I need help!!

[Amada24]

My inlaws have a 90's manufactured home and they need help.About 4 months ago they started smelling something in the master bedroom.It was after one of them took a shower.First they thought sewer gas.Nope brought professionals in nothing wrong there.The smell would come and go for a few weeks.Then it got really strong like sewer but also like a sour dishrag.They have taken apart the showers the sinks all plumbing nothing seems wrong.Its stange the smell seems to move from one side of the house to the other and gets really bad at night.These poor people our literally being poisened in there own home but no one can help them.They both are showing signs of lung problems.I hope someone has an idea i can give them.they dont want to sell their home but are running out of options and time if anyone can help it will be so greatly appreciated!Thanks

[rmurray]

Amanda;

There was an extensive thread here a few months ago about strange smells..You might want to read the posts for any pointers to help you...Find them here:

http://mfdhousing.com/phorum5/read.php? ... #msg-77171

[Amada24]

Thank you for the info.However this sounds exactly like their problem only this started in November when they haven't been running their a/c since probably september.My Father in law is a manager of Lakes gas and he replaced the furnace and the pplumbers have been there,the well people and nothing seems to be wrong there.Im clueless.Thanks again for your time!

[rmurray]

If you read all the way through, you saw this was a very tricky problem..Many professionals were involved many with no conclusion. The final post mentions the experts basically narrowed the problem to vapors from ground intrusion..She never posted that there ever was a final solution or fix.. You might try a private message to her and ask..Go to one of her posts and click on her name, you will have an option for a private message. Some folks answer them some do not.
I once had a home in a large MH Park in Florida were there was a large concentration of Radon gas..The final solution was to close the park and move all 600 homes..

You might want to find a professional who specializes in "Sick building Syndrome" .There are folks who do this for a living..

Good Luck..

[David Oxhandler]

You say that they have taken apart the showers the sinks all plumbing nothing seems wrong.... has anyone checked the plumbing vents? If these are not functioning or even if they are partially blocked you can get septic smell backing into the home. In some locations the roof vents need to be extended to prevent the septic smell from being pushed back down to the house by wind conditions.

Several years ago I ran into a similar problem with a new home that I sold. I thought I was going to loose my mind as we had gone thru all the systems in the home and found no defects.

I called in a respected septic contractor who took one sniff and immediately asked the home owners if anyone in the home was taking medications for heart problems. The answer was yes. Apparently some medications (not just cardiac) after they pass thru they the taker wind up in the septic system and prevent it from "going septic" ... there are bacteria that live in the tank that digest human waste and turn it into liquid that is siphoned to the drain field.. some meds will kill these bacteria and not let the septic system operate properly (go septic).

The solution was to flush enzyme tablets from time to time that kept the tank active.

Find out if the home owners are taking ANY meds. Call a knowledgeable septic contractor, let him inspect the tank and find out if those meds or any other reason a non-active tank could be causing your problem Ask the contractor for a recommendation of a product that will activate the tank.

[Amada24]

Thanks.The smell got so bad they have been in a motel for two days now.A guy came and extended the vent awhile ago but we live in MN and after he did that it just kepy freezing.so someone had to come put it back to the right height.They are not on any meds so i dont think that would be it.A man who specializes in smells came out but he showed up with a head cold and couldn't smell a thing!!He told them to pour peppermint extract in the vent and use everything like normal and wherever the leak is will have strong peppermint odor.They did it yesterday and so far no results like i said i convinced them not to sleep there so they are going back today to use everything as much as possible in hopes they can find a leak and we'll know where to look at least.I thank you again for trying to help us.I feel better that they aren't staying there.I was very afraid they weren't goint to wake up one of these days.I never new how Harmful sewer gas can be!

[David Oxhandler]

Has anyone inspected the septic tank to see if the raw sewerage is converting to liquid or if it is just storing the raw waste ??

Was the smell expert a septic contractor?

Please let us know if the mint thing works... I will be very interested to know the results

[Amada24]

no septic contractor has been there.they did the mint thing and had no results.which i guess means that there is no plumbing leaks.They have the best smelling sewer vent ever!Ha ha.Im sorry Im trying to help them and they really confuse me.Now they say it doesnt smell like sewer its like a sour smell and something dead.A new guy is coming on Mon. I guess he finds smells and cleans up any problems.I dont know where u live but we live in central MN and this guy thinks they might have an infestation of asian beetles(fake ladybugs!)in there walls or window ceils.In the fall the feild next to there house was stinky and they could barley sit out on the swing it was so bad.Could it be bugs?They are going to be staying with us next week if we dont get an answer.we'll see.

[David Oxhandler]

Dont know enough about any bugs to take a guess... Our thing is manufactured housing. Please help the next person thst has the same probelm and let us know what you find out.

[Amada24]

I will!Thank you to everyone that has helped!