musty smell en-suite new build

jrosen

We moved into our new build a few months ago.

I started to get a musty smell in my en-suite. The shower has that large circular drain cover and my husband removed it all out, some of my hair was clogging it and it did smell so we figured it was that.
But its definitely not that. There are no obvious signs of a leak anywhere, the only thing I did notice was the last row of tiles were they meet the shower tray the silicone seems to be wearing thin, almost transparent.

Builder has come and gone with no real solution although he acknowledged he could get the smell.

Ush1

Musty smell sounds like could be water lodged somewhere. Is it upstairs? Signs of leak might show on ceiling below.

Is the shower tray low profile? You could ask the builder does it have an aqua strap fitted behind the tiles and along the shower tray. It's like a fail safe so should water get through the silicone it can't escape elsewhere.

It's mad but even a tiny amount of water lodged somewhere will smell bad after a while.

jrosen

Ush1 wrote: »

Musty smell sounds like could be water lodged somewhere. Is it upstairs? Signs of leak might show on ceiling below.

Is the shower tray low profile? You could ask the builder does it have an aqua strap fitted behind the tiles and along the shower tray. It's like a fail safe so should water get through the silicone it can't escape elsewhere.

It's mad but even a tiny amount of water lodged somewhere will smell bad after a while.

Thank you. No obvious signs on the ceiling below at all. Yes its a low profile shower tray.

Im waiting on him to call me back

FitzElla

The smell is likely coming from the drain - you can check this by sealing it over with some clingfilm and if the smell goes you have your culprit. My guess is the parts of the shower drain are not put together correctly letting gas/smell come up through the drain.

When you remove the large circular drain cover there should be a plastic "bucket" loose in the drain with a separate plastic insert that goes inside that and seals around the outside of the drain. The bucket should be partially filled with water which seals the drain when the plastic insert is placed inside that. Make sure everything is in tight and no air is escaping back up the drain.

Gumbo

Is the drain plug in the shower fitted properly.
For the first 2 weeks after I done my bathroom I was getting the smell.
Turned out I didn’t clip the drain plug together properly before securing it into the shower tray. They just pop out.

jrosen

Just had a look.
When I take off the silver top, there is a loose white plastic part that has holes/gaps in the side. It has water inside it. When I take that out I can see another white plastic part that isn't removable. I can see loose broken off sealant.

jrosen

Pics

FitzElla

jrosen wrote: »

Just had a look.
When I take off the silver top, there is a loose white plastic part that has holes/gaps in the side. It has water inside it. When I take that out I can see another white plastic part that isn't removable. I can see loose broken off sealant.

The loose part is there to catch hair/debris before it goes down the drain and is designed to be removed and cleaned. There should be a 2nd plastic type tube that goes into the loose part. Is it attached to the chrome lid? It should come apart and then you can push it into the drain to seal it.

Something like this:

https://www.tapwarehouse.com/images/TechImage/stw001-tech-drawing.jpg?w=1066&h=1066&mode=crop&scale=both

Metric Tensor

Is the shower upstairs or downstairs?

Does the pipe from the shower discharge into an open hopper or gully trap when it gets outside the wall of the house?

jrosen

Metric Tensor wrote: »

Is the shower upstairs or downstairs?

Does the pipe from the shower discharge into an open hopper or gully trap when it gets outside the wall of the house?

Upstairs.
I dont actually know where the drain goes? The ensuite bathroom is on the side of the house we share with the neighbors. The bathroom is over the utility room.

Gumbo

When you take off the chrome cover then next plastic piece that comes out should be full of water. This is the water line to stop smells coming back up.

Goldengirl

Gumbo wrote: »

When you take off the chrome cover then next plastic piece that comes out should be full of water. This is the water line to stop smells coming back up.

Yes. + 1
This part acts like the u bend of a loo and the water level stops smells coming from drain .
Thought I would clean mine out when we first got our new shower and the smell later that day hit me .
Rang the builder and he came over ..and sorted it
Ie. Filled the cup with water as he laughed !

