Maybole Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 The floor drain in one of our bathrooms is emitting a stale smell. It is the room attached to our guest bedroom and is used infrequently so I suspect that it is caused by old water lying in it. I have put some caustic soda solution and later a lot of very hot water down it. This has improved things a lot but not completely eliminated the smell. Suggestions and/or recommendations please to eradicated the smell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dcalaska Posted December 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted December 9, 2022 Install a ''P'' trap. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post worgeordie Posted December 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted December 9, 2022 Just keep doing what you were doing till the smell goes away,I use bleach regards Worgeordie 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubascuba3 Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 I get that smell sometimes, anyone know what causes it? i smelt the same smell in the car park so maybe it works it's way up the floors. sometimes i put drain cleaner down other times just water, both seem to work for a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacessit Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Eucalyptus or pine oil will mask the smell, and also act as a bactericide for the bacteria causing it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soi3eddie Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 (edited) Occasionally, I get same from a floor drain in a rarely used shower room. It's because the water in the drain trap evaporates over time leaving no block to rising foul vapour. Ensure that there is a good water trap and that when filled it creates a vapour barrier. If not using all the time then maybe some sort of cover on it is a good idea. Edited December 9, 2022 by soi3eddie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post connda Posted December 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted December 9, 2022 Rinse the drain liberally after peeing in the shower. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mickeymaus Posted December 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted December 9, 2022 19 minutes ago, soi3eddie said: Occasionally, I get same from a floor drain in a rarely used shower room. It's because the water in the drain trap evaporates over time leaving no block to rising foul vapour. Ensure that there is a good water trap and that when filled it creates a vapour barrier. If not using all the time then maybe some sort of cover on it is a good idea. If you use a cover then something that floats on water. I put there a plastic bag filled with water. Was pretty airtight. But then a water hose broke in this bathroom and the water could not run down the drain. I have learnt my lesson ???? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maybole Posted December 9, 2022 Author Share Posted December 9, 2022 2 hours ago, dcalaska said: Install a ''P'' trap. What is a "P" trap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huangnon Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 If not too involving or damaging, I'd check under the floor for broken or leaking drain pipes. Might be seepage under the tiles causing the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheryl Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Moved to general forum for more responses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RayWright Posted December 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted December 9, 2022 P-Trap, i.e. the U bend. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 (edited) Mask it. Get a container like an empty tea can. Put in some baking soda. No need to fill. Place some whole cloves on top of the soda. Optionally add some drops of essential oil This will suck up the stink and lasts a long time. Optionally cover the container with foil and put holes in it. Good if you have pets. Edited December 9, 2022 by Jingthing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puccini Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 1 hour ago, RayWright said: P-Trap, i.e. the U bend. I can't see a way to install this in a floor drain in a condominium unit. If you unscrew and take off the cover of the floor drain you will find a trap with just a few millilitres of water in it. Unless water is run through this drain frequently, this water will evaporate within a few days. My solution was to wrap the cover with clingfoil before placing it back, taking the calculated risk of flooding if a water pipe should break somewhere in the bathroom. Every few months, the trap should be refilled with water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chickenslegs Posted December 9, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted December 9, 2022 12 hours ago, soi3eddie said: Occasionally, I get same from a floor drain in a rarely used shower room. It's because the water in the drain trap evaporates over time leaving no block to rising foul vapour. Ensure that there is a good water trap and that when filled it creates a vapour barrier. If not using all the time then maybe some sort of cover on it is a good idea. ^ This. Assuming that the floor drain has a working "shallow trap" and is rarely used, a bit of vegetable oil in the trap will coat the surface of the water and prevent the water from evaporating too quickly. This also works with P traps, U-bends, bottle traps, etc. if leaving the house unattended for a while. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwill Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Fast fix. Get something flat like a thick piece of plastic to cover the drains when not in use. Can put something heavier, like a bottle of water, on top to help hold it down. Better fix. Change the floor drains to ones that have a flap on the bottom that close when no water is draining. Keeps odors and critters out. There are 2 types. Those that use a spring to keep it closed and those that have a weight flap. I like the spring ones better, they seal tighter. Just saw a third type on Lazada that uses magnets. No experience with those. Global house sells some or on Lazada. