Musty/Sewer smell from Basement Sump

[plumbnewb]

This house recently had a bad sewage backup in the basement sump well.

According to the plumber, the backup was caused by a rootball about 25 feet away from the front of the house. The plumber snaked and cut the rootball so now everything seems to be draining properly. (Water or solid waste has not returned to the sump sense the pipe was snaked.)

We initially noticed the problem when we smelled a strong sewer gas odor coming from the basement. The problem seemingly happened overnight and resulted in about 3-4 inches of solid waste backing up into the sump well. I cleaned the solid waste out and used many, many gallons of water from a garden hose I dropped into the basement. The plumber (and a cursory search of the internet) led me to use bleach with the water. The cleanup was successful in removing the solid waste, but the smell is now very musty with a slight, sewer smell.

Other details...

There is another drain near the sump well, but I've smelled both the drain and the sump well, and the smell is definitely coming from the sump. I'm at a loss as to what to do next. I just need to remove the smell for good. Here are some pics that may help. The sump has two large pipes that are on either side of the well and I tried to show that in the pictures. I'd appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.

 

[Mr_David]

does the floor drain dump into the sump or is the drain connected to the sewer? the drain inlet on the sump. if not from the floor drain what's it for? make sure you clean that from the source as well.

 

[plumbnewb]

The black floor drain is not pouring into the sump...it seems to flow directly into the sewer line. I didn't mention in the first post, but I cleaned the floor drain when I was cleaning up the sump well.

I'm honestly not sure what the pipes are running into the sump. One seems to lead out to the sewer, but one pipe runs into the pipe from inside the house somewhere I believe. I've never had a home with a sump setup like this. That is part of what I was hoping someone on the forum could help with.

 

[frodo]

might be a french drain under your foundation. the sewr back up MIGHT have filled the sump pit, and backed up into your french drain.

run a hose up in the pipe in the pit and see if you can flush it.