Areas We Serve

Areas We Serve

Why Does My Shower Drain Smell Like Sewage?

Bellevue Smelly Shower Drain

Walking into your bathroom for a shower should feel refreshing—not like you just opened a sewer lid. If your shower drain in Bellevue smells foul, you’re probably wondering what’s going on. At 2 Sons Plumbing and Sewer Bellevue, we hear this complaint all the time. Don’t worry—while it’s unpleasant, the cause is usually something simple.

What’s Behind That Smell?

If your shower smells like sewage, it’s usually a sign of a small plumbing hiccup. We run into this a lot in Bellevue homes, and here are the usual suspects:

A Dry P-Trap

There’s a U-shaped pipe called a P-trap right under your shower. Its job is to hold a little water and keep sewer gases from sneaking back up. If the shower isn’t used much, that water evaporates and—bam—your bathroom smells like the street outside after a storm.

Buildup in the Drain

Bellevue Sewer Gas

Hair, soap, shampoo gunk… it all slides down the drain and sticks. After a while, that buildup starts harboring bacteria, and the smell that rises up can be nasty. If the water is draining slowly, that’s a pretty good clue this is happening.

Vent Pipe Trouble

Every plumbing system needs airflow. That’s what the vent pipes are for. But if a vent gets blocked by leaves, dirt, or even a curious bird making a nest, gases can’t escape properly. Instead, they come right back into your bathroom through the shower drain.

A Few Quick Fixes You Can Try

Not every smelly drain needs a plumber right away. Before you call, give these simple steps a try:

Run some water: If that shower doesn’t get much use, just let the water run for a minute to refill the P-trap.
Baking soda & vinegar trick: Pour in half a cup of baking soda, then the same amount of vinegar. Let it bubble, then flush with hot water. It can clear minor buildup.
Cover unused drains: A cheap drain cover will stop odors from escaping in a bathroom you don’t use often.

These little hacks often help. But if the odor keeps coming back, it’s usually pointing to something bigger.

When It’s Time to Call for Help

If you’ve tried the quick fixes and the smell won’t quit—or you notice it in more than one drain—it’s time to bring in a pro. In Bellevue, we see this all the time. Sometimes it’s a stubborn clog buried deep in the line. Other times it’s a blocked vent or a worn-out seal somewhere in the system.

That’s when 2 Sons Plumbing and Sewer Bellevue comes in. We use specialized cameras and tools that let us see exactly what’s going on and fix it fast. Most of the time, a professional drain cleaning or vent inspection (usually around $200–$450) clears the issue for good.

Get Rid of That Smell for Good

Nobody wants to shower while holding their breath. Call 2 Sons Plumbing and Sewer Bellevue today at (206) 487-1757. We’ll track down the cause, clear it out, and leave your shower (and your nose) feeling a whole lot better.

2 Sons Plumbing and Sewer

4.9

Based on 3840 reviews

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Brad Poirier

2 weeks ago

Had a great experience with 2 Sons Plumbing and Sewer and the representative they sent, Jake. They did a fantastic job communicating through email, text, and calls, sending reminders when the appointment was and who their representative was, and when he would arrive. Jake did a wonderful job hunting done where the leak was coming from and explaining the options I had for getting the leak repaired. When he left he emailed my receipt, pictures he had taken of my water lines under the house, and the options I could use to compete locating and repairing the leak. Highly recommend them. A very professional outfit.

Brad Poirier

2 weeks ago

Jennifer Suemnicht

2 months ago

I asked some of my real estate colleagues who people have been using for plumbing repairs lately and several said “2 Sons”! So friendly and responsive. Came out right away for an estimate, had the best follow up, came in with the best price, and got me on the schedule and got the work done on the very next day! Everyone I spoke with was friendly and fantastic! Highly recommend!

Jennifer Suemnicht

2 months ago

Katy Garner

4 months ago

We had a mystery leak per our meter reading. Riley and Riley saved the day. They promptly discovered the issue, resolved and repaired our pipes in one service call. They were quick, thorough and entirely delightful. They took the time to talk me through the job. I felt heard, safe and comfortable with the two of them in my house. For my next plumbing disaster I hope to get ‘The Riley’s’; but know, whoever comes will be excellent. Thanks 2 Sons!

Katy Garner

4 months ago

Aaron Sutter

4 months ago

2 Sons are my go to plumbers and I recommend them to friends and family looking for a recommendation.
2 Sons had my tenant's water heater replaced in the same day I called them! Justin and his apprentice were awesome! This wasn't a "quick" replacement in the garage - they had to figure out how to squeeze in the water heater through a tight crawl space on their hands and knees under furnace ducting.
Justin was knowledgeable and helpful in troubleshooting different replacement scenarios. He was kind and patient with my number of questions. He never once complained to me about the undesirable placement of the water heater under the house. My tenant even commented to me how kind Justin was to her.
Thank you for making this a quick and easy fix!