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsxrnz Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 13 minutes ago, rwill said: Fast fix. Get something flat like a thick piece of plastic to cover the drains when not in use. Can put something heavier, like a bottle of water, on top to help hold it down. Better fix. Change the floor drains to ones that have a flap on the bottom that close when no water is draining. Keeps odors and critters out. There are 2 types. Those that use a spring to keep it closed and those that have a weight flap. I like the spring ones better, they seal tighter. Just saw a third type on Lazada that uses magnets. No experience with those. Global house sells some or on Lazada. The flap style drains you recommend are a good way of avoiding smells. The only problem being that you have to ensure it is cleaned regularly. My wife's hair eventually builds up over time, and stops the flap from closing properly. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bondjames007 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 I had a bad smell in my bathroom, I used this that I brought from Tesco. Smell has gone away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterA Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 I get the same thing when no water is flushed down the drain. If I put a small bucket of water down it every night, no smell. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydebolle Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Flush the floor drains regularly (once a week?). It should ensure that the smell trap works; a brass/stainless steel bell mounted to the floor drain grill covering the drain pipe, whereas the floor pipe is a few millimetres higher than the bell rim. When "flooded" you have a water film outside the bell cover which keeps the smell ........ in the pipe. If the floor drain is connected to any other drain (wash basin, urinal etc.) and the bell overlapping the floor pipe is minimal, then it takes very little to eliminate that water film = it smells. Eventually you will have to change the floor drain, which usually comes in a set; keep floor drain diametre in mind when getting a new drain. The bigger the water film is between the bell rim and the drainage pipe, the better it works; good luck 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubascuba3 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 6 hours ago, Puccini said: My solution was to wrap the cover with clingfoil before placing it back, taking the calculated risk of flooding if a water pipe should break somewhere in the bathroom. Every few months, the trap should be refilled with water. good idea but no risk of build up of gas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeHere Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 17 hours ago, Maybole said: What is a "P" trap? Took all of two seconds to find out everything about a P Trap with a simple Google search 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tropposurfer Posted December 10, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted December 10, 2022 Often sadly the oh-so-often issue with this problem is Thai builders being absolutely cr@p at setting and transitioning from one RL to another i.e. they set levels for floor slabs which don't allow enough depth & fall to the exit points off the properties for the sewer drainage (such as your shower pan) which often results in next to zero play to install pans, and 'u-bends/s-bends' with sufficient depth of pipe 'fall' to the drainage exit points. Bad building practice! This is on page one of any decent builders plans! I was very specific about all my shower pans, bathroom floor, toilet, and laundry floor pans with the setting of the house floor slab heights so we had perfect angle of exit and Aussie standard specs on all pans, s-bends, and pipe dimensions to the mains sewer. With sufficient fall, correct sealing, correct pipe dimensions, and correct s-bends nasty vapours are impossible. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 As said it is the loss by evaporation of water from the normal bell trap used for floor drains. Just spray a bit of water on floor from bidet every week or so. Suspect a small piece of foam over the trap would reduce evaporation and perhaps keep smell out even if dry - and would be removed by water if any flooding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickeymaus Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 7 hours ago, chickenslegs said: ^ This. Assuming that the floor drain has a working "shallow trap" and is rarely used, a bit of vegetable oil in the trap will coat the surface of the water and prevent the water from evaporating too quickly. This also works with P traps, U-bends, bottle traps, etc. if leaving the house unattended for a while. Don't take vegetable oil that can be eaten by bugs. Take mineral oil that is produced from petroleum. Insects will not like it. Baby oil for instance is one. But also oils used for lubrication. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metisdead Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 A troll post has been reported and removed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomazbodner Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Both P-trap and S-trap won't work well if you are rarely/never using that drain, as with no water in it to block the pipe, it does nothing. There's a silicone plug against insects and smell that works whether you use that drain or not, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddave Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 21 hours ago, scubascuba3 said: I get that smell sometimes, anyone know what causes it? i smelt the same smell in the car park so maybe it works it's way up the floors. sometimes i put drain cleaner down other times just water, both seem to work for a while The OP said that it was a drain 21 hours ago, dcalaska said: Install a ''P'' trap. The problem may well be that because as the OP said, it's a little used guest bathroom, that the water in the "P" trap evaporates over time, thus eliminating the barrier for stinky pipe gases. All the OP may need to do is run the water into the drain, maybe every week or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubascuba3 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 24 minutes ago, dddave said: The OP said that it was a drain Of course it's a drain, but is it your drain, or drain of condo below, or car park etc etc, but subsequent posts confirm it's your own drain and lack of water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotchilli Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 22 hours ago, dcalaska said: Install a ''P'' trap. Agreed, masking it with concoctions is of no use, it will return. Install a proper P-trap or "U" bend water trap. Solution is final... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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