# Shower odor



## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

I've got a customer who's shower smells of sewer odor "only" when they run the water. I went out and pulled the grate off of the drain. The trap was full, and the pipe had some slime/soap build-up on it which I scrubbed down to clean. The drain is not stopped up or slow draining and is clear of hair etc. I poured roughly a quart of bleach down the drain and told him to let that set for a few hours to kill off any bacteria etc that might be in the pipe. The drain piping is ABS. The home is 15+ years old.

Anyway .. that was 10 days ago .. and the property manager sent me an email that the smell is back ? Any idea's are Greatly Appreciated !


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> I've got a customer who's shower smells of sewer odor "only" when they run the water. I went out and pulled the grate off of the drain. The trap was full, and the pipe had some slime/soap build-up on it which I scrubbed down to clean. The drain is not stopped up or slow draining and is clear of hair etc. I poured roughly a quart of bleach down the drain and told him to let that set for a few hours to kill off any bacteria etc that might be in the pipe. The drain piping is ABS. The home is 15+ years old.
> 
> Anyway .. that was 10 days ago .. and the property manager sent me an email that the smell is back ? Any idea's are Greatly Appreciated !


Shower on slab??


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## Big cheez (Jan 11, 2012)

OldPlumber said:


> I've got a customer who's shower smells of sewer odor "only" when they run the water. I went out and pulled the grate off of the drain. The trap was full, and the pipe had some slime/soap build-up on it which I scrubbed down to clean. The drain is not stopped up or slow draining and is clear of hair etc. I poured roughly a quart of bleach down the drain and told him to let that set for a few hours to kill off any bacteria etc that might be in the pipe. The drain piping is ABS. The home is 15+ years old.
> 
> Anyway .. that was 10 days ago .. and the property manager sent me an email that the smell is back ? Any idea's are Greatly Appreciated !


Smoke test


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## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

Do a smoke test like suggested , if you find that there isn't a sewer gas leak then I would start checking the walls and see if you have mold and if its a slab shower pan liner I would suspect the shower pan .


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Yes .. it is a shower on slab. The only time you smell it is when you run the water, and the odor is coming from the drain opening directly. In other words it isn't filling the bathroom with odor .. it is the drain itself ? Home is single story.


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## love2surf927 (Dec 22, 2011)

Are they brushing their teeth in the shower, does it smell like a lav drain?


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## Big cheez (Jan 11, 2012)

OldPlumber said:


> Yes .. it is a shower on slab. The only time you smell it is when you run the water, and the odor is coming from the drain opening directly. In other words it isn't filling the bathroom with odor .. it is the drain itself ? Home is single story.


I would check the vent or maybe the drain is not trapped properly or there's a break in the pipe...I still would start with a smoke test...you can make your own with an exhaust vent for a restroom...


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Are they brushing their teeth in the shower, does it smell like a lav drain?

Too Funny ! The odor is coming Directly out of the drain and it's sewer gas. The walls are cultured marble with a fiberglass pan.


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> Yes .. it is a shower on slab. The only time you smell it is when you run the water, and the odor is coming from the drain opening directly. In other words it isn't filling the bathroom with odor .. it is the drain itself ? Home is single story.


Now the next question, what kind of shower base?


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

I would check the vent or maybe the drain is not trapped properly or there's a break in the pipe...I still would start with a smoke test...you can make your own with an exhaust vent for a restroom...

If it were a broken vent pipe etc, it seems to me that the odor would be filling the whole bathroom all of the time ? This odor Only shows up when the water in the shower is run and it's coming directly out of the drain itself. Plus I check the trap, which is holding water fine (It had been 6 hours since being used when I initially went out to the home).


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Now the next question, what kind of shower base?

Fiberglass, with cultured marble walls and glass door.


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> Now the next question, what kind of shower base?
> 
> Fiberglass, with cultured marble walls and glass door.


Since u said it draining properly... but did u rod it?


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Uh Duh .. no !! Ok, so after I do what I should have done in the 1st place ! God .. talk about a Brain Fart !!!!!!!!! Thanks for getting me to remove my head out of my ^ss !

