Sewer Smell on ships

[goldenrod]

Did you check you underpants? LOL

 

 

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[cruising cockroach]

HAL's Prinsendam seems to have a nasty smell emanating from the portside midships. Our close-by tablemates (in a suite) repeatedly complained (4* level) and all the crew did was tossed chocolate-covered strawberries their way.

 

Sailed on the Celebrity Millennium for over 2 weeks over a month ago and happy to report no sewage smells. We used the shower regularly so no chance of that drying out. I think we also saw a drying fan being used somewhere but didn't notice any bad smells.

[chengkp75]

HAL's Prinsendam seems to have a nasty smell emanating from the portside midships. Our close-by tablemates (in a suite) repeatedly complained (4* level) and all the crew did was tossed chocolate-covered strawberries their way.

 

Sailed on the Celebrity Millennium for over 2 weeks over a month ago and happy to report no sewage smells. We used the shower regularly so no chance of that drying out. I think we also saw a drying fan being used somewhere but didn't notice any bad smells.

 

The drain that causes the problems is not the shower drain. There will be a drain outside the shower in the bathroom, usually a gutter type at the door, or a small round drain typically hidden under the wall mounted toilet. This drain is to catch overflow from the shower, and does not see water regularly, which is why it dries out.

[Aquahound]

The causes of odors are common between ships and river boats.

 

I will disagree with Brucemuzz about blocked toilets causing smells. Since the toilet system operates on a vacuum, it is a completely closed system, unlike toilets on land that require a vent to operate. Blocked toilets would cause no smell other than at the bowls that are filled with "product" that cannot be flushed. Only when the engineers open the piping system to clear the blockage would any odor escape, and only while they have the lines open. I would also dispute his statement of 20 blockages per day. 2-3 per day is far more common.

 

By far the most common source of "sewer odors" is a dry drain trap.

 

Exactly. On occasion, when I get a whiff of the odor, I fill my ice bucket with water a couple times and pour it down the floor drain in the bathroom. It usually does the trick.

[Jc78]

I pour water in the cabin floor drains when I get on board. I still will notice some toilet smells even though it’s vacuum flush. Maybe they don’t clean them well enough. The common toilets are the worst though and not much you can do. We have on number of occasions experienced toilet flushing problems in port. Imagine that happening many times and smells get absorbed in things and it lingers. 

[shipgeeks]

On 11/1/2017 at 7:47 AM, chengkp75 said:

 

The drain that causes the problems is not the shower drain. There will be a drain outside the shower in the bathroom, usually a gutter type at the door, or a small round drain typically hidden under the wall mounted toilet. This drain is to catch overflow from the shower, and does not see water regularly, which is why it dries out.

Since learning this from Cheng a couple of years ago, I've poured a couple of glasses of tap water into the drain at the start of every cruise, as well as passing the advice along to fellow cruisers when I can. Have never had an odor problem.  But I wonder sometimes if this is included in the checklist of chores for cabin stewards (along with 99 other tasks).