Please help......I have noticed a smell in my upstairs master bathroom since we moved into the house almost 5 years ago. We pour all types of Deoderizers down the drains but they still smell. Some times are worse than others but all the times the smell is horrible. My kids have complained about the odor in my bathroom for years now. It smells like sewage and I cannot tell if it is the toilet , the tub, or the shower. Because I am such a germ/neat freak I need help fast....Please help

 

Many many possible reasons. It's where a lot of plumbing codes come from.

First thing is to determine the source; the tub, toilet, lavatory, window or even, in some weird cases, the exhaust fan. It's hard to offer advice w/o knowing the source or the problem.

 

It sounds like you either have a vent problem or one of the bathroom traps isn't working.
I would try to figure out the source of the smell by a process of elimination. Fill the sink with water and leave it for the day. Does the smell go away? If not move on to the tub. Fill it and leave it if the smell doesn't go away move on to the toilet. If the toilet is the culprit it's probably a bad seal where the toilet sits on the floor. Make sure the toilet is securely fastened.
Is the smell noticeable in the attic? Try to find out if the upstairs bath has a separate vent stack. It's possible that you have an open vent in the attic or wall.

 

I've had this problem before. I see that you have seperate tub and shower. Sometimes if you are not using tub at all or maybe not using shower you still need to run water down the drains so that the sewer gases do not escape the vent and come up out of the drain. If you have two sinks make sure they are both used. Sometimes the smell can come from the sink overflow - peek inside the sink overflow - it's that opening on the top inside of the sink and maybe pour bleach water down it. You might have a hair ball stuck in your plumbing - hairballs stink. Sometimes you just have to dig out a hairball around the drains and inside the pvc under the sink to rid the smell. I hope this helps some. Thanks, Ladyfixer.

 

Do you have an unused washing machine drain stack pipe in the area. If it is not used, sewer gasses can back up through it, also.

 

Hello,

I have figured out that the source of the stinky odor in my upstairs master bath is coming from the shower, not the tub or sink or the toilet. Does this help in diagnosing the problem.

Thanks alot.

 

The shower may not have a vent on it. If so, when any of the other fixtures are used, the trap gets sucked dry and sewer gas enters through the drain. Also possible that the shower does not have a trap installed. You may have to do something to get a look at what plumbing is under the shower. Good luck.

 

hewNew - You are either getting sewer gases because the drain isn't vented properly or the trap is getting siphoned or the other possibility is that you have an accumulation of gunk in the shower drain that is starting to smell.
I'm not a plumber but I think shower drains are susceptible to gunk buid up because their design slows the water flow. One of my showers has an insert in the drain the other doesn't. The one with the insert has to be cleaned every month or so or it clogs up. The other never does.
You might try an enzyme type drain cleaner. I use a cheapo plastic cleaner that's about 2' long with barbs on it. You would be amazed (and disgusted) with the crap it pulls out of the drain.
If that doesn't work, you're going to have to get access to your shower DWV piping to see what's up.