OOF! The stale stuffy smell

[Dirtyhip]

That smell of ... Nobody lives here!  

I am filling up P traps, and opening up windows like crazy here.  We leave again tomorrow.  I need a work/life re-introduction program.   We came home for a brief moment.  One more brief trip and then I have to act normal again.  

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

I would suggest next time you let ChrisL's MIL stay at your house while you're on vacation.  It will take her out of his hair and your house - well, your furniture, anyway - will have that 'somebody lives here' smell to it.

[Airehead]

What is a p trap?

[jsharr ★]

https://www.brodi.com/vapour-block-citrus-based-dry-drain-maintainer-aka-floor-drain-odor-stopper-sewer-gas-smell-eliminator#:~:text=Add sufficient water to fill,in odors and prevent evaporation.

[jsharr ★]

3 minutes ago, Airehead said:

What is a p trap?

an elbow in the drain line designed to hold water that acts as a vapor barrier to keep sewer gas out of the house.

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

an elbow in the drain line designed to hold water that acts as a vapor barrier to keep sewer gas out of the house.

And when the water in the drain line evaporates, there is no more barrier for the sewer gas. Enters the house and it smells like all the people at Burning Man peed in her shower.

[Ralphie ★]

Wow, I never heared of that problem b4. 

[Further]

6 hours ago, Ralphie said:

Wow, I never heared of that problem b4. 

A lot dryer out west than in New Jersey.

[Kzoo]

10 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

and then I have to act normal again.  

Right…

 

[Wilbur ★]

10 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

That smell of ... Nobody lives here!  

I am filling up P traps, and opening up windows like crazy here.  We leave again tomorrow.  I need a work/life re-introduction program.   We came home for a brief moment.  One more brief trip and then I have to act normal again.  

You might consider a a small drip line that feeds into the drain line just above the trap. Works well unless you turn your water main off when you travel.  We have them in both houses and turn water off at each appliance rather than turning the water main off.  We never have sewer gas in the house which is good, it is methane after all. 

[maddmaxx ★]

1 hour ago, Further said:

A lot dryer out west than in New Jersey.

And more difficulty differentiating between sewer gas and normal air in NJ.

[petitepedal ★]

When my snowbirds take off..once a month I fush their toilet and run water in the sinks..2 months is probably fine but I tend to do it the same day monthly statements come out.

[az_cyclist]

We didn’t have a smell issue when we got home in August, but there was air in the water lines.

[Dirtyhip]

11 hours ago, jsharr said:

https://www.brodi.com/vapour-block-citrus-based-dry-drain-maintainer-aka-floor-drain-odor-stopper-sewer-gas-smell-eliminator#:~:text=Add sufficient water to fill,in odors and prevent evaporation.

Why does life have to be so complicated?  I just wanted to run away for a while.  

Power companies still want minimum fees too.  I thought our power bills would be a heck of a lot less for next to nothing.  

I have learned how to save money while camping.  We saved thousands not paying ridiculous camp fees, parking fees, etc.  Camp outside the camp grounds and day use the crap out of the places you want to be at.  Drive 10 minutes and camp for free.   Forest service roads offer so many possibilities.  

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

3 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

Power companies still want minimum fees too.

That's true.  Even if you use no power at all there are still parts of the bill that you have to pay.  Typically, but not always, the largest of these for a residential customer is the monthly meter fee or monthly electrical service fee.  The utility has to recover the cost of buying the meter, reading it, and creating the bill.  These costs exist whether you use bucketloads of power or none at all.

But if you take a good look at your bill, you'll probably see things like 'Transition Adjustment Fee', 'Program Cost Recovery Fee', or some similar line items.  These line items are usually - but again not always - charged on a cost per kwh's used, so the more you use the more you pay.

Many of these fees are government mandated.  Those utility rebate programs for high efficiency furnaces, water heaters, appliances, etc?  The utility isn't taking those out of their pocket when the government mandates them.  The Public Service Commission (or whatever it's called in your state) mandates the rebate program and then allows the utility to add a charge to recover those rebates from their customer base.  So, everybody pays 'a little bit' usually not enough to make people notice or make them squawk.  But they can add up, especially if the Public Service Commission wants to drive a lot of programs through the monopoly of the utility.

[Dirtyhip]

3 minutes ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said:

That's true.  Even if you use no power at all there are still parts of the bill that you have to pay.  Typically, but not always, the largest of these for a residential customer is the monthly meter fee or monthly electrical service fee.  The utility has to recover the cost of buying the meter, reading it, and creating the bill.  These costs exist whether you use bucketloads of power or none at all.

But if you take a good look at your bill, you'll probably see things like 'Transition Adjustment Fee', 'Program Cost Recovery Fee', or some similar line items.  These line items are usually - but again not always - charged on a cost per kwh's used, so the more you use the more you pay.

Many of these fees are government mandated.  Those utility rebate programs for high efficiency furnaces, water heaters, appliances, etc?  The utility isn't taking those out of their pocket when the government mandates them.  The Public Service Commission (or whatever it's called in your state) mandates the rebate program and then allows the utility to add a charge to recover those rebates from their customer base.  So, everybody pays 'a little bit' usually not enough to make people notice or make them squawk.  But they can add up, especially if the Public Service Commission wants to drive a lot of programs through the monopoly of the utility.

I remember paying for the infrastructure.  The pole, the transformer, and I thought the meter too.  

It doesn't matter.  I'm gonna quote Jan Levenston.  "It costs what it costs."   Kinda like my garbage service, that only emties half a can when my can is full.  It's a monopoly, which is supposed to be illegal.  I might continue to play the garbage drop game and cancel it all together.