smell of septic whenever it rains

[oceanmist]

Whenever it rains or there are a few showers taken in the house...or a few loads of laundry done ...the basement smells like septic..seems like the smell starts to come upstairs lately after a heavy rainfall or after running the water for awhile. Owners said septic was drained 2 years ago. Could this still be the problem. Someone mentioned methane gas to me and said it was very unhealthy. I have children in the house. Can some one help here??

Thanks

[majakdragon]

oceanmist, Welcome to the DIY Forums.
Not too sure about the smell due to rain unless the septic is backing up into the basement. Have you checked any traps in the basement (floordrains etc)? If the water evaporates the gases will back up into the house. You may also want to check your vent lines for clogging. Being winter is here, leaves and animals looking for warmth can block the vent which will cause any water used to pull a vacuum on the traps and pull the water out thus allowing the gases in. Check these things and post back using the reply button. This will bring your post back up to the top. Good luck.

[STeeLGuT]

I have a garage with a slab floor and most of the cesspool pipes run under it. When there is a heavy rain, I get a ceespool type smell in the garage. There is an access hole with a cap in the corner that we have snaked it from. When the pipe was clogged, it was overflowing into the ground there. I guess the rain is going under the slab and getting the dirt wet and the smell comes up, anything I can do?

[Mike Swearingen]

You might try digging out the surface layer of contaminated dirt, and pouring in powdered lime, backfilling with clean sand, and then sprinkling baking soda on the surface.
That might help.
Good Luck!
Mike