I'll go back and do that .. along with a bottle brush and some comet And some more bleach to see if that resolves the problem.

I didn't even drink the night before ! Old Timers setting in !!!!! @#$%!


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> Uh Duh .. no !! Ok, so after I do what I should have done in the 1st place ! God .. talk about a Brain Fart !!!!!!!!! Thanks for getting me to remove my head out of my ^ss !
> 
> I'll go back and do that .. along with a bottle brush and some comet And some more bleach to see if that resolves the problem.
> 
> I didn't even drink the night before ! Old Timers setting in !!!!! Sh!t !


Hold on... do u know what the capicity of water volume of a 2" trap and a 4" trap?


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## Olemissplumber (Dec 7, 2012)

If its a tile shower the pan could be laid flat causing water to stand below the tile. Heat from the shower stirs the stink up. 

Could the hot water heater have bacteria and the steam creates a smell?

Homeowner leaving soured towels in the bathroom and steam enhances the stink.


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Hold on... do u know what the capicity of water volume of a 2" trap and a 4" trap?

the 1st one is 1/2 as much :whistling2:


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> Hold on... do u know what the capicity of water volume of a 2" trap and a 4" trap?
> 
> the 1st one is 1/2 as much :whistling2:


I have a reason for asking


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

If its a tile shower the pan could be laid flat causing water to stand below the tile. Heat from the shower stirs the stink up. 

Could the hot water heater have bacteria and the steam creates a smell?

Homeowner leaving soured towels in the bathroom and steam enhances the stink.

It's a fiberglass pan. I would think if the W/H had that problem it would give the rotten egg smell at each fixture. They didn't have any towels inside the shower enclosure.


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

I have a reason for asking.

I figured you were having some fun with my old timers moment. Since you weren't .. are you asking because there's a chance that the water in the trap is below the weir, allowing sewer odor to come back ?


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> I have a reason for asking.
> 
> I figured you were having some fun with my old timers moment. Since you weren't .. are you asking because there's a chance that the water in the trap is below the weir, allowing sewer odor to come back ?


Back then, how do the cheater connect the 2" into 4" p trap on slab??


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Back then, how do the cheater connect the 2" into 4" p trap on slab??

Ok .. you've lost me ? What is your question ?


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> Back then, how do the cheater connect the 2" into 4" p trap on slab??
> 
> Ok .. you've lost me ? What is your question ?


Is the trap 2" or 4"


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

2" abs


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> 2" abs


 For sure???? How do u know??


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Olemissplumber said:


> Could the hot water heater have bacteria and the steam creates a smell?


Redwood throws a tall stack of chips on SRB....


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

:blink: Just a wild ass guess


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> :blink: Just a wild ass guess


Which why I'm asking the water volume of the trap size...


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## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

OldPlumber said:


> Hold on... do u know what the capicity of water volume of a 2" trap and a 4" trap?
> 
> the 1st one is 1/2 as much :whistling2:


A 2" trap CAN NOT handle half of what a 4" trap can handle.


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

Due to not knowing the layout of the home.

Could the wm be sucking the water out of the trap of the shower? partial stoppage with vent
Is the kitchen sink tied together with the shower sucking water form the trap
Same consideration from the toilet flushing drawing the water out of the trap.
Does your area wet vent fixtures or dry vent each fixture?
Cracked trap and you arrive after someone takes a shower?

They could have drain issues and to is sucking the trap dry
I've had full septic's with bad drain fields with wet venting where the toilet is flushed and draws the water from the shower trap.

Have someone run the drains while you watch the shower trap.


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

justme said:


> A 2" trap CAN NOT handle half of what a 4" trap can handle.


Yeap...but that's not what I'm looking for...


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Richard Hilliard said:


> Due to not knowing the layout of the home.
> 
> Could the wm be sucking the water out of the trap of the shower? partial stoppage with vent
> Is the kitchen sink tied together with the shower sucking water form the trap
> ...


