We bought a farm in 2019 and spent 2020 renovating the 1987 stick built house. We moved in November 2020. Since we have lived here there is an intermittent sewage/rotten egg smell from the basement when a lot of hot water is used–only the hot water and the smell does not come from the water. There is no mistaking where it is coming from. We can have the smell completely eliminated and then start a load of laundry and take a hot shower and the smell is strong again.
We put in a vapor barrier (poly wrap with sump and drain) one week and had a bathroom/laundry room plumbed in the following week with a sewage ejection pump installed. We have had the plumbing company out four times and the vapor barrier folks here once. I have communicated several times the correlation between the hot water usage and the smell. The plumbing company, who also installed the new hot water heater, said that if there is no smell in the water, the water heater is not the culprit. They have ran a camera in the lines and smoked our lines twice. The plumbing company is now saying that it is a smell from the poly on the vapor barrier.
My question:
Can the smell be coming from the hot water heater?
We are not on well water. Everything is brand new: lines, hot water heater, HVAC. We basically live in a new house. The gas lines are copper and the water heater is propane.
I am at my wits end & checkbook end. I would appreciate any and all help!
Best Answer
Since you said your gas lines are copper I would guess you have a gas water heater.
If your water heater is not properly vented AND has a sufficient source of fresh air this is probably the source of the problem.
What is happening? The most common problem is insufficient make up air. We know the gas water heater requires a vent and I have never run into a no vent problem.
The cause I have found quite a few times is not enough fresh air so the exhaust vent takes the air out but then the home goes slightly negative as far as pressure. When this happens the room air is consumed and the exhaust gasses circulate in the air space leaving the foul odor you have when the water heater is running for a while.
To prove this open a window in the basement a bit if there is one or make sure there is a fresh air source to the basement to verify this would fix the problem. To make a permanent fix a fresh air source should be ducted to the water heater area and in most areas this is required by code.
Give a fresh air source a try and it will probably solve your smell problem.