Last night I discovered that my carpet was wet and starting to mold in the corner of my downstairs living room. In the same corner on the opposite side of the wall is my corner shower. I live in an older split foyer home.

I'm thinking the leak is coming from the shower somehow, but I've checked around for breaks in the caulk and above the surround and cannot find a thing. Now I'm down to thinking it is leaking underneath the shower and trickling through the wall along the floor and getting the carpet wet.

Am I going to have to rip out the entire corner shower to find the leak or might it be the drain seal?

I have no plumbing experience and I am so upset about this. Thanks to whomever for the advice.

Pull the eschution ring around the shower arm away from the wall. With a flashlight look in the hole to see if you have any moisture. If necessary enlarge the hole, just don't make it so big the eschution will not cover.

Pull the eschution ring around the shower arm away from the wall. With a flashlight look in the hole to see if you have any moisture. If necessary enlarge the hole, just don't make it so big the eschution will not cover.


I'm really stupid, please forgive me... what is the eschution ring? My shower surround goes up pretty high and the shower head comes out of the surround. Is it a ring around the shower head (where it meets the wall) or is it related to the drain?

Thank you for your advice!

The ring around the shower pipe where it comes out of the wall (shower surround).

You have trap and a drain line unedr the shower, do you have access to see the trap? I can think of 4 reasons you have a leak, Harold is working on a bad mixing valve or shower head pipe. It could also be a bad drain seal or a shower surround that flexes with body weight in the shower.

Thank you guys for your suggestions. I'm going to check into where the shower head comes out of the surround and also the drain seal. I don't really understand about the surround that moves with body weight. We've lived in the house just over a year and it appears that this has only been happening for the last couple weeks even though we just realized it. I'm assuming to check the drain seal, I unscrew it and lift it up and try to reapply some plumbers putty or something to it. The shower sits on a base or pan that is a couple inches off the floor and I'm not sure how I could get underneath it, so hopefully I won't have to.

I will let you know if I find the problem or need more help. You both have been very helpful to a complete plumbing idiot!

I'm still betting on the shower arm.

Does the shower tiled? If there is a slightest crack in the grout in between tiles, it will leak underneath AND if there is no vinyl on top of the mud pan, the water is leaking through and under the shower door threshold.

As incredible as it sounds, some shower pans are not lined with the vinyl before installing the shower.