Can happens... but not in this case, I'm pretty sure I know what the problem.. but needs more answer to my questions..


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

rjbphd said:


> Can happens... but not in this case, I'm pretty sure I know what the problem.. but needs more answer to my questions..


 
spit it out and tell us what you know the problem is.


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

ok .. I'll bite one more time. What does this have to do with a sewer odor coming up from the drain ? The volume of water coming out of the shower head is less than what the drain can handle. So what is Your point ?


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Everyone seems to be making a much larger problem here than what is actually going on. 

When you turn the shower valve on, there is sewer odor coming out of the drain. It isn't the case of a dry trap, some other fixture sucking the trap dry etc etc etc.

I did Not run a cable down the drain when I was out there because the drain was not slow in any way shape or form. There Was residue inside the pipe that I cleaned as good as possible and then put bleach in the line and had them not run the shower for several hours.

I was hoping that someone else had run into this situation and had a resolution that I hadn't thought of.

In over 36yrs of doing this I've never seen a residential home with a shower drain being 4" so I for the life of me can not figure out what or where that line of question is coming from or going. If you have an answer .. that would be Greatly Appreciated .. if not, that's ok too.


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> ok .. I'll bite one more time. What does this have to do with a sewer odor coming up from the drain ? The volume of water coming out of the shower head is less than what the drain can handle. So what is Your point ?


Caught a few of these... when installing shower base drain on slab with 4" trap ( thanks to one of backazzward Illinois plumbing code).. the 2" drain shower drain telescoping inside the 4" pipe, leaving it unsealed.. so when the drain is partilly plugged.. waste will bleed out into the ground under the base, hence, stink heaven when being used every time. 
Same damn thing with floor mop sink..


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> Everyone seems to be making a much larger problem here than what is actually going on.
> 
> When you turn the shower valve on, there is sewer odor coming out of the drain. It isn't the case of a dry trap, some other fixture sucking the trap dry etc etc etc.
> 
> ...


Which state you live in??


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Ok now I see where you're going with this. That's not the issue here. The riser, trap and piping are all 2" ABS glue joints. This shower was original with the home and not part of a remodel.

Sorry for the confusion on my part .. I thought you were being a smart azz :no:.


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Arizona


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> Ok now I see where you're going with this. That's not the issue here. The riser, trap and piping are all 2" ABS glue joints. This shower was original with the home and not part of a remodel.
> 
> Sorry for the confusion on my part .. I thought you were being a smart azz :no:.


That's make more harder to figure out.. now, if you rod it and the smell goes away, then you have a cracked/broken or pipe was apart after all these years.
To a certain fews here, I have to be a smartazz..


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Thanks for everyone's replies .. I'll let everyone know what happens after I go back out.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Redwood doubles his stack on SRB...
Pondering all in...


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

OleMiss made the post . . . SRB???


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Phat Cat said:


> OleMiss made the post . . . SRB???


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur-reducing_bacteria


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

Thank you! When you highlighted hot water and steam, Legionella bacteria came to mind. Though odor would not be present.

Is SRB a common acronym?

BTW, not bad for a 'Google' plumber Red. lol


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## victoryplbaz (May 19, 2012)

You might have a leak at the shower drain. The puddy may have dried out and is letting water build up causing it.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Phat Cat said:


> Thank you! When you highlighted hot water and steam, Legionella bacteria came to mind. Though odor would not be present.
> 
> Is SRB a common acronym?
> 
> BTW, not bad for a 'Google' plumber Red. lol


I don't know if it is common but it sure can make a nasty stinkin shower...

The trap dry and swamp water in the pan certainly are not factors when water is going down the drain, a improperly terminated vent would probably be noticed at other times as well...


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

The latest update. I'm being completely honest so others can learn from how I handled this call. In post #11 I said the shower pan was fiberglass. It's not .. it is cultured marble just like the rest of the enclosure. Had I taken just a minute or two to be more observant I would have noticed that AND I would have noticed that water was pooling under it. I went back out this morning .. took 1 look at it and thought .. well dip sh!t, try pressing on it around the drain and see if water comes out from under the cultured marble ! Not only did I get a small wave of water from underneath .. the smell about knocked me out ! Problem found !!!!

