rsplash40

Bought a house 2 years ago, its about 15 years old. There is a pit, I'm not educated on it but I'm fairly sure its called an ejector pit? Collects all the water/waste and shoots it up and out to our conventional sewer.

After a few months, a nasty smell was coming out of the laundry room(where the pit is). And after a lot of sniffing I tightened the lid down and added a big bead of caulk around the edge. A day or so later, smell gone. Now in the last month or so the smell is back but it seems to only be coming from the clothes washer.

The clothes coming out smell and if the washer is left open it smells bad. Tonight I pulled the bottom panel off and a big waft of the smell hit me. There doesn't seem to be any leaks under the bottom.

Can the smell be coming back through the drain? Where else should I start looking and do?

thanks

Mike

Scuba_Dave

Is it a front loading washer?

Any pics of the pit?

woodnthings

On the washer hose or a one way valve and make certain the sump is vented properly...no birds nest on the roof vent. Sounds like, rather smells like the sewer gas is backing up through the washer hose, a little goes a long way,.....IYKWIM...phew.

rsplash40

yes, its a front load washer, frigidaire

Link to pics:

http://gallery.me.com/mlaporte#100001

robert1633

Front load washers develop a smell if not properly maintained.
Also you have to use he detergent, this detergent also will cause a residue smell. Most likely the smell is from mildew. Front Load washers must be cleaned after each us by taking a dry cloth and drying the rubber boot around the opening of the washer, and at least once a month you should clean the boot with a wet rag with bleach. And after every use the door should be left cracked open, if door is left shut, mildew will begin to grow. Unfortunately there is no real way to get rid of the Oder once mildew has grown, you can lessen the smell by cleaning the boot and buying a front load washer cleaner like afreash or washer magic. If used regularly the washer should not smell as bad. Hopefully the mildew has not permeated the rubber boot, if it has you most likely will want to replace it.

Chemist1961

Robert 1633

That seems like a lot of work to maintain a work saving device....

raevenbox

Are you on well water?

You may need to get a water softener if you don't have one already. It does help reduce smell.

raevenbox

You could also try using bleach/water mix to reduce the smell in the pit.

robert1633

I have to agree with you, but it is in the owners manual and I have a service call or two every week for this

Joe F

How difficult is it to replace the boot?

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robert1633

It really depends on the brand. They are not that hard really if you know what you are doing. Whirlpool and Maytag are pretty easy, LG Samsung and others are pure hell. There is a spring that holds the front of the boot to the front of the machine. use a screw driver to pull the spring at the bottom of the boot in front then slip it off the boot. then the boot has a grove that it uses to fit around the front of the washer. pull the front of the boot off. Now you should be able to see the innerspring, some use a large hose clamp type ring that holds the boot to the inner parts of the machine, look to see what type you have, Putting it back on is a little harder, especially the spring, I usually loop the ring around the top of the boot, then use pliers to pull the spring apart at the bottom far enough to fit over the boot.

If you haven't done this before I would really suggest hiring a professional to do it, it can be hell for even someone who knows what they are doing.

Maintenance 6

First make sure there is a trap on the washer drain. Second, you can get a cleaning material to run through front loaders to eliminate the odor. Tide makes one called washing machine cleaner. You run one cycle every once in a while to take care of the issue.