We are on a septic tank and we are getting a "sewer" smell from our master bathroom shower drain. Fix??

Answer 1

Does the shower have a trap in the drain line. If it does is it installed correctly. The purpose of the trap is to hold some water so that odors do not come back through the drain pipes. If you don't use this shower maybe the trap has dried out, if so run the shower for a bit to fill the trap back up.

Answer 2

The answers concerning the septic tank are good answers and its never a bad idea to service the septic system, but the shower wouldn't smell because of a septic problem. I have had several cases where the master shower was infrequently used. If the trap is installed properly, it will hold water in the pipe, preventing any methane gas from coming up through the drain. The shower has to be used to keep the trap full, or the water will evaporate. Another solution could be a blocked vent. The gas in the pipes has to escape somehow. If water is run somewhere else and the gas can't escape through the vent, it will force a bubble up through the shower drain. You can usually hear the gurggle. This could be as simple as a birds nest in the pipe coming through the roof. I've found pieces of shingles, leaves, a dead bird, and wasps nests blocking plumbing vents. The warm smelly air attracts critters in cooler weather. Check these easy fixes before you tear any holes in the walls.

Answer 3

Sewer smells in the home come from one thing an improper seal somewhere allowing the gases to escape from the line. this can be in the form of a cracked or damaged p-trap a damaged toilet wax ring or a cracked vent.
P-traps hold water in them to form a "seal" so the gas cannot escape. putting anything down the drain will not solve this. unless the shower is not use and the water in the trap has evaporated..mine does the same thing in my spare room because we do not use the shower. when I smell it I just run the water a bit and it goes away.

Answer 4

The septic company who installed my septic tank in the back yard comes every month and inspects it and puts chlorine tablets down the hole and checks the aeriator. They put in new filters and check out the whole system for $170 a year. If I have any problems, all I have to do is call them.
Maybe you should contract with a septic tank company.
Maybe you need new filters put on.

Answer 5

It could be that the tank is full.

But it may not be from the septic tank; some homes have a system installed to purify their well water. It uses solar salt to take some of the iron out of the water.

It could be that you have that system & when the salt is running low, you start to get a "foul" odor in the shower, mostly. You have to check the salt level once in a while to prevent that odor from happening.

Answer 6

I would definitely get some rid x and pour it down the toilet to start with. That in itself could clear up the problem before having to call someone to come out to fix it. If the rid x doesn't do the job, you'll have to call a septic tank cleaner company to come fix it. ;(

Answer 7

Lots of good answers. I'll just add, check that the vent pipe to your roof isn't clogged. Bees and rodents love to make nests in them. If the sewer gas can't come out of there. it will enter your home.

Answer 8

One thing for sure is that if previous reply's don't work you need to make sure that the trap on the shower drain is not leaking, that can allow harmful gasses into your house.

Answer 9

your septic tank probably needs to be empty.we had the same thing and that what it was turned out our place was from the 70s and never was empty.it was not that exspensive i quess it depends how big your septic is.

Answer 10

Check to make sure that your vent isn't clogged.