We live in one of the housing estates where all the houses look the same ugly design and every house has a barking rat dog 5am each morning.

Soon after we moved in the toilet water started 'bubbling' in heavy rain. Just outside our window is the concrete slab which I assume houses the septic system. Lately a foul gas smell is being omitted from the toilet and thus I am prone to sleeping with the bathroom door closed to avoid early onset of lung cancer.

What is causing the gas smell? Should we be getting it checked out by a septic expert?

thanks

I'm not a plumber, but the S-bend under the toilet pan is supposed to stop gases coming up, and there should be an air vent pipe rising to some height above the eves supposed to let gas escape up there away from your nose.

Ugly place you say? I assume it's a rental then...get the landlord onto it.

Should we be getting it checked out by a septic expert

good luck with this-we are in Thailand...

Wouldnt be surprised if the smell in the bathroom is coming from the Shower drain, they rarely fit u-bends in that and thats where the smell is comig from.

Moving this into D-I-Y forum

What is causing the gas smell?

Hydrogen Sulphide I guess AKA sewer gas, the good thing is if you can smell it, it not at a lethal level...

Edited November 5, 201411 yr by Soutpeel

You could get the septic tank emptied, that would probably clear up your problems instantly.

I had mine done some time ago, I can't remember how much it cost but it was in the petty cash range of less than 2000.

Wouldnt be surprised if the smell in the bathroom is coming from the Shower drain, they rarely fit u-bends in that and thats where the smell is comig from.

Moving this into D-I-Y forum

Put a plate over the shower drain and see if the smell goes away.

If the toilet is actually bubbling your septic tank might be full and needs to be pumped. This should not happen if the system is installed correctly but with that said TIT!

I'm guessing you do not have a septic tank. You have a cesspit. A proper septic tank with leach field will not smell or bubble. A cesspit will have rain water leach in and fill along with atmospheric pressures can cause the toilet to bubble. Your choice is to live with it until your cesspit leaches out instead of in or get it sucked out and start over again.

thanks for the replies

You could get the septic tank emptied, that would probably clear up your problems instantly.

I had mine done some time ago, I can't remember how much it cost but it was in the petty cash range of less than 2000.

in the petty cash range of less than 2000.

LOL, thanx for the laugh, up my way the natives would go crazy, the normal rate in Bkk is 300 baht.

He doesnt say how old the house is, if less than ten years theres no way he needs the tank emptying, with the proviso it was installed properly.

Another reason for his problem, its rainy season right now.

As mentioned by another poster, stick a saucer over the drain plug in the shower.

The going price where I live is 100 baht/hole! Not the holes that live in the house, the holes in the ground!

All of the symptoms of no vent or clog vent.

Flush EM down the toilet and spray it everywhere. It really works. You can also spray it on the tree's/garden everywhere.

Mix EM with molasses in a bucket, cover it ,wait some days and then your EM is ready.

What is EM please?

we to live on a moo-ban and have a tank each side of the house,out of 50house's we were the only one's putting a box of shit eater down the toilets[35bht]home pro,and every 2months i empty a bucket of costic soda down them.soda flakes can be had also at home pro.easy to mix bucket of water and some soda flakes mix with a stick till its heats up and fumes start chokeing you empty down the toilet and the drains get out and flush after 20-30minutes.this method with the BIO WASTE EATER is supposed to be used on all these draining tanks.