Smelly shower drain?

[BillGill]

I have a shower drain that smells really bad after my shower. It started several years ago and I have had no luck in getting rid of it. When it first started I checked everything in sight to figure out where it was coming from and finally called the plumber. He showed me that it was something growing in the drain, just below the shower floor. He cleaned it out and it didn't smell for a couple of months. But then it came back. So I cleaned it the same way he did. It didn't last as long for me as it had for him. After a while I finally got busy and did a thorough cleaning. I used a toilet bowl brush to get in and clean it really well. That took care of the odor for a couple of years, but then it came back again. Since then I have not been able to get it clean enough to end the odor more than a two or three showers.

I have used vinegar, vinegar with a toilet bowl brush, household cleaner, vinegar and baking soda, and finally bleach. I poured a full bottle of bleach down the drain a little bit each day. The result was that the odor was gone for 2 or 3 showers.

Now I need help. Can anybody suggest something I can do short of having the drain ripped out and replaced?

Bill

[Juan Smith]

I have a drain on a stainless steel sink that used to stink. Treated the drain once per day for three days. Problem solved.

[Charlie+]

On Thu, 9 May 2024 08:18:02 -0500, BillGill [e-mail] wrote as underneath :

Have you tried 2 or 3 kettles of boiling water? That is usually a pretty good killer of anything as long as the water is kept really hot in the drain for a few minutes, hence more than one kettle over a few minutes.. C+

[Bob F]

And add a good amount of soap to the hot water to dissolve oils and greases on the pipe. This can be very effective on kitchen sinks.

[BillGill]

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have worked. I dumped a lot of boiling water into the drain this morning, but the smell is still there after my shower.

Bill