How To Get Rid of Smelly Drains in the Shower

Unpleasant smells can make one of your most relaxing and spa-like rooms feel unbearable. Rather than let this feeling continue, trust Elk Grove’s reliable drain cleaning specialists at Stellar Plumbing to explain what causes it and how to stop it. Below, we’ll relay what you can do and when to call us for assistance. 

What Causes Smelly Drains?

Sometimes, your clean soap product creates a smelly residue, especially after the soap molecules react with hard water. The chalky, white residue creates a film around or within your drain, encouraging bacterial and fungal growth. 

While there are good bacteria, some of which live in cleaning products to eat away at gunk, bad bacteria remain in the drain and release microbial volatile organic compounds. Not only does it smell bad, but its toxic properties can also cause eye and airway irritation, which leads to asthma and other respiratory illnesses with long-term exposure. 

The soap scum also holds moisture in the darkness of your shower drain, creating the perfect living environment for mold and mildew. Moreover, the soap scum spores feed the colony, allowing it to take over your drain and pipes quickly, leaving behind a musty smell and black or green spores in plain sight.

However, a sewage smell can point to something completely different. Your drain pipe contains a P-trap that holds a bit of water, separating your home’s drain lines and the sewer main. If the water within it dries out, nothing stops the disgusting and harmful sewer smells from entering your home, but we’ll explain how to get rid of smelly drains in the shower caused by this. 

Getting Rid of Smelly Shower Drains

If you notice signs of soap scum but have not yet noticed a horrendous smell, scrub the drain with an all-purpose cleaner and hot water before it becomes a breeding ground. You should do this monthly, but if you feel bacteria or fungal growth has already begun, pour in half a cup of baking soda, followed by half a cup of white vinegar. Wait 15 minutes before flushing it out with two cups of hot water. 

Not only can this kill bacteria, mold, and mildew, but it’ll remove minor clogs without jeopardizing your drain system like chemical solutions would. However, if hair and other debris are causing a larger clog (which you’ll notice by slow-draining water), this is the primary factor allowing soap scum and other issues to develop. Use a plunger or auger as other shower drain deodorizing methods. 

On the flip side, if there is nothing in your drains at all, including a lack of water in the P-trap, eliminating shower drain odors becomes simpler. A dry P-trap means water has evaporated from the line since no one has used the shower in a while, which occurs frequently in guest bathrooms. Running the water occasionally keeps the trap moist and the barrier up against sewer gases. 

Preventing Future Odors

Now that you know how to get rid of smelly drains in the shower, let’s consider how to keep them from developing altogether. Since debris causes clogs that contribute to odors, our first shower drain odor control tip includes purchasing drain screens that catch hair and other particles before they enter your drain. It also lessens the amount of soap scum slipping into your pipes.

Other tips for freshening shower drains include:

• Regularly pour a bleach and vinegar mix into your drains and wash it down with boiling water to kill colonies and spores. 
• Refrain from pouring greasy or fatty substances into your drains.

Only One Team Offers Stellar Services!

Sometimes, removing unpleasant odors from drains is tricky. The first solution (or even the first five) may not work. 

Rather than undergo trial and error, contact our family-owned and -operated team at Stellar Plumbing for immediate results. We’re available 24/7 and will show you how to get rid of smelly drains in the shower in no time. Call to learn the cost to snake a drain and much more in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, today!

Call Now (773) 908-9375