Snow cone on the roof vent

[Tom7227]

I noticed that my neighbor's sewer vent pipe had what looked to be a snow cone on it.  I told him and he went up and broke it up.  He also told me he saw the same thing on mine.  No way am I going up on the roof at my age.  Any ideas on how to deal with this?  Our situation can't be that unique.  Northern suburbs is the location.

Thanks for your time.

Tom

[slammer]

Your probably gonna have to get up there and open it up otherwise your gonna have sewer gas backup in your home.  Not good.  A lot of people in my area use a section of copper pipe and solder a piece crossways on one end.  1" pipe seems to work best.  You then have a piece that looks like a "T".  Drop it down the vent tube and it helps to keep the vent open.  The theory behind it is that the warmer air down in the vent pipe will radiate to the top to help thaw the frost.  Its not  going to keep it open 100% of the time but it does work better than nothing.  Ive also see people paint the vent black to absorb sunlight but no idea if it works.  Might want to address the issue soon.  Sewer gas can be deadly.

[rl_sd]

Lots of the same stuff going on down here in SE SD. I had a friend whose house started getting stinking... sure enough, plugged vented. 6 out of 7 people he told also had theirs plugged. Min has been good, but I have black PVC coming through the roof, not white

 

[Juneau4]

If you don't smell anything, don't worry about it. If really concerned run a LOT of HOT water down your sink and that  should create enough of a hole to get rid of any sewer gas. If there are P traps in all of sinks, showers, ect. you should have no problems.

[nofishfisherman]

I was up on my roof this fall clearing leaves out of the valleys and I checked out my vents while I was up there.  One of them had a few leaves in it so I cleared them and I used a section of steal bar to check for blockage further down.  I couldn't see anything but I did hit something solid.  Is it possible that the vent pipe has a bend in it?  

The vent in question is placed over the kitchen but doesn't look like its right over the kitchen sink and there is a half bath in the kitchen and the vent is not directly above the bathroom either.  I assume i was hitting a bend in the pipe but couldn't see for sure, if its not that then theres something solid blocking the entire vent but haven't noticed any issues.

[rl_sd]

2 hours ago, Juneau4 said:

If you don't smell anything, don't worry about it. If really concerned run a LOT of HOT water down your sink and that  should create enough of a hole to get rid of any sewer gas. If there are P traps in all of sinks, showers, ect. you should have no problems.

The issue that I have been hearing about is a layer of ice forming 2-4" down from condensation. The ice was 1/2 -3/4" thick and covering the entire pipe. You would think that even with the traps that there may be a chance of sewer gas pushing through, especially with a septic system?

[Juneau4]

Quote

1 hour ago, rl_sd said:

The issue that I have been hearing about is a layer of ice forming 2-4" down from condensation. The ice was 1/2 -3/4" thick and covering the entire pipe. You would think that even with the traps that there may be a chance of sewer gas pushing through, especially with a septic system?

 

Gas will go where there is the least resistance. In a septic system it will either go out the vent pipe or go into the drainage field. If the drainage field is frozen you then have a problem bigger than the gas,  A holding tank you should still have no problem with if there are P traps. There may be ice in the vent pipe, but I would bet the gas can still go out around the edge.

[delcecchi]

Isn't the main purpose of a vent in a sewer based system to allow the air someplace to go as the water runs down the drain? 

[DANR]

Yes, the vent is to let air in the system as it drains. If the vent is plugged, it is possible that the vacuum created by draining water could suck the water out of a trap, which would let sewer gas into the house. 

[Kiss my fish]

There is no reason to get on the roof! For the ice and snow get a roof rake, keep problem areas free of both. For leaves and pine needles get gutter helmet. But stay off roof! One fall could change more then a stinky house.

[Bryan n Deb]

On 1/3/2018 at 6:30 PM, Tom7227 said:

Any ideas on how to deal with this? 

BB gun?  Hows that for a 1st post? 

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by Bryan n Deb