Calahonda52

another possibly here is that the shower or and the whb are exiting into the foul stack from the toilet and that the u traps are getting sucked out when the toilet flushes, else the whb could be sucking the shower trap or visa versa if the drains are connected

mikehn

Calahonda52 wrote: »

another possibly here is that the shower or and the whb are exiting into the foul stack from the toilet and that the u traps are getting sucked out when the toilet flushes, else the whb could be sucking the shower trap or visa versa if the drains are connected

Yes, that happened to me, worth checking.

jrosen

Ok so last night I covered over the drain and the smell was still there this morning. Would that rule out an issue with the drain.

Its like a musty damp smell more than a drain smell if that makes sense.

awec

jrosen wrote: »

Ok so last night I covered over the drain and the smell was still there this morning. Would that rule out an issue with the drain.

Its like a musty damp smell more than a drain smell if that makes sense.

You would need to cover the drain then open a window and clear the smell, then come back a few hours later and see if the smell is back.

You could also cover the sink drain while you're at it, they are likely connected to the same foul pipe.

You said the utility is directly below it? Any smell in there? Particularly around the foul pipe for the washing machine?

sydthebeat

jrosen wrote: »

We moved into our new build a few months ago.

I started to get a musty smell in my en-suite. The shower has that large circular drain cover and my husband removed it all out, some of my hair was clogging it and it did smell so we figured it was that.
But its definitely not that. There are no obvious signs of a leak anywhere, the only thing I did notice was the last row of tiles were they meet the shower tray the silicone seems to be wearing thin, almost transparent.

Builder has come and gone with no real solution although he acknowledged he could get the smell.

does the en-suite have:

1. mechanical extra fan?
2. openable window?

can you also tell us the make up of the wall construction?

jrosen

awec wrote: »

You would need to cover the drain then open a window and clear the smell, then come back a few hours later and see if the smell is back.

You could also cover the sink drain while you're at it, they are likely connected to the same foul pipe.

You said the utility is directly below it? Any smell in there? Particularly around the foul pipe for the washing machine?

Yes actually there is a slight smell on occasion, same kind of smell. I also find the washing machine smells too. We had this machine in our last home, no smell no issue ever but since moving to this house I think ive ran though cleaner about 4 times. Cleaned out the rubber part at the door too.

awec

If you pull the washing machine out is the smell stronger behind it?

jrosen

awec wrote: »

If you pull the washing machine out is the smell stronger behind it?

I cant seem to move it out, Ill get the hubby too when he gets home.

Wildly Boaring

sydthebeat wrote: »

does the en-suite have:

1. mechanical extra fan?
2. openable window?

can you also tell us the make up of the wall construction?

Has the bathroom an Aereco unit?

If it's got no vent or window with trickle vent and an aereco you'll get this smell.

To avoid smell
1. Leave shower door shut
2. Leave bathroom door open

jrosen

sydthebeat wrote: »

does the en-suite have:

1. mechanical extra fan?
2. openable window?

can you also tell us the make up of the wall construction?

Traditional concert block structure.

There is a fan, no window.

sydthebeat

jrosen wrote: »

Traditional concert block structure.

There is a fan, no window.

You said its a "new build"

Can you give us the exact wall build up?
Is it slabbed internally?

As there is no window, when you turn off the en-suite light, does the fan continue to run for 15mins after?

jrosen

sydthebeat wrote: »

You said its a "new build"

Can you give us the exact wall build up?
Is it slabbed internally?

As there is no window, when you turn off the en-suite light, does the fan continue to run for 15mins after?

I dont know.

The fan continues when the light is off, time wise im not sure.

Wildly Boaring

I think I'm asking similar to Syd

The fan
It in constantly
Or just with light
Or with light and timer.

If it's a new build I'm sticking to the Aereco comment above.
Aereco is like a fan but runs constantly. Opens more under certain conditions, movement, light or humidity.

If there's no vent with these systems they will drag the smell up from the shower outlet as there's no clean air for it to pull in.

