Clearing a clogged tub drain.

[widgeon13]

I have a clogged drain beyond the trap going out of a tub. Is there anything that can be recommended to clear the clog beyond the trap. It is between the tub and another sink so can get any pressure built up to push the clog through and can't get a snake to it either. Recommendations?

It's not septic related because the toilets and another sink work fine.

[Hugh R]

Go to a real plumbing supply house and get positive drain cleaner, its some kind of acid, and you should wear a face shield and put a bucket over the drain after you dump it in, in case it burps back out.

[rick-l]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

It is between the tub and another sink so can get

This is not the way a drain is configured. It should go straight to a stack

Originally Posted by widgeon13

can't get a snake to it either.

Take the overflow / drain trip off and stick the snake down there.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by rick-l

Take the overflow / drain trip off and stick the snake down there.

This. I have a compact snake that I can attach to my chordless drill. More effective way to clear a clog than any chemical you can pour down there.

-Z-man.

[jyl]

If you can't get snake access and don't have the drain acid, I would try this: fill the sink and close its drain, it won't be totally stopped up but the water column/plug will provide some resistance. Then put some water in the tub and use a plunger on the tub drain. When using a plunger, use rhythmic pushes, you are trying to set up a sort of oscillation that little by little eventually shakes the clog free, rather than trying to blow the clog free with one mighty push.

[Aragorn]

If I understand correctly, you have a clogged or partially clogged bathtub drain. I usually take a wet sock or handtowel and stuff it in the upper tub drain, run some water till it backs up and plunge away. Usually this clears all obstructions. If the clog is in the bathtub drain this should usually work.

Clear Any Clogged Drain | Plumbing | Plumbing, HVAC & Electrical | This Old House

[Rickysa]

Use "Thrift" plus boiling hot water....nothin' better

[sammyg2]

My tubs have a vent plate/overflow preventor near the spout.
I take that plate off, run my portable drill-powered 1/4" x 25' snake down there and pull it out with a big ole ball O'hair stuck to the end.
Takes 5 minutes and i gotta do it bout twice a year.

[widgeon13]

The drain for the tub is connected to the sink drain as if I plunge the sink water comes back up inthe tub. The house is almost 100 years old but well constructed. Not sure how they did it back then. The water eventually goes to the pipe that goes down between interior and exterior wall.

I think I need to pour the cleaner in the sink and not the tune to get more elevation and closer to the clog.

Quote de widgeon13

It is between the tub and another sink so can get

This is not the way a drain is configured. It should go straight to a stack

Quote de widgeon13

can't get a snake to it either.

Take the overflow / drain trip off and stick the snake down there.

[widgeon13]

Ok, used Lightning drain cleaner (thanks for all the suggestions) and got the clog out now I have sprung a small leak in the fittings under the bathroom sink. Leak might be from the acid drain cleaner but now I need to replace a jury rigged trap hopefully with a conventional set up.

This is what it looks like now.

The leak is at the bottom of the straight run down from the sink on the left. The screw on compression fitting at the top is also cracked (where the sink connection hooks to PVC). The bottom (at six o'clock) of the fabricated elbow seam appears to be tight but I want to replace that with a conventional PVC trap and then hook to the drain pipe going out.

My question is "can I do this all with PVC compression fittings and new PVC trap or do I need to keep the same crappy design that exists now. The existing is all done with 2" PVC. The fittings where it joins the elbow coming down and to the drain have been glued and I think are so tight to the drawer (on the left) that I might not be able to actually tighten the fittings by turning. Back drain section looks like this.

Could I do it all with 1/12" and not 2" and gain some clearance? Guess I'll go to Lowes and show the plumbing guy the pics and see if they can give me whatever I need to get the job done this Saturday.

Any suggestions or recommendation on a parts list would be appreciated. I'm hoping to avoid going back and forth from hardware store since it's an hour away. Maybe someday we'll be able to use the bathroom again, at least we have the shower back in use.

[look 171]

Get a regular p-trap in there. Use the type you can open up and get at by unscrewing the trap to get a wedding ring or whatever you or your wife may drop in there. It makes cleaning easier, but I like glued traps, because there is no chance for leakage. Use pipe dope (goopy stuff) on the joints for additional seepage prevention if you decide to go that route.

[Evans, Marv]

I can't believe someone went to all the trouble to make that thing when they could have put a p-trap in from the start. Maybe whoever did it had a bunch of extra PVD laying around - along with time to kill.

[look 171]

oh, 1 1/2" will be fine.

[plumb4u2]

all that existing pipe IS 1 1/2" not 2"

[Bugsinrugs]

What am I missing? It says 2inch right on the pipes.

[widgeon13]

Wouldn't the standard p trap for a sink be a 1 1/2" pipe? If I can do that and use compression fittings that is what I'd like to do. I have no idea why it was done the way it was.

[VincentVega]

The fittings have 1 1/2 imprinted.

I'm in the middle of a similar project and am learning as I go. It's doable.

[dyount]

What you are showing there is what's called and "S" trap. What you want, however, is a "P" trap. You can easily cut the pipe where the last fitting attaches, add a PVC compression fitting and switch piping sizes to 1 1/2" and get rid of most of the plastic in the way in the vanity.

Two things are of issue with the way it is currently installed.

1 with the vertical drop increasing water speed into the "S" trap the trap will not seal correctly at the weir
2 the S trap is prone to a vacuum on the crown side that will suck the water over the crown and loose the seal.

To properly plumb a P the distance from the weir (the lower loop) to the crown ( the furthest edge that the plumbing turns back to vertical) should be 2X the weir. IE if the lower loop is 4" the distance to where it drops into the vertical pipe back into the floor should be 8"

Using a smaller diameter pipe will make all of the "math" easier

[dyount]

Notice the next time you are at the store they sell pre-packaged "P" traps not "S"s.

As well if you do the typical compression type plastic fittings you could disassemble and rod sink down

[fintstone]

I found this helpful:
Charleston Home Inspector discusses plumbing traps, arms and vents | Blue Palmetto Home Inspection