Plumbing in 15-storey apartment building - advice needed

[ByblosYuNaiSoi]

Hello,

I rent an apartment in a 15-storey building with an interior bathroom without a window. It is apparent that the plumbing is not vented properly; I smell everything that is in the plumbing system, from lovely shower soaps to vile sewer gas. These appear when my own drains are completely unused and empty. But of course, it comes and goes depending on ... ?

There are two drains; one for the shower, and another for the sink. Then there's the toilet.

Questions:

- Can this be remedied easily, and if so, any idea of approximate cost?

- Any advice on reducing the smells, if no work is done?

If this can't be remedied I"m moving out. It's nasty and I'm tired of it. There was no stink when I first visited the place and of course, it comes and goes. The landlord is ok, but not very savvy about anything so I'm trying to get an idea of this before I mention it.

[mallyrd]

Best guess would be that there are no "P" traps or "U" traps which retain water and prevent odours coming out through the drains etc.

[pgrahmm]

Installing P traps would be the correct answer - but the shower drain would be next to impossible to do this guessing it's set in concrete in a slab between you and you lower neighbor.....maybe a stopper/cover in the shower drain for the times you are not using it? Not sure if baking soda used somehow might help....

probably have to wait for the genius brigade to jump in with helpful info.....

You've got 14 floors of rising sewer gasses to deflect....going to be worse in the heat.....

[EyesWideOpen]

Check the toilet first. Gently lift it and see if it is loose. If so tighten the

nuts holding it down, and then caulk around the entire base of the toilet.

Or if more ambitious, you can pull the toilet completely off and check if

the wax base gasket is ok. The shower drain will not have a p trap, it is

sort of integrated into the drain cover with a ring. The sink has a p trap

but it is not western style but rather Thai style, they seem to work fine.

The problem is most likely your toilet.....

[RolandRat]

My advice - Post it in the right forum and get better responses.

[ByblosYuNaiSoi]

Thanks all for the helpful comments.

Rat,what do you mean? I didn't see any plumbing or maintance forum on the list.

My advice - Post it in the right forum and get better responses.

[RolandRat]

Here ya go: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/124-do-it-yourself-housing-forum/

[gerry123]

My advice - Post it in the right forum and get better responses.

good on ya ROLAND would that be the toilet forum or the pub forum ??

[ByblosYuNaiSoi]

Ah ok, sub-headed under Real Estate. Thanks.

[Rooo]

Moved to housing.

[sdanielmcev]

Where is the smell emanating from? Is it only your apartment?

[dddave]

I use a flat, 5" round rubber-like disk over my bathroom floor drain and just move it aside when showering. Keeps odors and insects out very effectively.

[ByblosYuNaiSoi]

Thanks for all the great info. I"m pleased to report that I plugged the sink drain for 48 hours, and all the smells disappeared. It's good to know the shower drain is not the culprit cause that would have been harder to deal with.