Shower Floor Leaking Around Drain
A leaking shower is generally due to plumbers putty that has started to give away around the seals on the shower drain allowing water to seep through the cracks and onto the basement ceiling below.
Shower floor leaking around drain. If you don t have access to the underside of the drain plug the drain and add enough water to form a small puddle around the drain photo. Then simply fill a pail full of water preferably a 5 gallon bucket. How to fix a leaky shower drain. A visible water stain running across your ceiling just below a shower area indicates the potential that your shower drain is leaking.
Scrub the shower strainer and the drain body clean. To make sure your leak is coming from the shower drain and not from a compromised seal between the bathtub and the floor use a funnel and pour quite a bit of water directly down the drain. Continue scrubbing until you remove as much soap scum and buildup as possible. Saves you time and money.
Get an old toothbrush and scrub both the strainer and the drain body with warm soapy water. A sure fire way of testing a shower floor to see if it leaks is to place a drain stop in the shower drain and fill the pan up with water to the level of where the wall starts. Check the drains and traps for leaks from below through the access panel. Sometimes severe flexing can stress the drain fittings and may cause a leak around the shower drain.
Wait a day or two for any leaked water to dry. In serious cases a shower pan may even develop cracks in its floor surface. Why your shower pan is moving or flexing identifying the cause behind the moving shower pan is nearly as important as the fix itself. These tests should identify the source of the problem.
Under your shower pan is an adjoining drain body that connects. Replacing the shower drain caulk is a great opportunity to give the strainer and the drain body a good clean. Use a fan if possible to speed up the drying process. Click on show more button below to buy.
Look for the typical signs of leakage. In a shower plug the drain with a rag and then release the water. If none are visible fill the tub and look again for leaks.