Lesson I learned from this. Slow down and take an extra couple of minutes to make sure you completely understand the situation you're trying to solve, it'll can save you (and others Thank You Very Much !) quite a bit of time overall. Being in a hurry doesn't mean you're making more money !!!!!!!!!!!!


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

OldPlumber said:


> The latest update. I'm being completely honest so others can learn from how I handled this call. In post #11 I said the shower pan was fiberglass. It's not .. it is cultured marble just like the rest of the enclosure. Had I taken just a minute or two to be more observant I would have noticed that AND I would have noticed that water was pooling under it. I went back out this morning .. took 1 look at it and thought .. well dip sh!t, try pressing on it around the drain and see if water comes out from under the cultured marble ! Not only did I get a small wave of water from underneath .. the smell about knocked me out ! Problem found !!!!
> 
> Lesson I learned from this. Slow down and take an extra couple of minutes to make sure you completely understand the situation you're trying to solve, it'll can save you (and others Thank You Very Much !) quite a bit of time overall. Being in a hurry doesn't mean you're making more money !!!!!!!!!!!!


Glad you came back here with what u found before passing out from the smell... what you descrided is about the same problems I have with those damn drop in plastic tub liner by those so called expert remodeling ripoff.. yet our backazzward state codes allow them.


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Not a problem, I wanted everyone to learn from my mistake and hopefully it'll save someone some time down the road .. AND .. I wanted to come back and Thank Everyone for their thoughts and ideas ! :thumbup:


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

OldPlumber said:


> Not a problem, I wanted everyone to learn from my mistake and hopefully it'll save someone some time down the road .. AND .. I wanted to come back and Thank Everyone for their thoughts and ideas ! :thumbup:


 Congratulations! You're human. Welcome to the club. :thumbup:

I've never met a perfect plumber. If one tells you that they are, they're lying. :yes:


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## SlowDrains (Mar 25, 2013)

Phat Cat said:


> Congratulations! You're human. Welcome to the club. :thumbup:
> 
> I've never met a perfect plumber. If one tells you that they are, they're lying. :yes:


A lot of them think they are it's definitely a trade with a lot of cocky people in it


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

SlowDrains said:


> A lot of them think they are it's definitely a trade with a lot of cocky people in it


Really? I hadn't noticed. 

I wonder if it's the methane fumes? :laughing:


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## theplumbinator (Sep 6, 2012)

I bet the homeowner pissed in the shower also im sure that added to the awesome smell that came out from under the cracked pan. But I will say yeah many plumbers are cocky, but sometimes when dealing with a head scratcher problem its nice to get a second set of experienced eyes on the problem.cocky or not ::laughing::


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## victoryplbaz (May 19, 2012)

Nothing wrong with admitting a mistake. I made one today and my son caught me on it....He thought he was someone.... But he still cant snatch the pipe wrench from the masters hand!


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Congratulations! You're human. Welcome to the club. :thumbup:

I've never met a perfect plumber. If one tells you that they are, they're lying. :yes:

Thanks .. there's times where you gotta wonder :whistling2:

I've met a few of those who think their stuff doesn't stink .. but we all know better :no:


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

I bet the homeowner pissed in the shower also im sure that added to the awesome smell that came out from under the cracked pan.

Doesn't Everybody :whistling2: ?


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## OldPlumber (Aug 4, 2008)

Nothing wrong with admitting a mistake. I made one today and my son caught me on it....He thought he was someone.... But he still cant snatch the pipe wrench from the masters hand!

:laughing: At least your son wants to work with you in the trade. Out of 5, I don't have 1 that is interested in taking over the Business. They've seen what it takes and decided there's got to be a better way. I can't say that I argue with that .. this Profession will tear up your body pretty good.

You do know we're in the same neighborhood ? Well, next door at least.


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