Any plumbers here...

[ASCTLC]

Any plumbers on this site who might be able to advise me on a very slow drain?

It's the shower drain of the new house we just moved into. I used a 1/4" snake but that just sin't heavy duty enough to rip through the clog of hair, lint, and ?. I can get it to grab a little bit but I know I'm not removing the whole plug. The plug is past the p-trap and 3 additional 90 degree joints.

I have clear access to the pipes under the house but they are all glue joints so no easy access to reach the clog.

I can't use a water blaster because the drain shares pipes to the tub and vent. I'd have to find a way to completely block 3 other routes the water would take before pushing the clog.

Options I've considered;
buy a 1/2" snake if it's not too large for 1 1/4" pipe
pour 1/2 gallon liquid drain opener and let it sit for 1/2 hour of so
cut the pipe and repair with a glue on coupler
call a plumber
or any suggestion you might have for other options or for which above is the likely successful method.

Thanks,
Andy

[Joker]

Don't use liquid drain opener. It's not very good for the plumbing......or at least that what I was told by the guy who came over and unplugged a drain in my basement.

[Big Kev]

I would use the drain opener. But I live in an apartment and I am not worried about the pipes.

[Oscar]

M-80?

[Rando]

call a drain cleaning company.
they can get under there and find a good place to install a clean out or figure out a way to clean it as is.

[Yota]

I'm not a plumber but a buddy of mine is and I've been involved in one seriously nasty drain clog on the main house drain at my parents house on Christmas Day a few years ago. Mad respect. :barf:

If Snake A (hand snake? Drill connection?) can reach, but not cut through, the clog I'd say you just need a more powerful/longer snake.

If you can't get to the thing with a bigger snake and there is no other way to reach the clog, I'd ask a plumber about the chemical drain openers. Plumbers tend to hate that stuff though.

Failing all that, you're looking at trying to reach the clog with the snake from some other vantage point - possibly even having to pull up carpet and cutting through the subfloor and cutting the line and putting in a cleanout or somesuch - which is similar to what we had to do during the Big Nasty Christmas Clog. We actually had to dig down to the main house drain in the middle of the yard, break it open (clay pipe), clean up the mess, :barf: and put in a rubber boot and tee off that with a PVC cleanout.

Sometimes plumbing brings teh suck and that is when the pros really earn (and are more than worth) their money.

Good luck!

[Wild Hare]

try the liquid plumber stuff. hd in the grey bottle. its safe for abs and pvc pipe. pour it in and let set overnight. should be gone in the morning

[Gunter]

is it the sink? tub or main?
how old is the house?

[newracer]

liquid plumber and draino are safe for pipes, that's what I'd use

[Frank Z]

is it the sink? tub or main?
Post #1

[Gunter]

Post #1
argh
when you run the tub drain,run it down the bottom under the strainer,and down the vent where the lever is to close off the drain plug.you will need to take 2 screws out and clean that off too.
if it is a shower stall only kind of deal, you need to run it and clear it out.
here are the usual shower / tub drain blockages
hair
hair/skin oil/soap gunk
foreign object--shampoo lid etc
you should only need to go 2-3 feet to clear it.
getting the snake to make all the 90's can be hard,but making it do a tee is harder,most of the time it wants to go up and not down.
per haps you can re do the drain and get rid of some of the 90's and add a clean out after you get this cleared.
if you rent a snake to do it,WEAR GLOVES!!the 1/4" ones can take skin off,and the big ones can break your hands.if it flips back on itself and starts knotting up.
but seriously,if you buy liquid,and it fails,and then rent machine,and all your time--you would be better off just calling a drain cleaning service.:thumbsup:
a friend of mine from my snake n rooter days is doing his own plumbing bidness,he can sort you out.PM me if you want his number.

[ASCTLC]

Yup, it's a shower stall drain. The clog is about 8' from the shower floor. The 1/4" grabbed some and it's hair and lint. No idea why lint but that's what it looks like. Or the previous owners dog's hair (like super fine poodle undercoat).

Liquid cleaner has helped a little but I have no illusion that this is good enough. I believe it'll just turn right around and constrict again.

Any idea if a 1/2" snake will be flexible enough to move 10' in a 1 1/4" pipe through one p-trap and three 90* joints? I get the impression that a 1/2" snake is too large for 1 1/4" pvc but none of the literature on the snakes offers any pipe size guidelines.

Thanks,
Andy

[Wild Hare]

heck, since you have access of the pipes from the crawl space i assume. cut the pipe, clear the clog and repair the pipe. there are simple "homeowner" type rubber hose clamps that can make the repair or buy a small can of primer, glue and a union and make the repair

[Slacker]

Redneck homeowner here......I bent a small hook onto a 10' piece of bailing wire, snaked it down and around, hooked the offending furball, pulled it back up, vomited, and done!

[Clint]

Redneck homeowner here......I bent a small hook onto a 10' piece of bailing wire, snaked it down and around, hooked the offending furball, pulled it back up, vomited, and done!

EWWWWWWW :D

[j5]

Go to home depot and rent a decent snake. That's what I did to clear my main line - 100' of 3/4" heaven compared to trying to do it manually. The electric one was a sinch.