[ParkCityUtah]

HELP! I have a rental house in Utah. I moved out in July and the new tenants moved in in August. They immediately started to notice a sewer-like smell in the upstairs master shower. (I was there for 3 years and no issues)

• I called the plumber. He snaked the pipes and they were clear. He checked the venting and said it was fine
• He then replaced the trap (after cutting a hole in my dining room ceiling!), and that didn't do it.
• He went into the crawl space and replaced two pieces of pipe - that helped for a few days.
• Then I called another plumber with 30 years experience. He re-checked the venting, the traps, the piping - everything seems fine... but the smell is there. Primarily after taking a shower.
• The rest of the bathrooms and kitchen are fine.
• The city has come by and they said it's not them.
• I've called the HOA - they havent' heard of any other issues like this.
  
• The tenant has also poured over a gallon of bleach down the shower... still no luck!
  

Each of these solutions works for a day or two... then returns.

She told me today she sees bubbles (don't know about gurgling) when she looks down the drain.
I'm at my wits end... ANY solutions? Please help! Nicole

[speedball1]

She told me today she sees bubbles (don't know about gurgling) when she looks down the drain.

This tells me exactly where your smell's coming from. I'm surprised the plumber didn't pick up on this. He might have snaked the lines but he missed the fact that the sewer gas is contained in the bubbles that you see in the trap. Bubbles are caused by either a partial clog or a design flaw. Let me explain. You take a shower and the water starts to drain down the pipes. Somewhere along the way the discharge hits a block and bounces back a bit sending bubbles of sewer gas ahead of it. I realize that I can't pinpoint the location but since nobody else offered a explanation At least I gave you a place to start. Good luck, Tom

[ParkCityUtah]

Ok, so my starting place is to have him snake it again? If it's a design flaw, then where do I start? Rip out the pipes from the toilet to the sewer (downstairs)? Or from the toilet up to the vent?
Neither of my plumbers (both reputable and recommended) want to tackle this problem.

[ballengerb1]

Did any of the plumbers rod the vent from the roof? That's the place to do your best rodding. Some roofs are not safe so you might want to call another plumber. Falling from a roof is painless, it's that sudden stop at the end that gets you.

[ParkCityUtah]

Yep... both were on the roof... safe as long as you actually stay on! Not sure if rodding and snaking are the same... but whatever they did, it was on the roof.
Design flaw... what exactly does that mean? And how does one proceed?

[ballengerb1]

Rodding and snaking are the same deal. I doubt that it's a design flaw since you had no issue for three years. Could be something the tennants did unknowingly or knowingly. Hard to say long distance. I'm assuming tne shower trap was the one replaced leaving a hole in your ceiling. The shower draws our attention so lets take a deeper look at it. Is it fiberglas, plastic tray or ceramic? You might have to disassemble this shower so I hope that ceiling hole didn't freak you out, it may get bigger.

PS tell us abit more about those two pipes that were replaced.

[ParkCityUtah]

Shower is a fiberglass/ plastic floor, ceramic tiles on the sides. Door is fiberglass.The tub is right in front of it. At this point disassembling the shower is OK - just want to help the tenants and not be taken advantage of by a plumber that knows I'm not able to be on site. Why would they disassemble? To look at the construction? Can't they look up through the hole and see what they need to?

The pipes under the house had "blockage". He also stated that he felt the builders did a poor job. Apparently one pipe was bent, and sounded like it may have had a U joint. Anyway, he removed that pipe and replaced. Then he came out again a few days later (Smell had returned) and replaced another section. He said they accidentally spilled some waste but put lye on it.

[speedball1]

The pipes under the house had "blockage". He also stated that he felt the builders did a poor job. Apparently one pipe was bent, and sounded like it may have had a U joint.

THAT'S what I call a design flaw. Regards, Tom