Help!!! Shower drain smell solutions please

[shazchip]

Hi guys, advice needed please. My shower drain really smells. I presumed it's a build up of gunk in there, so I first put some drain cleaner down there, left it for a bit and then flooded with hot water. Didn't fix it. I then tried the same with bleach, again not fixed. It's not blocked as water is flowing fine. Just a very embarrassing smell which I need to sort out before having guests over this weekend.

Any tips that I can try?

(I haven't got any bicarbonate soda & white vinegar to try yet, that's on my list though.)

I have a motorhome and sometimes get whiffs but can't use drain cleaner as the pipes are plastic.
Best ones I know are a couple of dishwash tablets crushed up with a pestle and mortar and diluted in very hot water. Or, strangely cheap full fat cola

Have had this issue all Summer and tried every solution I could think of. Including strong Drain Cleaner & Soda / Vinegar.

In the end I got a drain specialist out.

He told me it is because of the shallow trap fitted to the shower. Apparently it a design fault that means that gasses from the outlet pipe are only trapped in the water trap if the shower plug is very firmly pushed into it’s housing. The water trap prevents gasses coming up through the central holes in the plug but allows them to escape through the sides of the plug if it is too loose.

He said he has dozens of clients with the same issue.

The long term solution for me is to take up all the floor tiles in my Shower Room and fit a deeper shower trap.

@Raera thankyou I'll try those!

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows hmmm, that's really good info thanks, if it does persist I might have to look into getting a specialist out too

U can take up the cover of the plug in shower, it lifts out
Then inside is a plastic thing(don’t know what it’s called. That’s usually covered in gunk,hair and black stuff
just pull it out to clean it.

Second @flyingsouth I feel like a drain expert after our summer bathroom woes. You need a good trap otherwise the smell of ALL your drains just comes up. Should be easy enough fix if it is the problem. Good luck

Does the drain from your shower connect to either your bath or sink drain? Run your shower & listen to where the water goes, you may hear it gurgling in the bath or sink plug holes, if you do, often the area where the pipes meet can get clogged up or not be low enough to ensure free flow of water & stale water may be left in the connection. You may need to get a plumber to check the pipework & maybe lift the level of the shower drain pipes.

Have you tried soda crystals and boiling water?

I also second what a PP said, lift the drain up and clear everything you can. Ours gets blocked with my hair and then product residue. I have stopped using in shower moisturiser.

I had the same problem and yesterday I bought Mr muscle drain unblocker - it was on offer in wilko. Fingers crossed - there is no smell today. I left it overnight. There is also Mr Muscle drain foamer.