Hi, new here, not the best handy man, but trying to learn.
I have a shower that is on a concrete slab. The tile is stone, which I sealed upon moving into this new 5 year
old house. I am cleaning the shower for the first time (we wipe it down after every use). I noticed that the strainer would
rotate and when it did I heard water dripping into the pipe. I unscrewed the two screws holding the strainer
down and then rotated counter clockwise on the pipe that was loose and could rotate. I unscrewed it completely
off. I have since learned that this is known as the strainer body? I see some black mold on the concrete once
I removed the strainer body and I smell mold. Is this normal? Should the strainer body be on tight and not rotate? Should
caulk have been applied by the builder between the strainer body and the tile/grout? It was not. I was thinking of pouring
some bleach on the concrete that was hidden beneath the strainer body, being careful not to get any on the
stone tiles. I think there is supposed to be a way for water that gets on the shower pan to go down the drain,
but I don't understand how that works and I don't want to do anything that prevents that kind of operation and
causes a big mold issue.
By the way, I do notice some moldy looking grout lines around the strainer and I am wondering if water has been collecting underneath the tiles and molding causing mold to seap up from below on the grout lines?
Any help will be definitely appreciated!
I have a shower that is on a concrete slab. The tile is stone, which I sealed upon moving into this new 5 year
old house. I am cleaning the shower for the first time (we wipe it down after every use). I noticed that the strainer would
rotate and when it did I heard water dripping into the pipe. I unscrewed the two screws holding the strainer
down and then rotated counter clockwise on the pipe that was loose and could rotate. I unscrewed it completely
off. I have since learned that this is known as the strainer body? I see some black mold on the concrete once
I removed the strainer body and I smell mold. Is this normal? Should the strainer body be on tight and not rotate? Should
caulk have been applied by the builder between the strainer body and the tile/grout? It was not. I was thinking of pouring
some bleach on the concrete that was hidden beneath the strainer body, being careful not to get any on the
stone tiles. I think there is supposed to be a way for water that gets on the shower pan to go down the drain,
but I don't understand how that works and I don't want to do anything that prevents that kind of operation and
causes a big mold issue.
By the way, I do notice some moldy looking grout lines around the strainer and I am wondering if water has been collecting underneath the tiles and molding causing mold to seap up from below on the grout lines?
Any help will be definitely appreciated!
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