Slow drainage problem sink and toilets work fine but the tub and shower are maddening?

Question

This problem has been going on for a long time we have even had a plumber snake the drain it lasted about 2 days so now we use liquid plumber or draino every 3 days and that keeps it from completely stopping up its driving me nuts any serious answers would be greatly appreciated

Some great answers but my house is on a slap cant see under it or get to pipes

Answer 1

im assuming your on a ground floor and the pipes are under the cement? try to leave some acid soaking for as long as poss and then use a plunger .
unfortunatly i suspect your going to have to dig up your floor so someone can cut into the pipe where the 1"1/2 pipe meets the 4" branch to either clear the blockage or replace the pipework.
Try getting the last plumber back if he didnt do the job properly or i can do it for £700.

Answer 2

I had a tub/shower that was slow and eventually stopped....then the sink got slow. Aaaarrrggghhhh! No drano worked, even some really harsh clog cleaner didn't work.The problem was eventualy fixed by a plumber. There was a clog about 3 feet from the tub. I thought the entire system would have to be snaked, but I was wrong.

I'd call a different plumber.

Answer 3

At least you have limited where the blockage is - it will be before the bath and shower waste pipes join the sink waste. Do you have long hair? You are likely to find a huge rope of your own hair stuck in one of the water traps (U bends or similar). You just have to unscrew the waste pipes at each of those and dig the damn stuff out. There is no other way. Luckily it will all come out in one huge slobbering kablurg, and can be aided using a coat-hanger shaped into a hook once you get close enough. Shoving mechanical doo dahs down the plughole is likely to fail, and chemicals haven't a hope in heck.

PS I disagree with everyone else so far! To paraphrase Verbal from The Usual Suspects, "there is no mystery to the street (or plumbing)"

Answer 4

Do you have any big trees around your house? You might have tree roots growing in the line. Instead of liquid plumber try dumping a bottle of bleach down the drain just make sure you havent put anything else down there since you dont want to die from toxic fumes. Surprizingly bleach cuts through hair and soap faster and bettter than liquid plumber. Bleach will completley eat up any hair or soap that may be clogging up your line.

Answer 5

sounds like a poor gradient problem, your toilet waste (black water) is on a different drain to your sinks and shower (grey water) so forget the toilet.

It sounds like the sink which is normally at just below waist height has a good vertical head and therefor drains quickly, while the tub and shower drains are normally at floor level have minimal head and/or a poor run off gradient on the pipe runs.

Solution; increase the head or increase the run off gradient of the pipework. The latter is a lot easier than the former.

Good luck ;) H

Answer 6

Get under your tub and you will see directly under the plug hole that the pipes can be unscrewed or disconnected .
Take them apart , clean them and just put them back together .
PS a plumber will probably tell you it needs all new parts and it will cost £200 !
The parts if in the extremely unlikely event that they need changing would cost about £10 and a child could do it , hope this helps good luck .

Answer 7

can you trace the pipework..
you need to get to the point just before the two drains come together, and then , ensuring the tub/shower drain is empty, block it up. From inside, wear gloves and goggles, and pour a strong mix of caustic soda in the pipe. the blocking will ensure it stays in the pipe to do its work. You may leave this overnight.Then, carefully release the block you put in (remember its caustic soda, gloves/goggles) This should have dissolved any fat deposits. Rinse well with a solution of hot washing soda. Another trick is to put a wet vacuum cleaner on the output,if you can....

Answer 8

Pour Clorox in the drain, like half a liter every day, when all of you leave the house, When you come back, run hot water. Do that for about two weeks and you will see the great results. The tub drain is probably stuck with soap grease, body fat, hairs, and it gets like thick-greasy, yucky!.

I always use Clorox instead of Drano, is less toxic. Careful, do not splash on your nice clothes!

Answer 9

Pour bleach down the drains once a month!

Answer 10

u get a powder soap sort of called DRANEX which dissolves metals and hair and cleans up the drainage