Smelly shower drain

[Dale Slattery]

Hey all - hoping you can help me with a problem in my upstairs bathroom.

In this bathroom there is a shower drain that has a sewer smell (either sewer gas, or some kind of bacteria on the pipes). This drain often gets clogged up and the water drains slowly. So usually when I do this, I remove the block and then all is fine. This time it was a bit more blocked and so I removed all the hair and gunk, and then add a liquid chemical unblocker to further remove deeper blockages. After I did this, the drain was ok for a couple of days but then started to have this terrible smell.

I then tried a few things - vinegar / baking soda, bleach, cleaning products, hot water etc. Nothing seems to make it improve. In the morning after the shower has not been used in a while, it smells the worst. Sometimes there is a gurgle from the sink in the bathroom, so not sure if somehow the two are related.

Any suggestions here team?

 

[Geofd]

We have similar sink drains at work and the issue is the same we take the cover off clean the entire rectangular drain and the smell goes away, you gotta clean everything

 

[Twowaxhack]

Those drains aren’t sanitary, as you’re finding out.

They’re decorative junk.

 

[Twowaxhack]

If your shower pan doesn’t have a pre slope under it, that can also be a source of stink.

 

[Dale Slattery]

Hey thanks for the responses. For sure the drain itself and cover is clean and free of debris, and the shower pan itself has a slope when drains the water into the pipes.

What I have realised is that, if you fill up the bathroom sink and then drain it, you can hear a gurgling from the shower drain. Then the smell comes. So what I think is there is some blockage in the pipe connected with the shower drain, which then results in some pressure that pulls the water out of the bathroom drain p-trap.

Would this be possible? If so any suggestions on the fix?

 

[lbcowan]

On your plumbing from your bathroom, there will be a pipe going outside (usually through the roof) this is an air duct. It allows the plumbing system to pull air from out side allowing the water to flow freely out your drains. If this has been blocked (birds etc) this will hold back your drain water and you will hear that gurgle you speak about, the system is not allowing the drain water to drain freely.
The smell can you see directly under your shower and see the plumbing? Is there a water trap? Is sounds as there may not be. Traps hold water in them and will not allow the smell to feed back to the shower.
Just a suggestion to take into consideration. Hope it helps.

 

[Twowaxhack]

You might have a partially clogged drain or the shower doesn’t have a PTrap.

I found a 4 yr old house last week, no ptrap was installed for the bathtub. Owner would get periodic stinks from that bathroom.