How To Prevent Shower Drain Smells? Top Reasons And Solutions

November 27, 2020
 | By 
Queen Plumbing Charlotte

Shower drain odor is a common thing that can irritate you while taking a shower. You should know how to reduce the smell, and you can use professional help from a well-known service company, such as Queen Charlotte Plumbing. Shower drain pipe or p trap clog is the most common reason.

Moreover, the sewer gas, dirt, or sumps can cause a foul smell; no matter what caused the smelly shower drain or shower floor, you can find out the causes and sort them out. If you're not confident enough to clean the septic tank, drain pipes or drain cover, you should take professional help from us for the fastest and best service.

Why Does Your Shower Drain Smell Bad?

A Clean Shower Drain

The reasons are not complicated, and they are pretty logical as they can scientifically create an unpleasant smell. Let's see the reasons that make shower drains smell terrible:

Mold Or Bacteria Growth

The shower encounters many germs as we take a shower, and our body can contain some bacteria that wash away through the water. On the other hand, the shower drain is connected to the sewer line or the building's main plumbing system, enough for mold growth.

And the mold growth is so fast that it reaches the shower drain p trap or the cover. The germ itself is enough to create an odor inside the bathroom. That's why you should be careful about the fact and keep the shower clean, especially when it’s a guest bathroom. Otherwise, you may face some embarrassing situations.

Clog On Pipes Or Drain

Shower Drain

Please remember that clogs don’t buildup within one day or even a few days. It is a long time natural process that takes a lot of things to be clogged inside the shower. The possibility increases if you have a shower drain p trap installed inside the bathroom. Now you may ask which things can create a clog inside the shower drain.

The first thing that you will see is hair; it is evident that most of us, especially girls have hair fall. And it is quite a common phenomenon while bathing inside. So, hair can get twisted around a shower p trap or even curved pipes. Moreover, soap scum is also created while having a shower that we can't avoid at all.

You should add hair oil and shampoo to the list because they react with the existing dirt on our bodies and the bathroom. Thus, it creates grease, which plays a vital role in clogging the shower p traps or a U-shaped pipe. Anyway, the particles and chemical components together make grease and pluck that clogs inside, resulting in a smelly shower drain.

Sewer Gases Coming Back

People urinate, and the feces pass through the sewer line to the central drainage system. The disposed of items create gas and have to pass through the pipe. But sometimes, the gas may be trapped inside the vent pipes and come back through the shower drain. It can be happening even after you flush everything well.

However, if the gas including carbon monoxide, comes up through the drain cover, it will surely create a bad smell. Moreover, you may feel suffocated inside during a shower because people can barely breathe in such gases.

Dry P Trap

A dry p trap may develop if the shower or bathroom is not used so often. A dry trap may not have hair or scums, but the nearby sinks can have water that can block smelly gases which get back through the shower drain. The odor created from a dry trap is easy to fix.

Apart from these causes, another reason can create such smells, and sometimes they appear right after you take a shower. The pipes or lines connected to the bathroom may be broken or misplaced, which causes problems in passing the wastes and creating odors.

How To Clean Your Clogged Shower Drain?

Most shower smells occur due to a lack of cleanliness and clog in pipes or p traps. You should know how to clean the area by yourself or with professional help.

Professional Help

We, Queen Charlotte Plumbing, offer a top-class service 24/7 to fix a shower drain, including vent pipes, sewer lines, leaked or broken pipes, etc. Moreover, our skilled team can work with any shower trap or shower drain cover. Our expert men can also deal with unwanted water flow or breakage in pipes.

We completely understand that necessity and emergency have no time; that encouraged us to provide all-time service. You can call us at 704-707-3339 to reach us.

We don't only send our professional team to your address, but we can also provide suggestions if you’re fixing anything on your own but facing some problems. Our helpline team can provide accurate suggestions on time to help you out.

Fix The Shower Drain Pipe At Home

A shower drain can be unclogged and cleaned in various ways; those are pretty easy to do. Let's know the methods:

Using A Plunger

That’s the oldest method of removing any clogs. Here, you need to block the drain with a plunger. And you're supposed to get enough water around the drain cover. After you have gathered a good amount of water, you should open the plunger and let the water go.

If the clog is not too old, the hair and soap scum will immediately clear away through the water flow. This method will work well if you clean the shower drain more often.

A Plumber's Snake

A drain snake is easy to use, and if you want to buy a strong one, you can get a metal snake. On the other hand, you may get a plastic drain snake for fixing. However, you have to remove the drain cover or airtight seal to insert the snake inside. Keep going until you find the clog or obstacle.

It would be better to push the snake against the clog and keep rotating until the clog is gone. It won’t take long to clean the clogs from the shower drain.

Chemicals

If the dirt has been building on your shower p traps for a long time, and it has become impossible to clean the drain manually, you have to rely upon chemicals, such as enzyme-based drain cleaners or hydrogen sulfide. Cleaning p traps with chemicals is more accessible, but you have to take safety measures to avoid mishaps.

How Can You Remove Odors From Shower Drains?

Now you must know the home remedy to get rid of odor from the shower drain. You can use them to have a fresh and fragrant shower. Let's know the steps of removing a bad smell:

  1. First, you have to boil some water and take nearly 4 cups to correct the ratio.
  2. Next, you must add a cup of baking soda into the boiling water because the ratio has to be 1:1. Moreover, you have to add the same amount of vinegar, and it would be better if you chose white vinegar.
  3. Once the vinegar and baking soda get mixed up well, you will see some bubbles. Next, you have to pour the mixture onto the surface area to clean the drain.
  4. Keep cleaning with the baking soda and white vinegar distilled for 10-12 minutes. Next, you need more hot water flush to provide finishing to the unclogging process.

Conclusion

Shower drain smell has a lot of superficial reasons, but solving those problems is much easier, especially when you choose professional services like us, Queen Charlotte Plumbing Company. However, it is up to you if you’re hiring us or just want any consultation while doing it yourself.

We hope that we will be helpful to every customer through our drain and sewer line services and other plumbing services. But you should also be conscious about personal hygiene, which helps you stay healthy.

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