How can I eliminate odor coming from walk-in shower drain? It may be a clog build-up!?

Question

I've noticed a small amount of water does not drain from the shower after use, and I smelled an odor today. When I removed the iron cover to take a look, I pulled quite a bit of hair from the drain. I've only been here a few months, so I'm not sure if it's my hair, or from the previous tenants. I'm sure the odor is possibly due to some type of clog preventing the water from completely draining, and the stagnate water is now smelling? Also, the floor of the shower is never filled with water, so I'm sure the majority is draining ok. Thanks.

Is it normal for a little bit of water to be visible when looking in the drain, or should it be completely drained. I've always had a tub and shower in one...not a walk in shower.

Answer 1

Under the shower floor is a p trap that holds water to keep out sewer gasses and vermin, bugs, etc. So you will always see water. it is normal. If there is no water in the trap you will get the odor from the sewer gasses, easily fixed by running the shower for a few seconds to fill the p trap.If you have a clog the best thing to do is to go to a home store such as home depot and purchase a small inexpensive drain snake. Don't bother with chemicals. they don't really work and they can be dangerous to you and a plumber if it turns out for the worst. Depending on a number of things the smell could be coming from the shower floor itself. Under your tile there is most likely a shower pan that was installed before your floor was sloped and the tile was laid. The purpose of the pan is to make sure that any water that seeps through the tile floor does not go into living space and cause mold, water damage, etc. Until recently they are installed on a flat floor and the water can collect and sit under the tile floor even when it looks bone dry. The county I work in now requires that the shower floors be sloped before the pan is put in to let the water flow towards the drain instead of sitting in a flat pan with no direction to go. The water evaporating out of a flat pan can cause odor, and other problems like caulk molding, and peeling out from the cracks even when the shower is dry for long periods of time. About the only way to really cure this is to rip the floor out and start over. Sloping the floor before the pan is installed. Sorry if this is bad news. Just be glad you don't own the place! good luck!

Answer 2

Body oils and bath products containing oils collect on the inside of drains and begin to smell unpleasant. The hair sticks to the body oils and will eventually clog the drain over time. I suspect it to be from previous tenants because it takes more than a few months to accumulate unless you have long hair or are particularly hairy. Take a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar and pour it down the drain. Let it sit in the drain and follow it with hot water. It will remove the body oils that have stuck to the sides of the pipe and remove the odor. It doesn't hurt the pipes, the plumbing and doesn't affect sewer or septic tanks either. Actually, your landlord should have had the traps and drains cleared before you rented.

PS I just looked into my walk in shower stall and can see no water under the drain plate.

Answer 3

That's the reason shower drains clog - it's usually a hair and soap curd clog. Normally, there is a strainer over the drain. You'll want to remove that. Then use a dose of Crystal Drano. Crystal Drano heats up when it hits water. Down by the trap, the water will be almost to the boiling point, and the water will be *churning*. One of the ingredients in Crystal Drano happens to be sharp shards of aluminum. Aluminum is too soft to hurt metal drains, but boy, it sure does a number on that hair and those soap curds. If that doesn't work, do NOT repeat. The water is already very alkaline, and so it won't heat up the second time like it did the first. At this point, you need to get a snake from the hardware store. The bacteria in your drains forms a matrice that covers the smooth walls of your pipe, and that's how how clogs get a foothold. If you dump a lot of *scalding* hot water down every drain in your house, every week, you're not likely to ever get a clog, because you will kill all the bacteria off. That's the reason for that old advertising slogan, "Once every week, Drano in every drain." Crystal Drano heats the water up to scalding and kills the bacteria. (When they first introduced that slogan, Crystal Drano was all they had. Liquid Drano came later.) You can do the same thing for less money and less damage to the environment if you simply carry a big pan of scalding hot water from the kitchen range to each drain. Or you can simply use Crystal Drano, for the convenience.

Answer 4

Walk In Shower Drain

Answer 5

If the shower has not been used in several days, the water in the trap below could have evaporated, leaving you with a sewer smell in your shower. Turn on the water for 10 sec and this should fix the problem.

Answer 6

My Mr. puts lime down the drains. I talked to him before why he does this and he says it helps clean out the drains....

Answer 7

you must have water in the s bend or the smells of the sewer will rise from the sewer.
pool chlorine, kilo of salt, draino, bleach will all kill bacteria which will be causeing the smell

Answer 8

pour bleach down the drain once a week

Answer 9

You can try salt, baking soda & vinegar first. If that doesn't work buy a commercial drain cleaner.

Answer 10

Fix it or have it fixed.Pore some bleach down there or baking soda for the smell.Try draino first for the clog.Keep away from pets.