Blocking smell from unused shower drain

stevoh

Hi all

We’ve just moved in to a new house.

long story short, the vendor managed to sneak an issue past the surveyor.

A foul smell from the upstairs shower drain was a sign of a leak, which spouted water through our lounge ceiling when we turned it on.

plumber came out and can only access pipe through ceiling below, or by taking out shower tray, both of which add up.

we’re not using that shower room as there’s a better one, and intend to renovate the place fully very soon, so ideally don’t want to through £300 (as per quote) at the problem.

is anyone aware of something that can block the foul smell from coming up through the drain hole whilst we wait to start renovations?

Ive just taped over a piece of plastic bag, but wonder if there’s a more robust blocker?

many thanks 

Grumpy_chap

Can you fill the water trap with water?
And just refill periodically as it dries out.

Can you fit a plug?  Like a basic bath plug.

ThisIsWeird

Stevoh, are you saying that the drain pipe is open, has been disconnected? And you can get access to it - like you've done with the pipe? If so, there are bound to be 'end caps' that will finish it off as permanently as you like, and that can be removed when needed.

You need to confirm the pipe diameter - most likely 1.5" (~40mm) but could naughtily be the smaller 1.25 (~32mm). Then look for end caps of the push-fit or compression variety. Comp will be better as it'll fit more variations in sizes - they do tend to vary between manufacturers. 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/mcalpine-t23u-multifit-blanking-plug-white-40mm/96079

Green_hopeful

We have a shallow waste on a shower in our spare bathroom. It dries out and smells. We put two plugs into the waste to try to stop it drying out and stop smells. A normal bath plug dropped in the hole and a larger plug over the top. Depends on the set up whether you can do something similar. 

stevoh

Grumpy_chap said:

Can you fill the water trap with water?
And just refill periodically as it dries out.

Can you fit a plug?  Like a basic bath plug.

Hi

i don’t know for sure. I previously poured a bottle of drain unblocker down and didn’t notice anything come through ceiling.

I did let the shower run for a good few minutes before I went downstairs and noticed the newly acquired swimming pool in the lounge.

I’m a bit scared to put more water down the drain as it was coming through the light fittings.

There is a plug atm but it doesn’t stop the smell. The bodge job I did seems to be holding back the smell a bit. I wonder if it’ll last the weeks/ few months until we get the refurb work done.

thanks for taking the time to help me out btw 

chrisw

A plastic bag taped over the pipe is just fine. There is no reason why it shouldn't last a few weeks or months. If it does get damaged for whatever reason, just tape another one on.

gwynlas

You can either get into a routine of running shower once per week to keep waste topped up or tape a shield over drain in shower tray until such time as you are ready to refurbish.

stevoh

Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me. The plumber suggested spraying a loan of expanding foam down to seal it completely, which makes sense 

Reddleman79

stevoh said:

Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me. The plumber suggested spraying a loan of expanding foam down to seal it completely, which makes sense 

Surely a tube of silicone sealant would be a cheaper option and will also seal it permanently.

ThisIsWeird

stevoh said:

Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me. The plumber suggested spraying a loan of expanding foam down to seal it completely, which makes sense 

I presume that's ok if the whole caboodle is going to be replaced, but seems like complete overkill.
It's a round shower drain? With a flattish perimeter? What do you have in the house - silicone sealant? Vaseline?! All it needs is a flat disc to cover the area - even thick cardboard will do - and a means of sealing it to that flange. A bead of sili, or even a good smear of Vas - and then sit summat on top of approx the same size. A book. A vase. A plate. 

stevoh

Reddleman79 said:

stevoh said:

Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me. The plumber suggested spraying a loan of expanding foam down to seal it completely, which makes sense 

Surely a tube of silicone sealant would be a cheaper option and will also seal it permanently.

Do you mean seal the tray? We're ripping out the bathroom soon to refurb whole place and have another (better) bathroom to use on a daily basis anyway.