One of the bathrooms in my condo I rent suffers from bad sewer gas - I assume coming up the drains. I am on the top floor but the other bathroom has no issues. Spoke to the building management who of course gave me the obvious but useless suggestions like pour water down it.

Moving forward - hoping one of you handy folks can offer me some practical advise - is there something I can buy (one way gas trap?) that I put over the pipe inside the drains> I am tempted to throw a match down there but fear of blowing up our building.

Do pour water down as the trap (if one is fitted) may be empty.

The simple solution is a plate / saucer over the drain, or, if you can get the lid open, a ping pong or tennis ball in the drain, it will block the opening but should float clear to let water out.

Do pour water down as the trap (if one is fitted) may be empty.

The simple solution is a plate / saucer over the drain, or, if you can get the lid open, a ping pong or tennis ball in the drain, it will block the opening but should float clear to let water out.

Thanks, I did try the water on several occaisons, may try the ball idea thanks!

Do pour water down as the trap (if one is fitted) may be empty.

The simple solution is a plate / saucer over the drain, or, if you can get the lid open, a ping pong or tennis ball in the drain, it will block the opening but should float clear to let water out.

Thanks, I did try the water on several occaisons, may try the ball idea thanks!

That's where I place the plunger...

There are several correct ways to fix odors this is a Studor vent that opens when water is on & seals when water is shut …..Works great in changing an existing system that someone screwed the pooch & forgot to install the proper venting. It is expensive almost 1000 baht & non existent in Thailand. I have never seen one here. This vent is mainly used in kitchen or bathroom sinks that a vent was never in place at the time of the build- but would work fine in a shower drain application. The other correct way is a U trap that would require busting up the concrete & tile To install. I have double u-traps in my setup. I hate stink so if one dries up the other U still has water in the chamber & nothing can backtrack. When I first moved to Thailand I saw an integrated drain & lid that had an O-ring to seal the nasties after taking a shower. It would be perfect as an afterthought to a system they forgot to install in the beginning to save a baht. I have not seen one of those setups since 2004 up here. Too bad minimal cutting of the tile to seat the new drain.

Thanks for the replies. It seems they did something with a drain outside our condo unit, combined with the afforementioned balls in the drains, worked a charm.

Now I don't have anyone else to blame when I let er rip!