A Smelly Shower | Showering Enthusiast

By Ed Del Grande - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer:

Question:

Ed, Every time we start the water running in our shower we get a rotten smell for about a minute. After a minute the smell goes away and when the shower sits still all day with no running water there is no smell. Since I’m on a slab I can’t look under the shower to check the trap without breaking up the floor. Before I demo the shower, is there anything else I can try? Bill — Oregon.

Answer:

Bill, before you start ripping up the bathroom I would try a simple test to pinpoint if it’s your shower drain or shower water that is creating the odor. Remember this is just a basic test for shower stalls only, not tub/shower units and I recommend working with a licensed plumber to find the exact cause of this problem.

Have your plumber take off the shower drain strainer and block the drain hole with a wet rag. With the trap sealed, run the water without overfilling the shower. If you smell the odor you can suspect the water may be the culprit because the shower trap and drain are sealed. If there is no odor then you can suspect the trap and drain. Once you get a better handle on the area of the problem that may save you from unnecessary demo work and alert you to a more serious problem with your water. You need to address this problem right away and if you suspect it could be your water, don’t use the water until your plumber can check out the system and test the water.