Company Delta Smoke Test in Montreal offers the smoke test as part of the search for the origin of unpleasant odors in the house.
Do you have bad odour problems in your home, condo, business? To determine the cause and origin, the smoke test is the simplest and fastest solution.
The smoke test:
- Allows you to detect even smallest leaks.
- Does not require any costly excavation work.
A smoke generator is connected to the sewer system from toilets or sinks which diffuses smoke that will spread into the various drains of the sewer system.
Any leaks on the facility (unsealed joints, deterioration, defused siphon or other) will reveal smoke, allowing an accurate location of the problem (possibly caused by rodents, water leaks or gas leakage).
The smoke test is harmless to people and animals and leaves no trace. It is 100% safe.
Where do these sewers in the house come from?
You feel unpleasant smells when you get home, pipe odors that seem to come out of the sink, or maybe be from the shower, a toilet smell? or just a kind of moist air background, musty or miasms. It’s uncomfortable and unpleasant…
This rather unpleasant feeling is not an illusion. It is there every day and you have to find a solution. Before you use the great means to detect the origin of these odors, here are the checks to be done or given to do by your plumber.
The sense of smell is more or less developed from one person to another but it does not deceive. When it stinks, even unspeakably, it stinks! We have to find a solution!
Your nose will bring you closer to the smelly leak but to detect the origin, the cause, you will have to act with logic and circumspection because the first step in solving the problem is to identify where these foul-smelling fumes come from.
The use of deodorant of any kind is just a masking of evil, not a solution.
If the smell comes from the tap or sink
Even if the water flow from the tap does not appear to be affected, it is possible that your siphon has accumulated a large bundle of dirt, grease, hair and waste of all kinds, which by degrading, gives off a real smell of disgusting rot.
The solution in this case is quite simple and does not require a thorough analysis such as the arrival of a plumber or a smoke test.
The use of uncorking solution will probably dilute the smelly agglomerate which will then be evacuated by pouring water
Grandmothers’ recipes are often effective and sufficient.
Try pouring the next mixture into the siphon
- One tablespoon of baking soda,
- A tablespoon of salt and
- A glass of white vinegar
(The mixture will foam for a while). Rinse with a large amount of boiling water and leave it to rest for 30 minutes to an hour.
If this is not enough, consider disassembling your siphon.
Remove the siphon from the sink or tap and empty it. If you find a large “chunk” of clumped dirt, you may have already identified the source of the problem.
Why isn’t the siphon working against bad odours?
That is a question we are often asked.
The elbow shape of the siphon is designed to receive heavy debris (food or other) and prevent it from circulating in the wastewater system. It should also retain odour lifts since this elbow (or bell) holds water and is a “cork” between the drain and your sink or sink leap.
However, several days of heavy heat in your absence can cause the water to evaporate from the siphon, in this case, no more water caps!
Classic, this natural cause is easy to thwart.
Here’s a little “grandmother’ tip well known to plumbers. When you are away for a few days, pour a little oil into the siphon. This oil will float over the water and create a protective layer that will prevent the evaporation of standing water.
After this cleansing, your sense of smell will confirm the success or misfortune of these actions…
The smell seems to come from the shower
More difficult to understand, the odors that come from the shower tray or bathtub deserve special attention especially when the water flow seems 100% normal.
By disassembling the leap of the shower tray (also called the dump) we notice the upper part is screwed into the fixed part, and between the two we can locate a joint.
Seen from above you can only see this top part. Two other elements, the bell and the grid, are embedded on top of it.
If the bell is affected, the odors will rise. We even notice that sometimes the bell is absent but it is more common to find that this bell is insufficiently pressed / “clipped” into the empty part of the leap.
This poor positioning or a lack of screwing or sinking lets the scent pass by… These odors are gases and they seep from a seal that is badly sealed.
This check is quite simple to do even though it is often difficult to remove the grid yourself. On the other hand, if the grid is easy to remove, it’s a serious clue that indicates you may have found the origin of your bad smells.
If it’s the toilets, WC that smells bad
The cause of bad toilet odor may come from the pipes. Although this is rare, a crack in the back of the “bowl” will inevitably cause the smell of sewer lifts.
The seal between the drain pipe and its connection may over time present weaknesses. After a visual inspection, have the ducts checked by a plumber.
In case of a crack, the professional will replace it. It is likely that in the face of this observation he recommends a smoke test for a more complete inspection because a crack rarely happens alone.
If you have a septic tank,
Bad odours from your toilet may be the result of congestion, septic tank malfunction,
Inspect the sewer plate in your drains and make sure they are tightly secured. Poorly adjusted manholes can leak gas fumes from domestic discharges.
Do the odors persist? A smoke test is needed.
The bad smells of sewage in the house (kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, etc.) is characterized by a persistent distinct sewer smell; whether you clean your toilet, sink, shower or bathtub every two hours or weekly.
A wide variety of problems may concern the drainage system invisible to the naked eye.
The plumber will use the smoke test. By pumping non-toxic smoke into the pipe system, the Delta Smoke Test specialist will track through the pipes and pipes and locate the points from which the smoke escapes…
If necessary the test will highlight the cause, the crack from which escapes your bad odors.
A highly effective method of detecting broken joints, bad tube and pipe connections or cracks of all kinds that cause sewage to seep into the ground and bad odours that spread through the home.