bathtub drain

[dunroven]

I have an EXTREMELY CLOGGED DRAIN. I have no clue what is stopping it up. I do know that the plumber says he doesn't have a long enough snake to get to our problem. He has tried and it doesn't clear it. I have tried a clog cannon. I have tried vinegar, salt, and hot water. I have tried baking soda and vinegar, I have tried drano, and drano, and drano. NOTHING is working. I NEED MY BATHTUB!!!!!

The tub has a flat "X" thing in the drain hole. Does anyone have any ideas that might help this? I am running out of ideas. Did I mention, I NEED MY BATHTUB????

[MichaelZ]

Do you have access to the drain pipe in the basement? If this is old steel pipe, it is probably so closed up that you only have an inch or less hole. The solution lies in a hack saw. Then replace with PVC - you can join new PVC to the old pipe if needed with a rubber coupling that has tighteners on each end. I actually did this in our old house and I found the old steel pipe was almost closed up inside - no amount of drano or anything else can do much when this is the case.

[Darren]

Originally Posted by dunroven

I have an EXTREMELY CLOGGED DRAIN. I have no clue what is stopping it up. I do know that the plumber says he doesn't have a long enough snake to get to our problem. He has tried and it doesn't clear it. I have tried a clog cannon. I have tried vinegar, salt, and hot water. I have tried baking soda and vinegar, I have tried drano, and drano, and drano. NOTHING is working. I NEED MY BATHTUB!!!!!

The tub has a flat "X" thing in the drain hole. Does anyone have any ideas that might help this? I am running out of ideas. Did I mention, I NEED MY BATHTUB????

Does either the toilet or the sink in the bathroom drain slowly? How long was the plumber's snake? Are you connected to a septic system or public sewer? Did the plumber try to access the drain via the vent on the roof? How is the house constructed .... slab, crawl space, or basement?

[dunroven]

We are on a septic system. We live in the country. We did have the septic pumped last fall, so I know that's not full. I also know the pipes were not put in correctly in the house. They lay nearly horizontal and we have to use LARGE amounts of water on a daily basis to keep them free. As far as how old the pipes are? The house is just over 100 years old. The bathroom is an add on that looks like it is an add on.... from the inside. The sink and toilet both work fine, not even 10 feet from the tub. I cannot get to the pipes, they go down and there is a very small hole in the wall that you can't get your body through, just your hands and you have to stand up on a ladder to get to it from the basement and the pipes are behind a concrete block wall. No "crawl space."

I don't have any idea of how the plumber used the snake. I was not home when he was here, but my husband was. I am kind of thinking that in order to get to the pipes we are going to have to tear the bathroom off and then add it back on after we fix the pipes. Its not going to be easy or pretty. This is really not good. sigh

[Darren]

Something doesn't make sense if both the sink and the toilet work. Normally drain lines for sewage don't have much slope. That's to keep the solids and water together. How many places do you have to use large amounts of water to keep the lines working? Are you having problems in other places besides the bathroom tub?

Some plumbers have a scope they can run down a drain to find out what's going on. Sometimes those don't give you a clear enough picture to figure it out.

Some how a utensil got into a line under the first floor slab in a local school. The drain goes to the second floor to a sink with a trap. The utensil had to be put in during construction. It could not have gotten past the trap. Over time it snagged enough other stuff to block the drain.

The problem showed up after 30 years.

It might be time to call in someone like Rotorooter. Do you have any trees or shrubs growing anywhere near the house? Is there any chance any outside drains go into that line such as something from the gutters?

[littlebitfarm]

Same thing here. Tub drains slow but sink and toilet are fine. Tub and drain line were replaced in March, no change. Septic tank and about 15' of line to house replaced Monday, no change. Only about 10' of old line left. Sadly crawl space at that point is about 12" and not very workable. Gonna have to get worse before I tackle that pipe.

[MichaelZ]

If you can not access, then you should get someone in with something that can cut through the old deposits. Rotorooter sounds like the answer. It will cost a bit, but it does not sound like you have too many other options.

