Sewage smell.. propane leak?

Upon stopping at the dump station, we smelled a terribly strong odor outside. I didn't think much of it as it's a hot day in the summer and dump stations never smell good. When we entered the Pod, we were greeted with an even stronger odor.

Upon returning home, the smell lingered inside and out. We ran the fan for an hour with all windows open, sprayed air freshener, added tank chemicals and deodorizer, and could not get rid of the smell. I noticed that it was very strong in the kitchen area of the Pod, but could not for life of me figure out why I could smell it outside as well as inside. Finally, a few minutes ago, I followed my nose more closely and it seems the smell is coming from our furnace by the bed. We haven't run it more than once or twice to test it out, and it hasn't been turned on in about a month.

It smells strongly of sewage/rotten eggs/dead animals, and from what I know, that is what LP Gas smells like. I turned off the LP tank immediately, but our LP leak detector never sounded, and we had candles burning inside the Pod this evening, and we're still alive? Is it possible we have a small leak? Has anyone experienced a similar smell?

 

The smell should go away quickly once the tank is off and the supply line has lost pressure - assuming it is a LPG leak.  If the smell is still there today it isn't LPG.  This is probably true since you had lit candles in there and didn't go boom!

Do you have any portable LPG appliances like a small lantern?  You could put that right up to your LP detector and turn it on (unlit) to see if it detects the gas.  It should happen quickly, I've triggered ours by leaving the toilet valve open while adding water to the black tank after dumping it.

I cleaned out the p-trap below the shower, although it was hardly dirty at all. I also climbed on top and cleaned out our Cyclone sewer vent. Taking it off and looking down the pipe, I didn't see any clogs. I sprayed the hose down it a little to make sure, and water seemed to have no problem draining into the tanks, so I know air should be able to pass through as well.

My only thought is that we are still dealing with "stuff" in our black water tank from the previous owner. Maybe its compacted enough that even blasting it with our tank cleaner didn't help. Who knows, but I'm getting some water softener today, and I'm hopping that next time I dump things will improve. I still can't figure out why the smell is so prevalent around the furnace/under the shower. It also doesn't make sense that I can smell it outside, especially under the Pod.

 value and there is a rubber/foam "washer" between the toilet (pipe) and the floor - this is a vapor seal from toilet to tank ... Only costs a few dollars. I would try to gently rock toilet side-to-side to see if it loose. If loose, tighten bolts on sides of toilet. If not, it might be worth while taking toilet out to check foam washer.  Hint: tighten and remove water line in rear of toilet when toilet bolts are off for better access to value fitting.