Eau de toilette

This has been a jam packed renovation week!

But I need to tell you the story of my stinky house.

My house stinks. Literally. Oh, I have scrubbed, washed, rinsed, vacuumed, put out Damp Rid and other stuff but every time the toilet flushed there it was...eau de toilette. It was one reason the need for a new septic tank was so urgent- until it wasn't. 

Gradually, as we've lived here and tackled the plumbing, the scent of sewage became less of an issue. My septic tank doesn't flood. The ground in the leach field is not soggy. The drains don't gasp for breathe as we flush, wash or rinse. But the stink did not leave our house entirely and was of course present every time we flushed. When we first started living here the smell permeated everything, but over time became just a faint whiff, always there. It has driven me crazy. 

And now we know why there was always the faint whiff of sewage in our house. The plumbers have put us out of our misery. Thank goodness. 

The upstairs bathroom before we started pulling it all apart. Notice the wood grill behind the toilet.
Surprise! The wood grill has been removed.
The soil stack in all its glory. There is rust on the bottom.

We're not crazy (except for buying this house maybe?) but when we see a cast iron soil stack cut up and jury rigged together we know to step away from the problem and call a professional. So today our plumbers came in to change out the stack because of course it has been leaking....And voila!



Yep! It was a critter problem again! Seems the critters had infiltrated the soil stack and started nesting 10 inches (25cm) above the base of the toilet and had been nesting there for many years once upon a time. Clogged it so air couldn't get out. Plumber said he had never seen anything like it. It went up the entire length of the wall into the attic.

Now we have a brand new soil stack. We do have to seal all around it because it is 3 inches in diameter unlike the cast iron that was 4 inches. 

Basement
Kitchen
Upstairs Bathroom.



So now, hopefully when we put up our Christmas tree, the only thing we will smell is pine.





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