What does a rotten egg smell mean? You might have rotten eggs in the house. However, that’s typically not the case. What people often mistake for the smell of rotten eggs could be sulfur, it could be sewer gas, or it could be something quite dangerous.
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Take No Chances
If you detect the smell of sulfur in your home, and you have appliances or devices that use propane or natural gas as fuel, the very first thing you should do is evacuate the premises and contact your local fire department or gas utility. This is not optional advice. There is a chemical added to natural gas used in residential utilities that gives it a sulfur-like odor. The chemical is added for safety purposes, as it would be very difficult to detect a gas leak otherwise.
Plumbing Source
Most people don’t know the design justification for the traps in their pipes, but your Fontana plumber certainly does. All of your plumbing that begins with a drain, garbage disposal, bath or shower, or a toilet opens directly to the sewer. As a result it is possible for gas from the sewer to find its way back through your pipes to your home. This is one of the main reasons traps are built into pipes. The water left behind acts as a natural barrier to these gases.
However, if your traps are not working for some reason, then sewer gas may find its way into your home. If that is the case, it is vitally important you contact a plumber as soon as possible. Leaving aside the unpleasant prospect of living in a home full of sewer gas, the truth is methane is flammable and can be dangerous if concentrated.
Water Heater
There are conditions under which your water heater could be introducing a sulfur-like odor into your hot water. If you only detect the odor when you are using hot water, this is an important clue. Because the problem will grow worse if it isn’t addressed, you should seek the services of a qualified plumber and an affordable plumbing service at once.
Broken Sewer Lines
This is the option if all other possibilities have been investigated. Your plumber will be able to test all of your home’s connections to the local sewer lines and make certain none of your drain lines have broken or begun leaking. It is vital to repair any damage as soon as possible, as the same hazards apply to a broken drain pipe as apply to a situation where sewer gases are leaking back into your home.
Many of these issues can seem obscure and hard to understand, but the alternative of simply hoping the problem will solve itself isn’t advisable from any practical standpoint. Any damage is likely to get worse over time. The safety of your home and family must come first, and that means you should always seek the advice of an affordable plumber at your earliest opportunity.
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