[sriston]

We had a problem like that with our tub and sink lines in our bathroom. We ran out of money and patience. We finally rerouted/redesigned the drain pipes and now we have a grey water line. The water drains out to our flower garden and fruit trees. It doesn't freeze because all of the water drains out quickly and easily because of the slope of the pipes and the land.

[Darren]

Check the vent pipes that pass through the roof. If a vent is blocked you'll see the water drain slow. Get on the roof and run a snake down from the roof. It doesn't make sense it would be a vent issue with the toilet and sink working. You may have a situation where the tub doesn't have an effective vent. There's ways of adding one if you need to without running a pipe all the way through the roof.

[blooba]

Well a few suggestions,

Get a new plumber, if the sink and stuff drains fine, then it is a localized problem around the tub. A snake should be able to reach it. A plumber should be able to tell you what the problem is and fix it. If he got nothing accomplished and gave you no diagnosis i would hesitate even paying him a trip charge.

Drains only require 2 things, an unblocked drain pipe and airflow. It could be a clogged vent pipe that is supposed to allow air into the sewer pipe (it would be located on your roof) I would get up there and run a garden hose down the vent as far as you can and let the water run and see if it backs up anywhere. That would help you locate the clog and/or clear out your vent pipe.

its very possible its something stuck in your trap right below the tub. In your tub there should be an overflow cover (sometimes its used to open/close the drain) that is the easy way to access your drain pipe without the little "X" in your way. If it is something hard (plastic)blocking your drain sometimes a snake will pass right by it which would give you slow drainage. Sometimes you have to access the trap to remove the item which is why they should always be accessible. (Although not easy)

[Snowfan]

Was the plumber a licensed plumber or just a guy who plays with plumbing? Is a "snake" a long, thin strip of coiled up steel or an actual auger that requires electricity? I agree with others that something just doesn't sound right. Has the tub been draining slower and slower or just all of a sudden quit draining? Just an FYI, if you or someone else does tear in to this problem, PLEASE tell them you've put caustic chemicals in the line.

[Danaus29]

Do either of you have long hair? It might be just a wad of hair stuck right under the drain. Take a metal coat hangar and unbend it. Make a little hook in one end, small enough to fit through the x in the tub drain. Fish around underneath the drain and pull it back out. I would be surprised if you don't pull out a wad of hair.

I found a nice little gadget at Meijer, a piece of 1/2 wide flexible plastic with edges on it like a saw blade. It pulls out hair balls nicely but IMO is just a bit too wide to work real well.

[Harry Chickpea]

If the house is old, it used to be common to put a grease and hair trap on the line from the tub. If you have one, it looks like something about the size of a coffee can on the waste line near the tub. The concept was a horrible idea and most have been removed by now.

Drano is lye based and that is not a real good solution for grease and hair. Sulfamic (sulfuric) acid is much better at dissolving organics - however... if there is any lye remaining in the drain, using it freely can cause excessive heat, boiling chemicals coming out of the tub, and even break piping. It will also ruin the finish on any brightwork and can erode old piping to the point of leakage or breakage. I use it, but only as a last resort.

Snaking is typically done from the roof vent, because most clogs are in the main line or joins to the line. Working that way also pushes clogs and crud down into larger pipes. Working upstream with a snake doesn't always have happy results. If the clog is upstream of the mains, the snaking that was done likely didn't get it.

Since this is a tub drain, the first line of attack is one of the little plastic strips with the "teeth" on the sides. You put it in the drain (it should fit between the crossbars) and the pull it back, catching and removing hair. Once that is done take an entire bottle of "Nair" and pour it into the drain. Leave it overnight. Flush it out with two gallons of BOILING water and repeat with a second bottle. If that doesn't work, you'll likely be looking at a job for a plumber, possibly including replacing the drain.

* Never use boiling water with any lye or acid in the drain and be careful with it even with the Nair.

[homebody]

I have short hair and still use a metal strainer thing in the bt drain. Have to get hair out every few days, sometimes remove and use long tweezers around the x to get more hair. So far this is working fine.

[farminghandyman]

to clean a bath tub drain you go through the over flow not the drain,

What type of trap does the tub have, (if it has a drum trap replace it with a P type trap,

I also suggest a different plumber,