Leave the door open and shower door shut.

screamer

If the silicon is wearing thin, it could be breached and letting water in behind the shower tray and tiles. If you see any sort of cracks in the silicon, I’d say that is the reason.

jrosen

The fan is practically silent, but im pretty sure it only runs when the lights are on. You can hear a quiet click when it goes on.

We dont have the same issue in the main bathroom which also doesnt have a window, used probably more than the en-suite.

frash

We had similar and it was the seal at the toilet waste pipe
Was only bad on windy days

Could it be that?

jrosen

Thanks all for the help.

Its definitely not the toilet, I also now dont think its the drain in the shower either. I covered it all over and the smell was still there in the bathroom. Its not that strong but its a lingering damp musty smell.
When we moved out the washing machine in the room below there is a similar smell behind it, its mind. No obvious signs of water anywhere.

The silicone where the shower tray meets the tiles is worn away but Im pretty sure the smell was there before that started to happen.
Anyway the builder is back this week. So fingers crossed we get something worked out.

Count Mondego

I had this problem with a new build. Turned out that the multiwick that connected the Toilet to the sewer line was too short and a proper seal hadn't been made. Very hard to isolate the problem especially with fully shrouded toilets as you can't see in behind them. This was in enough to allow waste and water exit to sewer but no air seal and you'd get that smell. All sorted with a longer multiwick.

DaveyDave

I have the same problem in a new build with our ensuite. Same drain system. Some days are worse than others but we can't figure it out. It would honestly make you sick. I'll have a look to see if there's enough water sitting in the drain to block the smell coming up the pipe.

6 months in the developer still hasn't sorted the problem...

Stihl waters

Was an airtight membrane used without adequate ventilation from the bathroom

listermint

You need to seal properly with plastic and tape or elastic band the drain for the Washing machine and the shower drain.

Then leave the window open in the room all day.

Then close it at night and check in the next morning if the smell is still there.

Everything described so far sounds like a drain. However drains can have a fresher sharp smell. Musty type smells come from wet materials e.g carpet, rolled insulation, wet plasterboard.

So if above doesn't stop the smell then chances are you have a leak somewhere behind the shower or elsewhere within the room start looking at water feeds. Shower Taps washing machine feed line . Taps . Toilet feed. For damp

blackbox

The OP described it as musty smell. This is quite different from any smell you would get from drains or sewers.

I'd suspect there is damp plaster somewhere due to poor sealing, probably in the shower area.

chooseusername

What kind of overflow has your wash hand basin got,
any smell from that?

jrosen

Ok so ive spend time sniffing around.

The smell definitely smells damp/musty. More from old water than a sewer type smell.
Ensuite and main bathroom are side by side. I noticed last night that right under the sink in the main bathroom the skirting board is cracked, water marks and looks like there was a leak at some point before we moved in. Its bone dry, but maybe there is lingering water from that and im smelling it in my ensuite ? no smell in the man bathroom.

However I have noticed on occasion a more sewer type smell coming from the sink drain in the ensuite just for the first couples of seconds the tap is on.

Same at the kitchen sink.

So overall I think there is more going on here. Builder didnt show but ive left another message

DaveyDave

jrosen wrote: »

Ok so ive spend time sniffing around.

The smell definitely smells damp/musty. More from old water than a sewer type smell.
Ensuite and main bathroom are side by side. I noticed last night that right under the sink in the main bathroom the skirting board is cracked, water marks and looks like there was a leak at some point before we moved in. Its bone dry, but maybe there is lingering water from that and im smelling it in my ensuite ? no smell in the man bathroom.

However I have noticed on occasion a more sewer type smell coming from the sink drain in the ensuite just for the first couples of seconds the tap is on.

Same at the kitchen sink.

So overall I think there is more going on here. Builder didnt show but ive left another message

Any gaps in the bathroom? Our shower door was leaking and the puddle went down through the floor because the sink pipes in the floor weren't sealed which ended up leaking onto the living room ceiling.

Maybe a bath or shower tray sharing the walls is causing a leak somewhere you can't see?

poker--addict

Are you using main bathroom frequently. Might be worth using intensively for a while to see if it has any impact or anything becomes visible?