Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

You know it. It's the sewage smell you get when you're walking down the street. Only - now it's in my apartment! And it's *overpowering*. And it's only in one corner. I've smelled it in other people's apartments, but never mine, and it's infuriating - you never get used to it!

What is it?! The pipes? How come I can only smell it in one area? And do you have any tips for getting rid of it? Febreze works for about 1 minute.

My apartment is cleaner than it's ever been so I'm guessing it just has something to do with the summer/rainy season. Le sigh!

[Janny]

I'd bet that it's coming up through the drains. Is there a drain in that one pungent area?

In any case, cover all your drains: kitchen, bathroom sink, shower...

I used saran wrap, then a bowl over my drains in my last place. It made a big difference. God that place reeked.

If that doesn't help, then it's coming from outside. I assume you've got your windows closed...walk around outside and try to figure it out. Or maybe some pipe burst under the skaffolding of your building..? Right near your floor?

Ah the joys of Korean living!

[Louis VI]

In some ways it's more of a 1st World country, in some ways 3rd World. Koreans put up with the *beep*.

[Serseri]

Haha, I just moved into my apartment last night and was thinking the exact same thing. Emptied an entire can of Febreeze in it and it is now bearable.

[robot]

We had the same problem with our (otherwise awesome) villa. The landlords were filty things who lived for 20 years with an unbearably thick raw sewage smell coming from their bathroom that they insisted was "meat smell" from the restaraunt on the first floor. When I checked the place as a prospective renterm, I avoided the bathroom only because I thought someone had taken a huge rancid dump right before we arrived.

Anyway, I attacked the smell hardcore for about a month from various angles, and then it was gone.

Here's what you do:

1. Buy a plastic drain blocker from gmarket.co.kr or some other site, the kind that lets things down but not back up.

2. Get a bottle of silicone and apply it to any holes in your bathroom (or other stinky area). Look especially around your drain and toilet.

3. Bleach your bathroom, just to make sure that it's not mould or anything that's stinking it up. These three steps should help a lot, but we had to go further:

4. Look for holes in the wall and ceiling, and silicone those too. We even had raw sewage smells coming through the smallest of cracks under our bathtub, and I only finally discovered this source of the smell by sticking my nose everywhere in my bathroom. We also had a hole in the sealing at the back of our toilet that let a lot of sewage gas out each time we flushed.

5. Make sure the fan (not sure of the name) that is on the roof and that sucks the sewage smell out of the pipes is working. Ours wasn't.

6. Check that the trap in your toilet, sink, etc. is working correctly. There should also be a trap in the basement. If many people under you are having the same problem, there's likely something wrong downstairs. Also check the water level in your toilet, and make sure it's high enough to create a seal.

This next step is pretty extreme, but:

7. Call a plumber to flush your toilet line. I suspected that there was a problem with the pipes, and the $300 that I spent (no way the landlord would spring for it) is nothing compared to the peace of mind my wife and I now have living in a beautiful place that smells like the hair of a freshly bathed baby swathed in a rose-pedal diaper baking chocolate chip cookies in the rain.

This is the house your house could smell like.

[JustTurtle]

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

Thanks for all of the great advice guys!! Occasionally my drains do smell, but the particular problem I'm having now is actually on the opposite side of my apartment. It's near my window, so I wonder if the smell is coming through there. I will look for holes to seal!

As an aside, robot, your icon is the love of my life.

[ChilgokBlackHole]

[Steelrails]

[young_clinton]

Welcome to the Wide World of Kimchi. Kimchi **** from the sewer, Kimchi ***** from the old people on the buses etc. That smell is everywhere in one form or another.

[young_clinton]

Welcome to the Wide World of Kimchi. Kimchi **** from the sewer, Kimchi ***** from the old people on the buses etc. That smell is everywhere in one form or another.

[The Gipkik]

It's the smell of summer in the big city. Now take a deep breath. Hold it. Ain't that sweet!

[djsmnc]

[Kikomom]