My apartment building has unvented sewer lines, apparently common here in the Philippines, and many times when I take a shower, the sewer gas comes up from the drain. I open a window to try to help with the smell, but I am wondering if the gas, which smells terrible of course, could be harmful to my health in some way.
Thanks
This guy http://www.bsu.edu/web/IEN/archives/2002/022802.htm doesn’t seem to think it is a problem. However, that doesn’t mean it is pleasant to smell either. Here’s something you could try. Plug, the tub while you are taking your shower. Then, release the plug and close the bathroom door when you are finished (and open the window). On the other hand you could try concentrating the methane from the sewer gas and using it as an alternative energy source. Seriously, maybe you could investigate how much it would cost to install sewer vent covers. Perhaps, a large number of people would be willing to “chip in” (now if you could collect the vapors AT the sewer vent and concentrate them… well that could be some real potential energy).
Also, you might consider installing a window fan in your restroom to expedite the gas departing.
As for not being oxygen, no, it’s not good to breathe - you could suffocate if it displaced enough oxygen from the space you’re in.
I don’t believe it’s particularly poisonous. It’s just stinky, but in sufficient quantity, the methane component of sewer gas could be explosive.