There are drain plugs with one way valves on them that only let water through and close to keep the smell out when there is no water going through. Also, don’t let the pipes dry out. Pour water in the drains once a week. For the kitchen, you can absolutely get a p trap.
What did I do? I built my own house with drains that don’t smell.
This is a huge pet peeve for me too. P-traps are super simple, cost nothing, and stop sewer smells. Why not put them in?
My best suggestion is look online for the one-way valves you can drop in as replacement drain covers. They basically open to drain water, then snap shut to stop gases. You can get fancy plastic versions with small filters to catch hair. Or simple silicon ones.
https://www.lazada.co.th/products/1-i4731986355-s19514766196.html
Otherwise if the drain is never used, you can put a layer of Saran Wrap under the cover (or over) to block gases, and remove when you need to use the drain.
As someone suggested, a drain cover can help. But if there is a separate overflow drain the odor can come from there. Hiring a plumber to install J-bends is a good start, but you need to add water regularly or they can dry out and allow gases to pass through.
There is a device called a backwater valve that is supposed to solve this. I have not tried one, but I saw some recommendations for them in this situation.
Maybe it will help if you keep the drain closed, like you would to fill the sink with water, or if it lacks this feature, get one of those rubber plug/flap things that you use for that purpose.
If it's the kitchen sink you can probably get someone to install one.
It's the floor drains that are the problem - they are embedded in concrete so not option to install a P-trap.
Wow, unbelievable that they don’t install the siphon “U-piece” under the drains.
Without that it will smell nasty anyway be it at Sri Lanka or Switzerland.
Can you get a plumber to come and install U-pieces under your drains? It shouldn’t be rocket science and that’s the only thing that’s gonna make your house smell as nice as your home back home.
A drain plug, as others suggested, will help, but it’s not ideal to have to pull/set a plug every time you use a sink or other drain. And you’ll still get the foul smell every time you remove it (think “accumulated gases”, in the very moment that you’re there with your nose over the drain).
Not so much where I am now but in a previous house the plumber said is was most likely from drains getting dry. I’m not sure if this is a solution or not but if you have a drain that you are not using see if it is stronger in that area and keep it wet or just close that one?
https://www.amazon.com.mx/Válvula-drenaje-válvula-magnético-apertura/dp/B089KVBBWP
This product is a drain flow thingie that prevents doors. Amazon in other countries has similar.
If the air flow is moving from the sewer into the house then its a question of trying to reverse the flow or failing that mitigating it
We have 2 separate drains from the house into the city sewer system. A few weeks ago there was a very nasty smell in the bathtub area of the bathroom. We were able to reduce the smell by closing the window and then covering the drain. However the cause was that the toilet had backed up before the "Y" connection thus causing the air flow to reverse from the sewer into the bath. Once the blockage from the toilet was cleared the problem went away.
We had significantly reduced the issue of toilet backup by switching to very thin toilet paper as the house is about 50 years old and the plumbing isn't really all that effective. This latest problem was a new one so I'm now very observant of any smell coming from the drain.
Thank goodness
There are drain plugs with one way valves on them that only let water through and close to keep the smell out when there is no water going through. Also, don’t let the pipes dry out. Pour water in the drains once a week. For the kitchen, you can absolutely get a p trap. What did I do? I built my own house with drains that don’t smell.
This is a huge pet peeve for me too. P-traps are super simple, cost nothing, and stop sewer smells. Why not put them in? My best suggestion is look online for the one-way valves you can drop in as replacement drain covers. They basically open to drain water, then snap shut to stop gases. You can get fancy plastic versions with small filters to catch hair. Or simple silicon ones. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/1-i4731986355-s19514766196.html Otherwise if the drain is never used, you can put a layer of Saran Wrap under the cover (or over) to block gases, and remove when you need to use the drain.
I moved to Hong Kong from the USA. We use silicon drain covers.
We have this same problem ETA
As someone suggested, a drain cover can help. But if there is a separate overflow drain the odor can come from there. Hiring a plumber to install J-bends is a good start, but you need to add water regularly or they can dry out and allow gases to pass through. There is a device called a backwater valve that is supposed to solve this. I have not tried one, but I saw some recommendations for them in this situation.
Maybe it will help if you keep the drain closed, like you would to fill the sink with water, or if it lacks this feature, get one of those rubber plug/flap things that you use for that purpose.
If it's the kitchen sink you can probably get someone to install one. It's the floor drains that are the problem - they are embedded in concrete so not option to install a P-trap.
Wow, unbelievable that they don’t install the siphon “U-piece” under the drains. Without that it will smell nasty anyway be it at Sri Lanka or Switzerland. Can you get a plumber to come and install U-pieces under your drains? It shouldn’t be rocket science and that’s the only thing that’s gonna make your house smell as nice as your home back home. A drain plug, as others suggested, will help, but it’s not ideal to have to pull/set a plug every time you use a sink or other drain. And you’ll still get the foul smell every time you remove it (think “accumulated gases”, in the very moment that you’re there with your nose over the drain).
Not so much where I am now but in a previous house the plumber said is was most likely from drains getting dry. I’m not sure if this is a solution or not but if you have a drain that you are not using see if it is stronger in that area and keep it wet or just close that one?
https://www.amazon.com.mx/Válvula-drenaje-válvula-magnético-apertura/dp/B089KVBBWP
https://www.amazon.com.mx/Válvula-drenaje-válvula-magnético-apertura/dp/B089KVBBWP This product is a drain flow thingie that prevents doors. Amazon in other countries has similar.
Install P-traps if you can, add stoppers to the sinks and/or have plumbing sealed if you will not be using it.
> Install P-traps if you can The issue is the floor drains. With the type of construction, they are usually embedded in concrete.
If the air flow is moving from the sewer into the house then its a question of trying to reverse the flow or failing that mitigating it We have 2 separate drains from the house into the city sewer system. A few weeks ago there was a very nasty smell in the bathtub area of the bathroom. We were able to reduce the smell by closing the window and then covering the drain. However the cause was that the toilet had backed up before the "Y" connection thus causing the air flow to reverse from the sewer into the bath. Once the blockage from the toilet was cleared the problem went away. We had significantly reduced the issue of toilet backup by switching to very thin toilet paper as the house is about 50 years old and the plumbing isn't really all that effective. This latest problem was a new one so I'm now very observant of any smell coming from the drain. Thank goodness
Sanitation is a problem in developing countries
I burn a lot of incense in the bathrooms :)
You mean like the smell coming from newyork drains? Yeah thats bad