced the smell is coming from sewage, we have looked everywhere for other sources (dead animal, feral cat, etc), but have found nothing.
Today my husband got on the roof and ran water from a hose down both vent pipes for several minutes. No water backed up and it seemed the vents were not clogged.
The smell has still not improved and we are running out of things to troubleshoot. The hot water heater is old and corroded, so we are having it replaced tomorrow. The problem doesn't seem to be associated with hot water though. If that doesn't make a difference our last resort is to have the tank pumped. I'm hesitant to spend even more money for that since we have no septic back-up symptoms.
What else can we try? The ammonia smell is caustic nevermind embarrassing (our house smells like a litter box). I'm beginning to feel hopeless! I appreciate any advice you have.
I am on a septic system that is about 20 years old. It backed up and was pumped out 12 years ago, and I've had no issues since then. There are no sluggish drains, no gurgling, no faucets that don't get used regularly. I have 2 full bathrooms, kitchen sink, and washing machine. There are only 2 adults in the house, no pets or kids.
I have run the water directly into a bucket instead of the drain, and no smell is produced. The water itself does not smell. I have also put my nose to the drains when no water is running, and the drains do not smell. The ammonia scent is only generated when the water is running.
My neighbor is a commercial plumber, so he came over and checked the traps to make sure they all have water (they did), and he put trap deodorizer in them just for good measure. He ran a snake through the plumbing even though there was no sign of a clog. He went in the crawlspace and found nothing out of the ordinary. None of his efforts solved the problem.
Although I'm convinced the smell is coming from sewage, we have looked everywhere for other sources (dead animal, feral cat, etc), but have found nothing.
Today my husband got on the roof and ran water from a hose down both vent pipes for several minutes. No water backed up and it seemed the vents were not clogged.
The smell has still not improved and we are running out of things to troubleshoot. The hot water heater is old and corroded, so we are having it replaced tomorrow. The problem doesn't seem to be associated with hot water though. If that doesn't make a difference our last resort is to have the tank pumped. I'm hesitant to spend even more money for that since we have no septic back-up symptoms.
What else can we try? The ammonia smell is caustic nevermind embarrassing (our house smells like a litter box). I'm beginning to feel hopeless! I appreciate any advice you have.
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