If you find a musty or bad-smelling odor in your bathroom, it may be due to your leaking shower pan.
The good news is that it’s somewhat easy to fix if you have the right advice and the right people by your side. The most important thing with a leaking shower pan is not to leave it undisturbed. Leaks like this can affect the foundation, and if you ignore them, there could be costly repairs in your future.
INX Indoor Air Quality is here to help you identify what is going on in your bathroom and how you can fix it as soon as possible. Our team is extremely familiar with potential leaks and how to identify them and take action. Here’s everything you need to know about this common bathroom issue.
Signs You Have a Leaking Shower Pan
The first sign you’ll notice in how to fix a leaking shower pan is an obvious puddle of water or water stain on the floor.
You’re usually able to see where water has traveled, but if you can’t, there are other signs to keep an eye on as well, including visible water damage, damaged flooring, musty odors, and even loose tiles in the shower. If even one of these is present in your bathroom, you may need a shower pan leak repair. The next step is to confirm the source of the leak.
How To Perform a Shower Pan Leak Test
Before doing any actual repairs, you may want to test your shower pan to double-check that it’s the culprit. There could be other issues at play here, such as a leaking faucet, faulty drain connection, or more. The good news is that a shower pan leak test is a pretty straightforward way to test and see if it’s the problem.
To conduct the shower pan leak test, you’ll first need to prepare the drain. Try buying a test plug that can create a watertight seal so no water can escape down the drainpipe during the test. Then, mark the water line by using a pencil or a piece of tape to remember the reference point. Next, carefully fill the shower pan with water, stopping right at the marker you made, and wait.
Leave the water in the pan for at least 8 hours; we recommend 24 hours to fully see if there is a slow leak at play. After the waiting period, check the water level against your mark. If the level has dropped, and you’ve confirmed your drain plug is secure, you have a leaking shower pan. You should also check the area below the shower for any new signs of water.
The Hidden Danger: Leaking Shower Pan Mold
What you don’t want if you do have a shower pan leaking is mold. With any type of moisture left alone, mold is bound to start growing and spreading, releasing microscopic spores into the air. These spores can circulate throughout your home via your HVAC system, settling on surfaces and getting inhaled by your family. Exposure to mold can lead to a range of health issues.
Because the mold is hidden beneath the shower, you may experience these symptoms without ever seeing the source. This makes addressing a shower pan leak an urgent priority for indoor air quality. INX Indoor Air Quality can address any type of air quality issue, including a leaking shower pan that has developed mold. If you feel this is happening in your home, it may be best to call professionals to resolve it quickly.
How to Fix a Leaking Shower Pan
Fixing a leaking shower pan by yourself can be hard work. The job alone is quite intensive and can require completely replacing the pan in most circumstances. If there are small, minor leaks, you may only be looking at resealing the pan, which isn’t as big of an issue, but if you want to do it right and don’t want to worry about it again, you should call our team at INX Indoor Air Quality.
We have a process specifically on how to fix a leaking shower pan. Our professionals will first take off the shower door, fixtures, faucet, and tiles to fully expose the old shower pan. Then, we will inspect the pan to see if it needs to be fixed or removed entirely. This step exposes the subfloor, allowing you to inspect for water damage and mold.
Then, we have to make sure the exposed subfloor and wall studs are fully and thoroughly dried. Any rotted wood has to be replaced, and any mold present needs to be remediated so this issue doesn’t come up again. Once everything is dry, we install a new shower pan to set in a bed of mortar and connect it to the drainpipe so that a watertight seal is in place.
Finally, we make sure the waterproof membrane is installed over the pan and up the walls to create a continuous waterproof barrier. With the shower fixtures back in place, the grout and corner joints sealed, and any shower tiles retiled, you should all be set and ready to go.
Protect Your Bathroom and Home Health Today
A leaking shower pan problem is not something you can keep on the back burner of your to-do lists. It can get worse and worse over time, with repair costs accumulating. The longer you wait, the more the leak can cause water damage to your bathroom and overall infrastructure, especially if there is mold growth involved.
Knowing the signs of a leaky shower pan is key to getting it to stop pronto. Our guys at INX Indoor Air Quality can help perform a leak test, understand the situation, and act quickly to get it fixed. You may decide to do it yourself, but to better protect your investment, you’ll want professionals involved every step of the way.
Contact us today to see all the bathroom services we offer in terms of water leaks, mold remediation, and more. INX Indoor Air Quality will make sure you and your family are living in a healthy environment all year round.