Mice Coming Up Shower Drain

[Amy]

When we first bought our house 17 years ago, we noticed that when we used the shower stall in our Master Bedroom, a significant amount of water would leak onto the bathroom floor. A few tiles just fell off the wall on the inside of the shower, a few feet off the floor, and it was wet behind it. One contractor told us we needed to rip out the shower stall, get a new pan, new shower stall and re-tile. He quoted several thousand dollars. We couldn't afford it. So we just stopped using it and have used the other bathroom in the house for our showers (it is just 2 of us). We actually just used the old shower stall as a place to store our luggage. Well, the other day I pulled out all the luggage and got a big surprise...the bottom of the stall, under the luggage, was covered in tiny mouse droppings. With the shower door always kept closed, they could not have been coming from inside the house. The drain cover (plastic) was completely loose and detached and pushed to the side. So the drain was wide open, just a big open hole. I could feel cold air rushing out. Does this mean that mice have chewed a hole in one of my pipes in order to come up the drain? Or were they just coming up from the sewer directly? Is it normal to feel cold air like that? I am afraid to turn the water on in the shower, in case there IS a hole in a pipe. Is this something insurance would cover? I don't know where to start or what to do next.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Ar you on a slab or crawl space? What type of drain pipes, PVC, Cast Iron? The mice are coming from under the floor or through an outside wall. Even from the attic/roof and they work themselves down the walls. They look for warmth. Now the large American Cockroach has fairly large droppings also. Here in Florida they live outdoors in the ground and sometimes get into the home. The trap under your old shower dried out and cockroaches will use it as a hwy from the septic system. When I do see one it's usually in the garage or when working in the yard. Armadillos and Possums love them.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Amy]

Ar you on a slab or crawl space? What type of drain pipes, PVC, Cast Iron? The mice are coming from under the floor or through an outside wall. Even from the attic/roof and they work themselves down the walls. They look for warmth. Now the large American Cockroach has fairly large droppings also. Here in Florida they live outdoors in the ground and sometimes get into the home. A dry trap under your old shower dried out and coach roaches will use it as a hwy from the septic system. When I do see one it's usually in the garage or when working in the yard. Armadillos and Possums love them.

We have slab. Pipes are just PVC. There is no other opening where mice could have come thru inside the closed shower stall, other than the drain pipe. Droppings were not found anywhere else except inside the shower stall, so whatever was in there had to come up the drain and did not leave the shower stall. I did not think about the large cockroach. That's interesting because I did find one of those big buggers inside there also and I killed it (it was half dead already). But these droppings were big enough to be mice droppings, such as from a younger mouse. We have a lot of mice in the area because there is a landfill not far from here. I have had them get inside the house before. That's why I am assuming it is mice, besides the fact that it looked that the drain opening had been chewed and pushed to the side, which I don't believe roaches can do, lol. But probably they took advantage of the drain being open and came up. Also, what about the breeze of cold air coming up the drain? My concern is if they have chewed a hole in the pipe, or if they are coming all the way from the sewer up the drain.

 

[WorthFlorida]

They could have come from the roof vent. They’ll fall down and won’t be able to climb out. The draft from the drain is from the vent because the p trap below the floor always needs water in it. Every few weeks pour A few quarts of water down the drain to keep it full.

 

[hj]

Pour some RV antifreeze in the drain. It will not evaporate and the mice will not come through it.

 

[Amy]

There are no vents above the shower stall. Thank you for the tip about keeping water in the trap. But pouring antifreeze down the drain, are you kidding? You are never suppose to pour antifreeze into the water supply down a water drain!!!!! I'm not a plumber but even I know that! Wow! Antifreeze has to be safely disposed of.

 

[hj]

RV antifreeze is NOT automobile antifreeze.

RV antifreeze is non-toxic and meant for pumping into the plumbing system. Automotive antifreeze is a whole different critter. Many types are toxic, and should only be put into an engine cooling system. ..

 

[Kreemoweet]

The sewer pipes in my town, and I presume most other places, are full of rats and likely other critters.
And not just the public sewers, I mean the drain pipes in many homes. I've seen them come up thru
full toilets, and I've seen them hopping out of broken drains on the 2nd and 3rd floors of old houses.
Mice are nuthin'.

 

[WorthFlorida]

There are no vents above the shower stall. Thank you for the tip about keeping water in the trap. But pouring antifreeze down the drain, are you kidding? You are never suppose to pour antifreeze into the water supply down a water drain!!!!! I'm not a plumber but even I know that! Wow! Antifreeze has to be safely disposed of.

The vent I’m talking about is what the drainage system needs for proper flow of waste water. On your roof you’ll see at least one, maybe two pipes sticking out of the roof. You can have Hardware cloth placed over the vent pipe to prevent any critters from getting into roof vent. HArdware cloth is 3/8" screen that will not any airflow.

 

[Mliu]

As WorthFlorida stated, your P-trap is dry. This is because you haven't used the shower in a long time and all the water has evaporated out of the trap. Not only does this make it convenient for mice to enter your home, but also insects and potentially toxic noxious sewer gas. I'm surprised you never smelled any odor before in your master bathroom.

As HJ stated, the way to prevent unused P-traps from drying out is to fill them with RV antifreeze. Unlike regular automobile antifreeze, RV antifreeze is non-toxic and intended for use in potable water plumbing. Pour a couple of cups of the stuff in the drain.

And since you're no longer using the shower, you might as well plug it too. Just to ensure the mice don't swim through the trap (RV antifreeze is actually consumable, so it certainly won't kill the mice and it may not even deter them). Measure the diameter of your drain (should be 2") and get the right size of one of these compression test plugs (see below). They sell them at HomeDepot and other hardware stores. Push the plug into the drainpipe and tighten the wingnut on top to lock it in place.

 

[Tworials]

It's crazy how things can fly under the radar for so long, like using the shower stall for storage without realizing what's going on underneath. Those tiny droppings under the luggage must've been a real wake-up call.
Thanks for sharing those files on getting rid of bed bugs and ants, by the way. It's funny how pests always seem to find their way into our lives when we least expect it.
If I were in your shoes, I'd definitely consider checking out a pest control company from this website. They might have some insight into whether those mice are sneaking in through the drain or from somewhere else.