I've moved to the United Arab Emirates
and have been having a rather unsettling experience.

We have a very nice three bedroom apartment in a smallish apartment building with eight flats in it. All is great with it, except for one thing- the master bathroom smells horrible.

I've put chlorine in all the drains, I've scrubbed and flushed the toilet a dozen times, but still the reek remains. I think I've finally figured it out: the gasses are bubbling up through the toilet trap, probably because of a bad vent pipe.

So my bathroom is haunted by the invisible ghosts of past meals of my neighborhood...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 14 Sep 2012, 6:09, 5 replies)

Try a beach-block in the cystern?
If the gas bubbles up through bleach each time then it may filter out some of the smell.

If you can't get it fixed properly, of course.
( Ugi , it's a game of give and cake, Fri 14 Sep 2012, 10:36, closed)

I don't have access to the cistern.
The plumbing in this place is interesting. They pump desalinated water into a vault under the building, which is then pumped to a tank on the roof and gravity feeds to the apartments. Each bathroom has its own tank type water heater hanging up near the ceiling. During the summer if you want hot water you turn on the cold tap to take it from the roof, and for cold water you use the hot tap to take it from the tank in your air conditioned apartment.

I think I have it resolved. I took the lid off of the tank and adjusted the float to fill it with more water, to flush it more thoroughly. That seems to have been effective- I did it a few days back and the stench has gone. Who knew that an exorcism only needed a bit of extra water and some liquid bleach?
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Sat 15 Sep 2012, 6:59, closed)

Why UAE?

( Snollock Biffer I don't really sniff Bollocks, Sat 15 Sep 2012, 20:05, closed)

Work.
My wife got a job over here teaching at UAE University. They pay increase was huge (about double what she was getting at home), so we signed up for a four year contract, with the possibility of staying beyond that.

I can get a graduate degree here for far less than in the US, and the quality is equivalent or better.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Sun 16 Sep 2012, 9:42, closed)

Cool
Best of luck to you both!
( Snollock Biffer I don't really sniff Bollocks, Tue 18 Sep 2012, 22:22, closed)