Unpleasant Odour from Shower Drain

phater phagan

Hi guys. There is an unpleasant odour from the drain in my shower. It's never used, as I have a second bathroom and use that one. I poured a bottle of Mr. Muscle odour remover, and then some bathroom bleach, but it doesn't seem to help. Any ideas please?

flossy1

put a sink stopper in it for a cheap fix

iamwhoiam

We get it too when we have high winds . We have discovered that if we pour a bucket of water down it seems to take rhe smell with it . Something to do with drying out of the pipe work
I pour water then use a wet wipe over the outlet when the wind is high

frankythefish

Run hot water for period. Might clear it, it maybe being dead mouse or someit

Latro

It smells because as you mention it is never used.
There should be water in the trap that stops any odor from waste pipe system being pushed up. You don't use it so the water dries out eventually and let the smell into the bathroom. Pour some water into it occasionally.

phater phagan

Thanks for your comments. I'll try all those recommendations. I also am going to have a plumber over for another job that I just discovered that I needed done. Lots of housing constructions going on here at the moment - so I'm not sure if getting one will be as easy as it was a year or so ago.

An Ri rua

Small drop of white vinegar once a week or whenever you smell it. As another poster said, run the water.

sami2015

Other posters have probably nailed it in saying that you can solve the problem by pouring water down it to fill the water trap.



As an aside the water can dry out... but it can also be "sucked" out of the trap if the shower is connected into the sewer pipe from the toilet.... essentially a negative pressure is created once the waste moves after flushing the toilet and this can cause a % of the water to be removed each time the toilet is flushed. This can accelerate the process of lack of water in the trap and thus the bad smell you experience.

phater phagan

I'm back again guys. I've tried everything; baking soda and vinegar; running water for 15 minutes; Mr. Muscle etc, but I think it's a more serious problem than I imagined, because the bad smell keeps coming back. Do ye think I should have a drain blockage company look at it? There is one in the area but I'm not sure if they do domestic problems or larger sewage stuff.

sami2015

Hi Phater,
is there water in the trap?
=> If not there should be (since the traps rely on having water in them to stop the gases coming back up from the public sewer).

=> If there is then there is either not enough (some traps have holes/slots which need to be covered, some have an bend which must be fully full to seal properly) or the smell is coming in somewhere else....

Day Lewin

It is just possible that a clump of decomposing hair/bodily scrapings has blocked the drain at some place:

have you tried the simple method of poking a wire (with the end bent into a hook) down the drain hole, and fishing around/tugging upwards? (I always use bent hairpins, opened paperclips, or florists wire)

Also, have you looked at gulleys and soil drains outside the house? (I mean, to make sure if this is the only blockage...)

K.Flyer

More often than not when I hear of these problems I find that the inner sleeve is missing from the trap.
This forms an integral part of the trap as it has an O ring to create a seal at the top as well as sitting below the water line to prevent gases escaping.
Have you checked if the sleeve is in place and that the O ring is in good condition.
Otherwise there may be a hairline fracture causing the problem.
Btw, you are wasting your time and money with most of those products.

phater phagan

Thanks for all the great responses. My neighbour tells me that he has the same problem and so a drain company will be coming to look at the main drain where the problem seems to be originating. So hopefully that will solve it.