Odor (?) from shower in 2014 Airstream

[RFP]

OK, here's the mystery... Our 23D is a 2014 model, and, as such, still pretty much delights with that "new Airstream smell" every time the door is opened. Even so, there is a ever-so-slight-but-distinct "odor" coming from the rear (corner) bath. My wife swears it smells like "pee," I contend it's outgassing of the fiberglass shower.

So, to rule out the toilet as a possible offender, I filled the [clean] black tank so that the water was all the way up the drain pipe to the toilet's flush valve... so, water was covering the entire tank as well as the toilet-to-tank seal. The water held at that level for 24 hours (ruling out a 'leak' somewhere). The "odor" in the area was unchanged.

I closed the shower door, left it closed overnight. The next morning, I went out , opened the shower door and stuck my big nose in there... sure enough, I am even more confident that the "odor" is coming off the fiberglass shower.

For the record, the bathroom is surgically (!) clean. If I sniff around the toilet, there is no indication of any stink.

I'm at a loss... mostly because my wife won't concede that the odor smells pretty much like the ancient can of fiberglass resin in my garage.

But...

Could she be right?

Thanks,

Rob

[jdalrymple]

Run water in the shower drain.

There is a trap beneath the floor that keeps the gases from venting into the cabin via the shower drain. In the heat, and if not used, the water can evaporate from this trap and allow the tank to vent into the shower.



To my knowledge, the shower drain in a 23' runs to the grey tank, not the black tank.


Regards,

JD

[Wayne&Sam]

What JD said. Pour a cup of water down the drain, that will fill the trap.

[GenXair]

That's an interesting possibility JD pointed out. My first thought, if you're not using a drain trap, was hair in the drain.

[RFP]

Originally Posted by jdalrymple

Run water in the shower drain.

There is a trap beneath the floor that keeps the gases from venting into the cabin via the shower drain. In the heat, and if not used, the water can evaporate from this trap and allow the tank to vent into the shower.



To my knowledge, the shower drain in a 23' runs to the grey tank, not the black tank.


Regards,

JD

Oops, sorry... one "fact' that I failed to mention is that the shower trap is full and the rubber drain plug' is in place.

Thanks for the suggestions, though... I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

[Wayne&Sam]

Is the shower vent open? If so you might get the smell from the tank vent if it is nearby on that model.

[RFP]

Breakthrough!

I should have done this before I posted.

I had Linda go out to the trailer, take off her shoes, put her little [sensitive] nose right up to the fiberglass wall of the shower and 'sniff.' Yep, sez she, that's it!

Ah ha.

So tomorrow, I'm going to wipe down the shower from side to side and from top to bottom with denatured alcohol. Then I'm going to 'wax' the whole shebang with one of the new polymer 'waxes' that have become so popular for cars. Maybe I can seal in the odor.

Sure hope that's not a bad idea with unintended consequences... dang, I worry too much.

Rob

[KJRitchie]

I guess if that doesn't work you are going to have to use the trailer more. Once a you have a few more showers, toilet events, and cook up a bunch of delicious food I bet the odor will go away or won't be noticed.

or you can start wearing Old Spice

Kelvin

[switz]

Hang some dirty socks on the shower towel bar and that may mask the other aroma.... We waxed the shower in our 2015 23D as soon as we got it home and have not noticed any unusual smells.

[3wd67rg]

Use white vinegar in a spray bottle to thoroughly wet down shower. Then use Arm & Hammer in a shake bottle to coat every inch of your vinegar wetted shower. Fill a sponge with vinegar and begin washing, DO NOT rinse. Let the mixture stay on for as long as possible, a day or two, spraying with vinegar and shaking some baking soda now and then as necessary. Or at least several hours. Yes this will bubble up, fun! Kids will love it! Call it a science experiment. Not only does it removes bad smells, Bonus is that it will really whiten your tub too.

Of course there is a chance that this won't work, I've never tried it on fiberglass for smells, it will still whiten your tub. I've taken stains and smells out of plastic containers though. So at least worth a shot.

[RFP]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

<<< snip >>>

or you can start wearing Old Spice

Kelvin

Or maybe drinking it... I hear it's excellent over ice with a twist of lime...

Originally Posted by switz

Hang some dirty socks on the shower towel bar and that may mask the other aroma.... We waxed the shower in our 2015 23D as soon as we got it home and have not noticed any unusual smells.

So, as a follow up, I wiped down the entire surface of the shower with a Bounty paper towel (dang, I love those things!) well saturated with denatured alcohol. Doing this removed a 'yellowish' film that I am suspecting to be some type of mold release used in the molding process. This stuff must have pretty tenacious in that it had resisted the very best efforts of earlier scrub-downs with 'Scrubbing Bubbles' and the like.

After the wipe down I used Maguier's 'Paint Protect' (Maguier's product number G36516). This stuff is a super-easy-to-use polymer sealant. The best news of all is that the offending odor is gone.

Yay, I love a happy ending!

Rob

[beachbouy]

I have noticed the same scent in our 2016 international shower and I thought it was coming from the drain because once I use the shower the scent is gone... for awhile.

[RFP]

Originally Posted by beachbouy

I have noticed the same scent in our 2016 international shower and I thought it was coming from the drain because once I use the shower the scent is gone... for awhile.

Happy Friday, 'Beach...'

Sometime, just give it the same 'up close sniff test' we did and see what you think... all fans off, put your nose right up against the fiberglass and sniff

Ours was definitely coming right off the fiberglass shower.

[darsea]

I was informed by AS that the shower or sing drains might dry out or splash out due to the trailer motion on the road.
Previous suggestion filling trap with vinegar which might be mixed with water seems good.

We use a spray bottle with vinegar and dish detergent to clean shower surround.

I would bet the culprit is a dry trap.

John

[RFP]

Originally Posted by darsea

<<< snip >>>

I would bet the culprit is a dry trap.

John

John, I'm thinking you may not have read the posts that I made just above... the cause has been found and fixed.. thanks,

Rob

[3wd67rg]

Originally Posted by darsea

I was informed by AS that the shower or sing drains might dry out or splash out due to the trailer motion on the road.
Previous suggestion filling trap with vinegar which might be mixed with water seems good.

We use a spray bottle with vinegar and dish detergent to clean shower surround.

I would bet the culprit is a dry trap.

John

I've found vinegar to be a strong enough cleaner on its own, but if I want scent I add into my spray bottle several droppers full of Lavender Essential Oil. Once I tried Peppermint Essential Oil, (Cellar spiders a problem in my area). Vinegar and peppermint mixed is bleh. I've since found a better recipe for spider reppellent.