How can I stop the occasional whiff of sewer from a trough drain in my

Rete Bernhart
by Rete Bernhart
About two years ago, we had a 52 X 16 addition put on our home. We added a 2nd master bath with an 8 foot walk in shower with a 48” trough drain in the center. It doesn’t happen often but even a few times is too many times for me. Every now and then, we get a whiff of sewerage when we walk into the bathroom. To combat this and to make sure no mold is laying in the drain, I put a cup of bleach in and let it sit for 15 minutes and then rinse.
  7 answers
  • Ann Ann on Feb 17, 2018

    Pour water down the drain weekly.

  • S S on Feb 17, 2018

    Make sure there is water in the drain. The elbow in pipes have water sitting in there to keep the smell from coming up. If not used a lot water evaporates.

  • Try pouring straight Clorox Down the drain. I'm guessing that shower isn't used very often and if the water evaporates in the sewer trap, then you'll get that smell. If you make a point of pouring water down the drain occasionally (once a week?), it should help considerably.

  • Jay Jay on Feb 17, 2018

    Try pouring a Bit of Vinegar down there... Vinegar kills smells, Cleans & more

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Feb 21, 2018

    The vinegar is a good idea, it gets rid of mold and mildew spores and bacteria in the drain that could form. Just make sure that you put down water into the drain. Most likely the smell is when the pipe dries up and the sewer gas is coming up the drain. There is nothing worse than the sudden appearance of sewer gas smell when you walk into the room.

  • Caseyem11 Caseyem11 on Feb 21, 2018

    You are getting a sewer smell because your trap/vent needs to have water in it to block the gasses from coming up.

  • Agnes Chrzanowska Agnes Chrzanowska on Sep 29, 2021

    yes .. you need to redirect but i would call plumber