- Joined
- Sep 1, 2007
- Messages
- 15
Hi all,
Thanks to everyone I spoke to at the Edmonton Quick Start. I knew I`d find my answer there.
I had a vacant property. (for two months!) It was vacant because when the previous tenants move out, a odd odor remained in the house. Despite all of our best efforts to remove the smell (ozone, fog, cleaning, duct cleaning etc.) nothing seemed to have any effect. the funny part was you could only smell the odor for the first minute you were in the house. After that...I didn`t seem to be there. You only noticed it when you first walked in.
At the Quick Start I was taking with a friend and member in the lobby, He had a guest with him who started telling me about his problem with a house he bought a couple years ago. He described a VERY similar odor. The best part of his story was that he found the solution. During his Kitchen Renos in that house he had to call in a plumber. The plumber noticed the odor upon entering the house and told him that he had a problem with the venting of the plumbing. The plumber found the venting all wrong and once the vent stack had been repaired to code, the odor disappeared!
On the Monday after the QS, I was up on my roof with a snake. I was unable to get the snake more than a meter below the roof line. I then took the garden hose up on the roof with me and pumped water down the stack. To my horror and relief I heard the sound of the stack filling. At this point I knew I was finally on the right track.
To make the story short, I had the vent stack upgraded to ABS from Cast and now...no more smell!
What caused the obstruction in the stack?? Corrosion. There was almost nothing left of the original Cast Iron vent stack. It had rusted away and the rust formed the blockage in the pipe as it crumbled and fell down. The plumbing was venting into the walls and attic, causing the smell in the house.
So if anyone has a problem with an odor...Check your venting. You may find its venting into your walls or attic!
Thanks to everyone I spoke to at the Edmonton Quick Start. I knew I`d find my answer there.
I had a vacant property. (for two months!) It was vacant because when the previous tenants move out, a odd odor remained in the house. Despite all of our best efforts to remove the smell (ozone, fog, cleaning, duct cleaning etc.) nothing seemed to have any effect. the funny part was you could only smell the odor for the first minute you were in the house. After that...I didn`t seem to be there. You only noticed it when you first walked in.
At the Quick Start I was taking with a friend and member in the lobby, He had a guest with him who started telling me about his problem with a house he bought a couple years ago. He described a VERY similar odor. The best part of his story was that he found the solution. During his Kitchen Renos in that house he had to call in a plumber. The plumber noticed the odor upon entering the house and told him that he had a problem with the venting of the plumbing. The plumber found the venting all wrong and once the vent stack had been repaired to code, the odor disappeared!
On the Monday after the QS, I was up on my roof with a snake. I was unable to get the snake more than a meter below the roof line. I then took the garden hose up on the roof with me and pumped water down the stack. To my horror and relief I heard the sound of the stack filling. At this point I knew I was finally on the right track.
To make the story short, I had the vent stack upgraded to ABS from Cast and now...no more smell!
What caused the obstruction in the stack?? Corrosion. There was almost nothing left of the original Cast Iron vent stack. It had rusted away and the rust formed the blockage in the pipe as it crumbled and fell down. The plumbing was venting into the walls and attic, causing the smell in the house.
So if anyone has a problem with an odor...Check your venting. You may find its venting into your walls or attic!
