Gross smell from shower...

It seems to come somewhat randomly, I probably have to snake the drain as I have tried to use cleaning supplies plus one of those long pipe cleaners (probably 1 ft long). It helps for a while but eventually comes back.

Thanks.

Is the trap directly underneath the drain? How far down is the p-trap? Is the shower used daily? Are there signs of moisture showing that the grout is wet? Do you have any idea how the shower pan was built? Is it tiled, or a solid surface or fiberglass?

Thanks for the reply. The trap isn't right below the shower as far as I can tell, I wasn't here when it was all put in (the house is only 5 years old). It is a one piece shower. Sorry I can't be more informative, kinda wish I saw it before it was all put in.

If you take a flashlight, and look down the drain, can you see standing water? If so, that is the location of the trap. If you just see pipe and maybe a bend, you've probably found the source of the problem. Anything above the trap that catches hair, soap scum, oil, dead skin, etc. is exposed to the air inbetween showers, and can smell. Keeping that pipe clean is the only solution other than moving the trap directly under the drain where it should be.

Now, if there are seams in that shower, and they aren't installed well, you could have mold behind the walls, or in the floor, if it was leaking around the drain into the subflooring. That's another issue altogether.

May I recommend using some Bio-Clean. It helps eat away soap scum and other oder causing things that can build up in that drain. Just have a look at this thread https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5305

Odors coming from drains are a common problem in many homes. Some people only have the problem when they run water in a drain. The source of the odor is generally a buildup of biofilm on the sides of the vertical pipe running from the drain down to it's trap. This vertical tailpiece pipe can accumulate a seething bacteria-filled organic layer of slime over time. When water rushes past the slime, it can dislodge some of the molecules into the air and they waft up out of the room. Cleanser and a 2" wide bottle brush attached to a cordless drill followed by a thorough flushing with clean water ought to remove the biofilm from the pipe walls.