Ejector Pit

For those who don't know, a sewer ejector is a large pit in the floor with a special pump that collects waste from plumbing fixtures and pumps the waste water up to a drain line. An ejector is installed in a low spot of the house where gravity draining is not available. It's a good solution for places that could not normally have a bathroom. But, as the question suggests, there can be some odor issues to deal with, along with the dreaded pump failure. So they do require maintenance from time to time.

All sewer ejectors need to be installed with a "local vent," that is, a vent line that goes from the pit to the outdoors with nothing else attached to it. You may have a venting issue that needs to be addressed, but first check the most common cause of ejector odors: bad or missing seals.

On the lid of the pit itself there should be rubber seals between the lid and the pit housing and also around the discharge line and vent line coming through holes in the lid itself. If you suspect the seals are not containing the pit odors, unplug the pump and then unbolt the lid and inspect all the seals for damage, and repair them or install new seal rings. I must caution you that for obvious reasons working on a sewer ejector pit is not a job for the faint of heart. Take my advice from personal experience: This is one of those jobs where it's money well spent to have a plumber do it for you.

what the heck is an ejector pit?

Hi A.
My name is Nikki and my Fiance is a plumber that also does side work. I will tell him about your issue and if you want I give you a quote. You do need to get that fixed especially if there is someone pregnant in the house or any kids.

write me back and let me know....always trying to help out fellow mommies

Tell him to get rid of it. The baby is the most important let alone his wife!

This happened to me and we need a new pump. Call a plumber! The new pump was a few hundred dollars.

Occasionally we get a slight smell- nothing overpowering. I find that adding a Chlorox bleach tablet to the toilet tank helps decrease this smell. You could try that 1st and if it's still very smelly call a plumber.

Hope this helps.
R.

A.,
I cant imagine being pregnant and smelling that! My husband and I have a construction company called HOMELINE CONSTRUCTION I am sure he would be happy to talk with you or come out and look at it. Let me know if you would like his number!
Good luck
N.

Having never heard this term before...oh the places my mind goes. roflmao

Is this the same thing that our realtor called a "chopper pump"? In my mind I had this image of something akin to a "Harley" pump and since my house was built only by Milwaukee builders I thought I was correct. Imagine my surprise whe I found out that what it chopped was.....well... you know. Gross. She also stated that if it broke you had to have a professional plumber fix it. Hope things work out for you.

Your ejector pump is dying. Call a plumber asap before you have what you flushed from the toilet in your living area.

Good luck!
J. M.

We had a similar problem and it turned out the pump actually was not functioning for a while, and the water was sitting there stagnant. In our case it was definitely a job for a plumber.

Ours occasionally has a slight odor (very slight - but I can see it making a pregnant woman crazy) which I think actually comes from the nearby drains. When this happens, I pour a bucket of water (enough to set the pump off) down every drain that feeds the pump. It usually takes care of it.

What is an ejector pit?

We had the same deal: we had a plumber come out and fix the seal: all better! :)

hi A.,

What you are likely smelling (as was the case for us) is SEWER GAS and it is very bad for you! I think it has methane or something in it (not sure) but get it fixed asap.

We also have an ejector pit and recently had an odor issue - it was coming up through the vents when the a/c kicked on! Anyway our seal had also un-sealed for whatever reason and all it took was some caulking around the seal since I didn't want to pay for a plumber and the problem was solved. But if you can afford a plumber you should call one. AND....double check to be sure it gets plugged back in after it is repaired!

Don't make my mistake - I had a friend caulk it but unfortunately they forgot to plug it back in and I just went ahead and did a few loads of laundry - what a mess all over the floor of our finished basement (at least it was just soapy water)!!!

best of luck,

W.

p.s. I had to add that myself and other women friends were the only ones who could notice the smell in my house - my husband and other males could not notice it (don't know why).

A sewer ejector is a large pit in the floor with a special pump that collects waste from plumbing fixtures and pumps the waste water up to a drain line. An ejector is installed in a low spot of the house where gravity draining is not available.

I'm guessing that it's really not foul and maybe his wife is just VERY sensitive because of being pregnant. Seriously, I don't know if I would try to put chemicals down there. I wouldn't want to mix anything with potential gases that maybe cause more harm than good.

Ours was really stinky and a plumber told us our seal was broken. Have him check the seal.