We have a strange gurgling noise in the kitchen sink that happens when washing clothes followed by a strange smell.
by
Brenda F
+6
Is this a sign of septic needing pumped or something else wrong???
9 answers
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Brenda, Hard to say. I have a few questions that might help diagnose this for you...Where is the laundry room in relation to the kitchen sink? Is this a recent occurrence? Where is the smell, the laundry or the kitchen, or neither. How old is your home? Do you use granular or liquid detergent for your Dishwasher and Washing Machine? When was the last time your tank was pumped? Any help with these questions might help. Get back to me, and I'll see if I can help! Take Care
Imagery
on Jul 25, 2011
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Thanks for your help! The laundry room is about 20 feet away from the sink, down about 5 feet (bottom part of a split-level). The smell came in from the sink, not sewagy too bad, but not pleasant. The home was built in 04. We bought it last may. I do not know about a any pumpings of that septic.... I guess I need to get that done soon anyway tho. Thanks again!!!
Brenda F
on Jul 26, 2011
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Brenda, might be a good idea to have the tank looked at. When I buy homes that have a septic, I have it serviced, emptied, and "start fresh" for my family. It may not be necessary, but it makes all of us a little less creeped out by the thought of who's waste is in the back yard...it also gives you a date to work with. Another thought might be your garbage disposal, if you have one (not good for septic tanks, but that's a different topic), they can have bad smells if they aren't "cleaned" pretty regularly. We like citrus peels to help clean the disposal. Hope this helps...
Imagery
on Jul 26, 2011
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The answers so far are very good. Another thing to consider is a clogged drain line or vent problem. It might only show up when the washing machine is running because a washing machine pushes a much higher volume of water under pressure in to the drain line than any other fixture in the house. if the drain line and vent are not working properly, this can suck the water out of the kitchen sink p-trap which makes the gurgling sound. It also allows the sewer gas to come back up through the kitchen p-trap in to the kitchen which makes it smell bad. If you can run a small snake down the washing machine drain that should help. Or, if you don't feel comfortable doing that yourself, find a good licensed plumber in the Winder area.
Atlanta Plumbing Plus
on Jul 28, 2011
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That aroma is called swamp gas.
Peace Painting Co., Inc.
on Jul 28, 2011
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Thanks everybody!!!
Brenda F
on Jul 30, 2011
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No problem, hope one of these answers gives you a good solution! Keep in touch!
Imagery
on Jul 31, 2011
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I'm more in the drain clog...poor venting camp. Snaking drains AND vents. A few years back I had a client who had a dead squirrel in his vent line...this caused a number of problems.
KMS Woodworks
on Jul 31, 2011
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Depending on how the laundry is connected to the waste system, there could be a sluggish drain line down stream from the laundry. I have the same issue on my older cape cod home once a year or so. My kitchen sink is upstream of our laundry which of course has oily drainage every so often. This combined with the lint that the washer produces in the drain slightly clogs the older main line. The result is that when the washer does it draining thing, the water does not flow all the way out and backs up the drain line just a bit, enough to blow back and cause the traps to gurgle. When I hear that I do a drain cleaner over night to dissolve the crud in the main line and by morning this goes away. In your case if this is happening you must check your vent pipe. In my case I have an in line vent because of my kitchen piping layout. Normally any water that would back up in a drain line would push air out of vent pipe long before any water reached the traps in the sink causing this noise. But with a in line vent it does not allow air to flow out, only in to allow for drainage. Thus my noise. Also you stated that you have a newer home? You need to check vent pipes for plugging. If air is not allowed into the vent as water is draining out elsewhere on line the vacuum that the water creates as it drains can cause the water in the trap to gurgle as it attempts to provide air so the water can flow. In worse case conditions the trap can be sucked dry by the water draining and the result is a foul smell of the sewer gasses.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Aug 02, 2011
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