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Bad smell in apartment

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  1. #11

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    I've stayed in apartments in Tianjin and Shenzhen where u-traps were not installed to cut costs , I believe this is quite common practice in new developments accross the border.

    I would hope that HK building standards would not allow this to happen but you never know.


  2. #12

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    FYI, cooking oil will go rancid...

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  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stoob:
    I would hope that HK building standards would not allow this to happen but you never know.
    I believe that this happens more often than not in Hong Kong SAR

  4. #14

    Coastal Skyline - Septic tank smell coming from under the kitchen sink

    Quote Originally Posted by bsc1280:
    Hi,

    I just moved to Coastal skyline in Tung Chung. When I visited the apartment, I was told that the smell is due to the apartment being kept closed for a while.

    Now that I have moved and the apartment is absolutely clean, i still have this weird kind of smell (can not describe it) which comes from bathrooms and the kitchen. whereever we have a drainage I guess. The drains are not blocked. the smell comes and goes away in intervals.

    its driving me crazu having to smell this whenver I enter my apartment.
    has anyone else experienced this? Any solutions? Any shop/service to help this? I can not bear it any more. Would calling up management office in coastal skyline help (i personally doubt it).

    thanks for the help.
    So i am not the only one who has this problem, I see.
    Any luck on how you solved this problem? Where in Coastal Skyline do you live? Which Block and Floor? I also live in Coastal Skyline, Block 2. The smell is just infuriating! Did you report it to the Management?

    Will wait for your answer.

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by kyliedee:
    So i am not the only one who has this problem, I see.
    Any luck on how you solved this problem? Where in Coastal Skyline do you live? Which Block and Floor? I also live in Coastal Skyline, Block 2. The smell is just infuriating! Did you report it to the Management?

    Will wait for your answer.
    In the kitchen in CS, there's a drain grid on the wall that leads to a U drain. Normally used to drain water from washing the floor. Pour about 3 litres of water with bleach into the drain to fill the U tube. Smell will disappear until the drain dries again (about 5 months).

    The drain is in different places for different layouts.
    Football16 likes this.

  6. #16

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    The smell in your house is sewer gas. Homes in North America by municipal building code requires vent pipes to be installed in all buildings with sewage systems. In HK as in the mainland, there is no requirement that the vent pipes be piped outdoors, to save money in lieu of running pipes 100 floors up, builders simply vent the sewage gas back into the occupied space.

    Those little drain plates in the floors are vents, what comes out of them are the stench from the rotting sewage gas and whatever other chemicals are in the pipes.

    The best thing to prevent the gas from backing up into your apartment is to either tape off the hole or get a piece of rubber about the same size as the drain plate, apply some silicone sealant or gasket material, place the rubber piece underneath the drain plate and reinstall the screws.

    The smell will no longer backup into your unit, besides smelling bad, sewage gas is bad for your health...

    Drain-waste-vent system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    http://www.askthebuilder.com/Vent_Pipe_Video.shtml


  7. #17

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    Hey! You're welcome.


  8. #18

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    Hey! You're welcome.


  9. #19
    Original Post Deleted
    Hey there! Several questions here: Did you try the bleach and water solution to obliterate the smell? Did it work? Where exactly in the kitchen wall is the U trap? I live in CS flat H.

    Answers would be greatly appreciated. I can't stand the smell anymore. Thanks

  10. #20

    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by DavidTC:
    In the kitchen in CS, there's a drain grid on the wall that leads to a U drain. Normally used to drain water from washing the floor. Pour about 3 litres of water with bleach into the drain to fill the U tube. Smell will disappear until the drain dries again (about 5 months).

    The drain is in different places for different layouts.

    I have such a grid in kitchen and the bathroom - not a smell issue.

    This solution makes sense. I will do it from time to time too just as a precaution.

    Smart guy, David TC.