H.O’s got a fully tiled shower, with a decent bath exhaust system.
One side of shower wall is exterior wall
back side is wall in the walk in closet
3rd side divider wall for toilet.
HO is experiencing a very bad smell when the shower is being used. Smell usually goes away by the end of the day. Smell is coming from the walk in closet. Described as a rotting, icky smell. NOT a musty smell.
Only experience the smell in the cold weather… now its around 10 -20 degrees.
The grout lines in the shower seemed to have failed. Not terribly.. but there are cracks and chipped away grout. Not sure if its cement board or blue board as a backer. upper bracket home built in the 90’s.
In a day or two, i’ll get over there and tear into that closet wall to see whats happening behind there…
More than likely will have to regrout the shower… (any thoughts? tips here? )
My concern is…. is this a much bigger problem than it appears? Is there something happening at the thermal break and the warm air from the shower… happening inside that wall?
Thanks in advance
GoodLuck
Replies
My guess because the smell comes from using the shower is venting and or trapping. Maybe the shower drain is wet venting into toilet and is not trapped correctly.
Good luck
Cliffy
Where I live, the first thing we'd check is to see if a family of raccoons/squirels/what-ever were nesting above the shower - the heat of the shower raises the pungency from their droppings. While there, check for mould in the ceiling system..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Good answer, I live right beside the bush, worked 13 years for Ontario Parks and never thought of that.
Merry Christmas
Cliffy
Hi Cliffy, I'm a Levack native.
Most times the shower bed is not presloped beforet the liner goes is, then, when water does penetrate the tile/grout it has nowhere to go and gets pretty rancid. But your smell seems intermittent so I really don't think that's the case. I'd rule out a blocked vent stack or slow drain first and go into demo mode second.
If you know and see Nestor Karpiak tell him his son says Hi!Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
Demo?
or grind that grout out and re-grout?
Hi Garfield How are you. That shower is not mine by the way. We are in our house almost 9 years I'm still using the big Mirolin tub in my kids bathroom. The ensuite is is on the when I get time list. I saw your Dad in his car the other day in front of the Quick mart in Onaping, Gave him a nod hello but did not talk to him. I think Patty talks to him occasionally at the pharmacy.
Have a great Christmas Holiday, I usually keep a few cold ones around the house for the smart Canadians who now live in the states who occassionally visit home! ( the whole Tucker Carlson thing)
See you later Cliffy
AKA Chris
PS Saw some photos a while back of that work trailer you were telling me about looks good.
Don't overlook the drain. You can get a mess of hair/soap/shampoo/conditioner rotting away in the drain which will give a nasty smell. I have experienced this on 2 separate occasions. I can tell when it's time to clean the drain in my shower just by the smell - even though it still drains O.K.
I suspect that moisture is leaking through the tile and whatever type of backer was used and is getting into the wall cavities. This is especially likely on a wall that the shower spray strikes full force, and doubly likely if the tile is over "moisture resistant" drywall.
If you poke around at the bottom of the closet wall I'll bet you find some signs of dampness.
If this is the case then the tile needs to be torn out and redone, though sealing the grout somehow is a possible temporary fix.
You can demonstrate the problem by taping plastic over the shower walls for a few days -- likely the problem will go away.
happy?
all right.... man thats a sweet smell.
I taped plastic over the walls and floor..... sealed it off good and then turned the shower on.
Smell came right outta the drain.
Thanks guys.
Now... what do you think i should clean the drain with? what chemicals.?
Steve, to be honest, I don't know much about this stuff. I deal mainly with framing but can do a few other things here and there too. Plumbing isn't one of them. And I don't know what to say about your tile/grout situation either, sad to say. I was just trying to stop you from busting down a wall when you might solve the problem by being less intrusive. Was just trying to save you from doing something that I'd probably do and regret.
I'm sure one of these cats will have just the right advice for you though. Pretty slick bunch.
Had you not said something, my first step would have been to get into that wall.
