Why does my new shower waste constantly smell?
The water seal inside the shower waste is likely failing or set up incorrectly. Without a functioning seal—whether created by a central plastic piece or a pool of water—odors constantly escape from the drain. This missing seal also allows you to hear water flowing when nearby basin taps are turned on.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from November 2026.
- This comes up 22.3× more often in r/HomeMaintenance than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Why does my new shower waste constantly smell?
- 1Checking if the shower and basin share a single trapDid this help you?
- 2Checking if there is a trap installed on the showerDid this help you?
- 3Replacing the entire disposal unit instead of attempting a repairDid this help you?
- 4Hiring a handyman instead of a more expensive plumberDid this help you?
- 5Installing water sensors under the sink to catch future leaks earlyDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have a new shower tray and waste from Victoria Plumbing, and it constantly smells.”source ↗
“I can also hear the flow of water when i turn the basin tap on.”source ↗
“I therefore think the seal or water seal must not be working.”source ↗
“Does this setup look right to you? Should the plastic bit in the middle be creating the seal, or should a pool of water be creating a seal somehow?”source ↗
“We woke up to water under the kitchen sink. A plastic tub holding cleaning products was full of water, and now water slowly drips out of the red reset button on the bottom of this Whirlpool garbage disposal.”source ↗
“Ours went from slow drip to something big broke through when wife was running it without realizing and it water started pouring into cabinet, leaked into basement below.”source ↗
“I bought a brand new home and the disposal made it 12 years before it started shooting water out the bottom when running. We didn’t notice it at first and the water did a lot of damage to cabinet.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6Water leak from screw after flushing water heater
- 24Why does my kitchen sink drain keep smelling bad?
- 37Why does flushing one toilet pull water out of another?
- 2Why does my drain smell like sewage even when clean?
- 2Why does my AC drain line keep backing up and leaking?
- 2Why do P-traps lose water when the ejector runs?