If you’ve been following our blog for awhile, you know there are plenty of areas homeowners need to be mindful of when it comes to residential plumbing. Whether that be the water heater, sewer line, faucets, garbage disposal or anything else, having a thorough understanding of when something isn’t working correctly is an invaluable skill. This week on the blog, we’re going to take a look at an issue that sometimes leaves homeowners scratching their head, as they attempt to investigate what may be wrong! That issue is a smelly shower!
For anyone who is stopping by our blog for the first time, Stine-Nichols Plumbing is a full-service plumbing contractor based out of North Kansas City, MO. From residential and commercial to new construction, we take pride in providing reliable and affordable services to our clients here in the Kansas City area. With that all being said, let’s take a look at what may be causing your shower to stink and what you should do to fix it!
Possible Causes
Like with most plumbing problems, there’s likely going to be a couple of different areas you’ll want to consider. Luckily, the smelly shower usually isn’t too difficult to troubleshoot and eventually arrive at the true culprit.
Clogs
Anytime you’re dealing with a drain, whether that be a sink drain or shower drain, a clog should always be considered as a possible problem. An easy sign of this would be a shower that drains slower than normal. It’s not hard to see either why this could produce a not so pleasant smell, as the grime starts to build up. For a shower drain, most of your clogs will likely be tied to hair, soap scum, dirt or any other smaller items.
P-Trap
If your shower drains at a normal speed, but you still have a stench coming from it, this next point might answer your questions. For starters, most of this can be connected to the P-Trap. You might not have known the term for it, but a P-trap can be defined as a “U-shaped piece of pipe.” If you have ever looked in the cabinets below your kitchen or bathroom sink, you’ve likely seen it first-hand. The P-Trap connects the shower drain to the main plumbing stack.
To provide a definition of a P-Trap, let’s take a look at the one provided by ThePlumbingInfo.com. They define it as “a device that keeps a small amount of liquid every time the fixture is used. The amount of retained liquid is called a trap seal. This trap seal prevents sewage system odors, gases, and vermin (mice, insects, etc.) from entering the living or work space.” Long story short, the funky smell you’ve been noticing could be sewer gases. This is a direct result of something going wrong with your P-Trap. It could be a dirty P-Trap, dry P-Trap, sewer back-up or even something with the vent stack itself.
Biofilm
Have you ever heard of biofilm? Chances are you’ve probably come across it at some point in your life. LiveScience defines biofilm as a “collective of one or more types of microorganisms that can grow on many different surfaces. Microorganisms that form biofilms include bacteria, fungi and protists.” To sum it up, biofilm is not a pretty sight and is something that’s not entirely uncommon when it comes to shower drains. It will likely give off a rotten egg smell when the buildup gets significant enough. The best way to prevent this bacterial buildup from occurring in the future is to conduct regular maintenance and eliminate any buildup once you notice it!
Mold
Our final potential cause that I’ll discuss today involves when your shower drain is letting off a moldy or musty smell. We’ve all heard of the damaging effects of mold growing in one’s house. After all, just take a look at a few of the resources put out by the EPA on mold. It thrives in dark and moist environments, and can be particularly troublesome for individuals struggling with asthma or allergies. While on the topic of mold, it’s important to consider how large the outbreak is. If it is a relatively small area, you might be able to treat it yourself with some common household products, such as baking soda, white distilled vinegar, boiling water and a toothbrush. On the contrary, if the mold has spread much farther than that, we recommend calling in a professional to ensure you get it completely eliminated!
Fixing the Issue
As you can see from the items mentioned above, a smelly shower drain can be due to a number of different reasons. Luckily, it’s not too difficult to troubleshoot through these items and figure out where the true issue resides. Let’s take a quick look at few of the items mentioned above.
Clogs
If the clog is high enough in the drain, you might be able to pull it out by hand, but that’s not always the case. In the instances where this is true, make sure to never use the chemical drain cleaners. We covered them in detail before here on our plumbing blog. While they typically resolve the issue at that given moment, we’ve seen plenty of the cases where they end up causing more harm than good in the long run. Don’t take the short-cut of chemical drain cleaners; use a drain snake instead!
If you know how to use a drain snake, you might be able to clear the clog by yourself. However, keep in mind that improper use of a drain snake can also cause issues to your plumbing pipes. Typically, clearing a clogged drain should be a quick and easy service call for any experienced plumber! So, if you don’t feel comfortable using a drain snake, just call a local professional to get it taken care of!
P-Trap
As mentioned above, when discussing the P-Trap, there are a number of potential issues with the P-Trap itself. If it’s just a dirty P-Trap, you’ll be able to clean that up with baking soda and white distilled vinegar. A dirty P-Trap is definitely the easiest of issues to resolve. If you have a dry P-Trap, we recommend pouring some water down the drain and then checking an hour later to see if you can still see the water. Dry P-Traps can be a common problem with showers that are rarely used. In the case that you don’t see water sitting there after waiting an hour, there may be an issue with the P-Trap. In these instances, we recommend having a professional plumber get eyes on the situation before proceeding.
Biofilm
Since we already touched on utilizing various household ingredients to take care of mold, we’ll wrap up this blog by discussing biofilm. An easy DIY approach to cleaning biofilm that is also extremely effective requires a paint roller cover and a cleaning solution. First, you’ll want to remove the drain cover and then dip the paint roller in the cleaning solution. Put the roller down the drain, remove it, rinse off the biofilm and repeat. Do this until you no longer see any biofilm on the roller.
Call the Drain Experts of Kansas City!
Here at Stine-Nichols Plumbing, drain cleaning is certainly one of our most common service calls each and every year. Whether it be at residential properties or commercial facilities, it is simply one of those inevitable plumbing services that’ll always be needed! As evidenced throughout this blog, smelly showers aren’t entirely uncommon. Given how much hair, soap scum and other debris go down the shower drains on a daily basis, it’s important to practice regular maintenance.
If you ever notice one of your drains running slower than normal, don’t hesitate to give us a call at (816) 348-3481. You’re also more than welcome to fill out the contact form on our website and a member of our team will be in touch. The longer these issues sit, the more severe the clog will get and ultimately can potentially lead to more serious issues!