Aaron Sutter

4 months ago

Oksana Naidu

4 months ago

Highly recommend 2 Sons. We had a leak in the master bath due to some malfunctioning fixtures and needed to install shut off valves on the hot and cold water lines to prevent further leaks while we waited on the faulty part replacements to be delivered. It was a treat to work with a professional and honest plumbing company that also does quality work. A great experience from first call to post-completion follow ups. Marcos, who was assigned to our job, was just awesome - thorough, efficient, knowledgeable, professional, courteous and helpful. He took his time to fully assess the issue, provided great options and then quickly repaired the problem. Thanks so much for great service in a stressful situation.

Oksana Naidu

4 months ago

Happy Lemon

4 months ago

We had an outstanding experience with this company! They provided incredibly fast, careful, and professional service for our commercial business. From start to finish, their customer service was absolutely excellent-responsive, friendly, and truly attentive to our needs.

A special thank you to our technician, ADAM, who did an exceptional job fixing our clogged hand sink. He was knowledgeable, efficient, and extremely professional & polite. He quickly resolved it with great skill and attention to detail.

Highly recommended!

Happy Lemon

4 months ago

Louisa

4 months ago

Trung our tech and his apprentice Cole did a fantastic job yesterday. They worked tirelessly to replace our old CPVC pipes, install our new shower, and replace our kitchen sink. The job had a multitude of delays due our pipes not being plumb and some extra wall demo. They worked for at least 13+ hours yesterday and left our home at 11 pm. Trung wanted to ensure that we didn't have our water off longer than necessary. We could not be more thankful and grateful for their efforts in the rough in for our bathroom remodel. We look forward to having them back to install the shower/ tub combo, new bathroom faucet, and new toilet with a bidet seat. Trung always went out of his way to explain what was going on and helped us make informed decisions about our home. This is our 3rd or 4th time using 2 Sons and we couldn't recommend them more!

Update: Trung was extremely great with the final install! Unfortunately, there was a few mishaps with not communicating the right color of the shower/ tub combo and the hole for the toilet pipe not being wide enough for the toilet flange. Trung really went above and beyond to ensure we got the right parts and to cut the tile as best he could for the toilet to fit. He even had to double check our toilet because he thought he heard a leak. He even was able to replace our drain stopper and recommended a solution for making the tub drain match!

Louisa

4 months ago

Kathy Cook

4 months ago

I have to say Bob was amazing!!! I had a clogged drain in my kitchen sink. Bob came in and took every precaution to be neat & clean. He explained to me what he was going to do and gave me the pricing and I agreed and he got to work. He was super kind and polite and fixed my drain issue. He was a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend using 2 Sons!

Kathy Cook

4 months ago

Emily Speakman

4 months ago

Had issues at home with water backup. Dave was prompt, professional, and genuinely kind. He communicated between myself and my landlord, explaining the issues and next steps. He quickly put an interim solution in place and outlined the long-term needs. Felt super reliable and easy to work with — highly recommend 2 Sons Plumbing and Sewer.

Emily Speakman

4 months ago

Frank Church V

4 months ago

We contacted these Plumbers on a Friday using Yelp quotes, and they were the fastest to reply and the fastest to engage with us when we had questions. We felt that warranted to give them the opportunity to give us the first consultation. Sometimes we get multiple consults if we get any icky feeling from the people doing it. We didn’t feel that way with this company.

Our toilet was leaking, and we expected we probably could use a new one. But wanted a professional estimate and options.

We got hooked up with their team to schedule it and they were able to give us a time only a day out. We asked for a 8-1pm window and received automated text and a formal phone call from a dispatcher saying how far out the plumber technician was.

The plumber who showed up was named Carey. We also a received a picture of him before he arrived for safety concerns which I thought was a good touch of care from the company. Carey was lights-out the best guy we could have asked for.

He showed up within the approximate eta and was kind, gracious, considerate of our space and gave us a myriad of options. He quoted us prices that felt quite fair, and we chose the option where he removes the toilet and chooses a toilet for us: though we talked about the various options beforehand.
All and all he left for 30 min to get the toilet: and returned to install it. Installation was complete within another 30 minutes.

He was so good man. And we just felt like this is how service and care and things should be in this world. It’s always refreshing when you get that. Because so many outfits just: make you regret everything.

The work was quick, professional, and he was happy to be there and gave us information every step of the way that we respected and appreciated.

We will use this company in the future. You earned our respect and business.

Frank Church V

4 months ago