YOur advice is always appreciated.
Thanks
I don't mean to rain on your parade when you might have this figured out, but take a look at what I found in my "punky" smelling master shower when I remodeled the master bathroom earlier this year. Whoever built the shower did it a bit bassackwards, installing the shower liner first, then the backer board (yep, all the way to the floor), and then the mud base. Needless to say, the mud base failed, and was literally soaked with water when I ripped it out. We also had plenty of "organic matter" growing behind the wall tiles, fed by the abundant water supply below. Yuck.
mmmmm tasty... I think i had that served on a plate one fine morning back in the day... stumbling home from 1st ave, crossing over hennipen ave, I took a turn into the nice breakfast place....
Seriously.. I think thats what i was served.
Where are you at in MN
GoodLuck
Southeastern burbs (St. Paul ex pat).
Is that green board in the shower area? Is that mastic on the walls. I bet you didnt know that those are two good sources of food for mold. When you re-do the shower, check out http://www.schluter.com and look at the kerdi shower system. It will solve the mess you just uncovered. When you re-do the tile DONT USE MASTIC!!!
Yeah, it was greenboard and mastic (not my doing). It's been redone with hardi-backer and thinset. Here's a link to the "after" pictures.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=67106.13
If the smell's in the drain then straight Chlorox will kill it at least temporarily. A small drain auger will remove built-up hair, etc. A peroxide-based drain cleaner will help eliminate soap scum.But if covering the walls with plastic caused the odor in the closet to go away then you still have leakage through the walls.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
It can be dangerous for the residue of certain chemicals to mix. Chlorox combined with acids or ammonia is one that is especially toxic. Therefore, I would not use Chlorox.
Any drain cleaner will kill everything in the drain. I recommend a gel type of drain cleaner, used according to the directions. If one application doesn't do it, another can be done either immediately, or a few days later.
Can you see the underside of the showern drain? Is it trapped/vented. Funky drains can smell a bit but if used regualrly the hot soapy water should be doing a bit of cleaning if the drain isn't backing up or slow running. Things just don't quite sound right, or maybe I'm reading wrong.
The shower may need to be re-grouted, but that's not likely the cause nor the cure. I admit, I don't know whether you've got water where you shouldn't or if it's a problem with the plumbing, but I do know that grout will never serve as a primary water barrier.
I think you're on the right track with opening up that closet wall, but I think the other guys are right too in checking out the drain. You don't want to be the guy who tore out their wall when all you had to do was clean the drain. ;) Start with the easy solutions and go from there.
My guess is that there is a Studor vent in the closet wall.[email protected]
It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
that being said....
This is only experienced in the winter when the temps are low. not during the spring, summer, fall. And... they dont pick up the smell in the shower... just in the other room which is the closet.
So im going cut into that wall... maybe theres a vent pipe in that wall. Maybe a butt load of moisture seeping around there too.
I your opinion.... re grout.... or tear it out... re tile? new backer.. new tile. All that time grinding that grout out, the dust, the mess... might be better spent on a welled used sledge hammer.
Good Luck
What if...
the vent stack has a horizontal run...
and the run is now downhill away from the drain...
and the attic is properly ventilated...
and rainwater/snow inside the stack has frozen the vent stack shut?
No venting = mucho smelly.
PS I had an old iron stack gain just such a slope after 40 years.
Troy Sprout
Square, Level & Plumb Renovations
My nickle is on , an open ended pipe for a vent in the wall.
When you talk about a rotting icky smell, my first thought also was squirrels. But if it were squirrels, I don't think it would go away that quickly (end of the day). So, I guess there's not much to do except start exploring.
Try the drain clean out, and try opening the back of the closet.
Let as know what interesting stuff you find. (Keep a barf bucket handy, with a lid.)
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
bump
My house is on a small public water system. I notice sometimes in the winter, with a real hot shower a fairly strong, what I call sulfer smell. It does go away almost immediatly after the shower is off. Just a thought!