Insurance - Would a terrible sewer odor in a home be covered by insurance?

I know this is a very long shot but I figured I'd ask.

I've lived in home that has an absolutely disgusting sewer smell. I have spent scores of hours and thousands of dollars trying to figure out the reason/source of the smell but have not been successful.

I am confident the smell has something to do with the septic system but what component of the system I don't know.

I was trying to sell the home but realtors told me that unless I can stop the odor the house is worth 20% less.

Homeowner's insurance wouldn't possibly cover this would it?

Thanks.

Has a septic company checked it out? Insurance prob would not cover it, don't get the EPA on your back!

I have had 6+ septic companies and plumbers check into it and thousands of dollars later none of them can figure out the origin of the odor.

Do you have ANY idea of the area of origination of the smell? It is likely you have a fixture without a trap or a vent pipe that has been cut off in the wall or attic. Otherwise it's a leak. Can you physically see most of the drainlines? (crawlspace, basement etc) We can walk you through a lot of possibilities with your input. Good luck.
Add any info in your other post concerning this problem.

Do you have ANY idea of the area of origination of the smell? It is likely you have a fixture without a trap or a vent pipe that has been cut off in the wall or attic. Otherwise it's a leak. Can you physically see most of the drainlines? (crawlspace, basement etc) We can walk you through a lot of possibilities with your input. Good luck.
Add any info in your other post concerning this problem.
Can you give me a link to my other post? I seem to have a difficult time navigating around this site. I tried to view all my previous posts but I didn't have permissions.

Thank you.

Click on the link below and it will take you to your post.

http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=214058

How old is your house and was it constucted by a homebuilder or did the homeowner take part in it? Try closing ALL doors to every room and keep them closed as much as possible and see if the smell concentrates in one of them, if so that may be the area of the source of the smell this will help track it down. Like my good ole buddy dragon said it is prob a plumbing issue and hopefully this will help track down which bathroom or other area of house the smell originates from.

I just went through the same thing , and after about 20 hours of failure to resolve the stench , i called roto-rooter. he figured it out in 2 minutes.............If you have a basement , and a floor drain,check the 1 1/2" clean out plug. Chances are its rusted and leaking.This plug allows all of the worlds stench to enter your home. 3 bucks.....Thank me later.

Many times sewer odor is caused by a clogged vent stack. Have any of the plumbers snaked the vent pipes down through the roof?

My roof vent stacks get frosted closed daily in the winter and the sewer smell backs up into the house. I have to get up there and pour water down them to break up the frost.

Is your house on a slab? Before I bought it, my house had an odor such as you describe. Turned out the main drain line to the sewer was broken under the slab.

Was vent stack installed to Code? 4 inches in diameter where it passes through roof? 6 inches about roof or 2 feet higher than highest point on roof if 10 feet away. Undersized vents can experience frozen blockages and cause sewer odor in home.

Was vent stack installed to Code? 4 inches in diameter where it passes through roof? 6 inches about roof or 2 feet higher than highest point on roof if 10 feet away. Undersized vents can experience frozen blockages and cause sewer odor in home.

One of the vents that freezes is 4 inches in diameter where it passes through the roof and all the way before and after that point. I have tried various vent pipe lengths (above the roof). No matter what length it would frost shut. It seems to take longer to frost the shorter it is maybe because less of the vent in exposed to the wind and winter cold.

Some other thoughts:

Often simply insulating the vent pipe in the attic can solve the problem of frozen vent stack. Warm gases that pass through vent stack form condensation when it reaches colder pipe. Sometimes vent stack can freeze and burst, which would call for replacement. For colder climates, there are special vent stacks that resist freezing.

Huh. I'm just curious how a 4 inch pipe freezes when there shouldn't be any standing water higher than the lowest drain, around floor level. I've never heard of this. I mean, unless you've got a freezing rain or heavy snow cover at the time.

Warm gases that pass through vent stack form condensation when they reach colder pipe.

Huh. I'm just curious how a 4 inch pipe freezes when there shouldn't be any standing water higher than the lowest drain, around floor level. I've never heard of this. I mean, unless you've got a freezing rain or heavy snow cover at the time.
I've never been able to figure it out either. The only thing I can guess is that the gas coming out of the vent stack has a high moisture content and it slowly frosts shut.

Warm gases that pass through vent stack form condensation when they reach colder pipe.

I've never been able to figure it out either. The only thing I can guess is that the gas coming out of the vent stack has a high moisture content and it slowly frosts shut.

Wow. That's a lot of condensation. I learned something new.

Is it possible that there is not enough 'pressure' behind the sewer gases that need to escape the pipe so it doesn't frost over so easily?

Is it possible that there is not enough 'pressure' behind the sewer gases that need to escape the pipe so it doesn't frost over so easily?

That sounds more like a medical problem. Or lack of fiber and roughage. :rolleyes:

Of course toxic substances are covered by insurance.

The gas inside 90% the pipe is at room temperature, just insulate it at the roof line.

Hopefully the issue was resolved since this thread is a few years old.

Of course toxic substances are covered by insurance.
It's not methane gas. It's an odor and odors aren't covered by insurance.


The gas inside 90% the pipe is at room temperature, just insulate it at the roof line.
Won't it need to be insulated above the roof line too? What type of insulation would I use?

Anybody that called several plumbers and spent several thousand dollars and could not find the problem -probably hired the wrong person.

If they ran a camera down the drains they would know if there was a broken pipe right off the bat.

Time to call Rothschilds Sewage and Septic Sucking Services!

Rothschild's Sewage and Septic Sucking Services - The Red Green Wiki (http://redgreen.wikia.com/wiki/Rothschild%27s_Sewage_and_Septic_Sucking_Services)

"When you get the news that your septics have the ooze and it's giving you the blues and getting on you shoes, call me, Winston, and I'll put it back in cruise."

It's not methane gas. It's an odor and odors aren't covered by insurance.



Won't it need to be insulated above the roof line too? What type of insulation would I use?


After 4 years you haven't got this fixed?