I've lived in 2 different apartment condos (age of condos around 10- 14years old)  in BKK over a number of years. Both of them sometimes have a terrible smell that seems to be sewerage smell coming up from the drain pipe every now and then. I've also lived in a condo in Pattaya, but never had that problem.

 

Does your BKK condo bathroom often have sewerage smell coming from the drain pipe? I've also added a poll above.

 

Wondering if this is a BKK problem and what people here do to solve this, besides always keeping the bathroom door closed? Surely this is a health hazard. 

make sure the rubber cup in the shower drain is fitted properly and covered in water.

Leave the plug in the basin, with 1/2 inch of water over.

 

Problem solved.

all our units have the same smell in the bathrooms because there are no traps in any of the plumbling when they build them, when I had an extension and new kitchen built at home I made sure that s bends were fittied to all the sinks to stop any smell, most buildingsd just have straight pipe so their is nothing to stop the smell from coming through

rip up the floor tiles and check that there in fact a U shape pipe fitted to stop gas smells.  

3 minutes ago, steven100 said:

rip up the floor tiles and check that there in fact a U shape pipe fitted to stop gas smells.  

Can't do that, it's rented from the landlord.

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

make sure the rubber cup in the shower drain is fitted properly and covered in water.

Not sure what you mean about the rubber cup in shower drain. There's only a metal thing on top of the shower drain.

 

There's also a drain in the bathroom next to the toilet where the bum gun is. Also has a metal thing on top of that drain.

 

Bathroom sink pipe has the "bend" thing in the pipe under the bathroom sink.

Wait another 50 years, they may learn how to do correct plumbing by then....maybe!

Keep the small syphon at the shower drain always clean and look that there is water in it. An other problem are the toilets. Often they don't use any seal like a wax ring and so there will be always smell coming from this pipe. 

2 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

Can't do that, it's rented from the landlord.

don't worry about the landlord. sling him a couple of hundred baht if he makes any problem.

now if it's a ground floor unit, get an excavator in ( 20T Mitsubishi or similar )  

have the excavator bucket come in through the bathroom window and rip from the centre of the bathroom out. rip down about 1 foot and then wait for the dust to settle and then check out what's left of the plumbing,  then just replace all. 

Leave a bag of prawn heads in the shower, in 3 days the sewer smell will be totally forgotten!

Wear a gas mask .Far easier than ripping open your floor.

Simplest solution I have used in many places that have sewerage gas coming out of shower, bath, basins  or floor drains is to park a bottle of water on them.

12 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

Not sure what you mean about the rubber cup in shower drain. There's only a metal thing on top of the shower drain.

Thais don't use U-bend water traps.

Their version is an inverted rubber cup attached to the metal drain grill.

If it hasn't been fitted, or removed by the cleaner, then your bathroom will stink.

Simple solution: I just keep a 4" round rubber drink coaster over my shower drain. Keeps creepy-crawlers out as well as sewer gas.  I just kick it aside when showering and replace it when done.

Most hardware shops stock similar 10cm rubber disks.

 

25 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Simplest solution I have used in many places that have sewerage gas coming out of shower, bath, basins  or floor drains is to park a bottle of water on them.

yes, i've already had to start doing this and i live in a new-build with a new drain system

 

toilet cleaner bottle is a good fit

 

edit^ dave's idea sounds better, I had baby scorpions coming up through mine

It is a problem in not all, but some condo buildings not just in BKK.

There is a higher end place 30 stories in Naklua Pattaya that I looked at.  Very nice everything but the entire building smelled like a sewer.  Not just the room drains but the hallways also.

The agent gave me some BS story that most places have this smell due to the way Thailand constructs them.

I do not think you can get rid of it, especially like I said the entire building has the issue.   Probably something you might get use to over time I guess, but no thanks as it is pretty terrible bring a friend or girl over and listen to them complain how bad the place stinks.

If the drain traps dry out in the shower/floor drains cups then there will be no barrier to stop gas rising into the room. In my second bathroom I always ensure to spray the drains each day to ensure a seal. That way no sewer gas or smells can rise into the room. 

Tolets will go to a septic tank and have the possibility of venting explosive gasses into your house if they are not vented or have a water barrier. Sinks and showers etc are discharged into street drainage. A little smelly but generally not dangerous.. baths and showers need plugs to stop the smell if they are not vented. If they are vented then the only way to stop smells is to have an S or P trap. 

1 hour ago, PatOngo said:

Wait another 50 years, they may learn how to do correct plumbing by then....maybe!

It is not just Thailand.  My experience is it is pretty much anywhere out of "western" culture nations don't know proper plumbing.

 

So, it may take bit longer than 50 years.....

1 hour ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Simplest solution I have used in many places that have sewerage gas coming out of shower, bath, basins  or floor drains is to park a bottle of water on them.

Do yourself a favor and put something there that can float on water. Otherwise if a pipe or a hose breaks in the bathroom the water can't go down the drain and your rooms will be flooded. Happened to me 1 time but will never happen again. 

Smooth off the edges of the drain hole and use one of those 3" plastic balls they have in kiddies play areas. When you shower it floats a bit and lets the water out and then settles back in the hole and seals it.

Leave a fan on 24/7. Bad plumbing = global warming

There is an easy way, that I have shared on TV before...cost about 150 THB.  There is a bladder bag, small condom looking thing that lets water through, but gas can't come from below.  There are a few sizes, but the hole is about 40 mm, and you put the bag in, and secure it with a ring, that comes with it.  You just have clean your screen more often.  This one on Lazada is 85 THB..if you are having a lot of trouble measuring, then you have a lot more serious problems than Shiite smell in your bathroom.

 

Vacant units will suffer from no water in the toilet, and a few of those will stink up the whole floor.

 

I was just reminded, that I should get one, not for the smell (my 30 yo building is vented by some miracle), but for the occasional roach.

this serves as a good reminder... to not be in too much of a hurry, to fix a dripping tap!

 - a couple of droplets a minute would be quite good enough to keep a trap happy and content

Tip of the day.

Old fashion clothes peg on the

nose, cheap and walla! no smell.

This looks promising, too.

51 minutes ago, moontang said:

There is a bladder bag, small condom looking thing that lets water through, but gas can't come

please .....  if you have problems you need to see a doctor as soon as possible

4 hours ago, Oldie said:

Do yourself a favor and put something there that can float on water. Otherwise if a pipe or a hose breaks in the bathroom the water can't go down the drain and your rooms will be flooded. Happened to me 1 time but will never happen again. 

The  bottle does not need to be anywhere near  full. Just enough to keep it in place with a little positive pressure. In the rare event of a major water leak it would/should eventually float off before water level reaches the point of  flooding outside  of the bathroom.

A friend of mine  uses a couple of  plastic  balls that he has injected  some water into to do the job.

Thats where I got the idea  to use drinking water bottles. Renewable/disposable when needed.

My own residence has been plumbed properly so this  is what I do only when traveling. (Hotels )

I do this a a favour to myself because I would  rather I woke  with a  hangover  headache  that one induced  by sewerage  gas !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As said most likely drying out of the floor drain - they must have water below the plastic/metal center cover to black smells.  

This is the normal sink drain trap - vertical pipe must be below horizontal and in the water - should clean occasionally.

 

It's not only condos. I have a two story house and the upstair bathroom used to reek of sewage. My wife arranged for an extractor fan to be installed on top of the septic tank and the stick to be routed elsewhere. It has worked like a dream.