Slow bathroom drainage.

[Salty seadog]

My bath is draining very slowly, it has a shallow drop off. The sink is just along the pipe from the bath and when emptying the sink it gurgles up and often comes up the bath plug.

I've chucked loads of bleach down it which gives temporary relief.

Oh wise ones come forth with your suggestions.

 

[Tenkaykev]

My bath is draining very slowly, it has a shallow drop off. The sink is just along the pipe from the bath and when emptying the sink it gurgles up and often comes up the bath plug.

I've chucked loads of bleach down it which gives temporary relief.

Oh wise ones come forth with your suggestions.

I have an unblocker which consists of a length of flexible coiled stainless steel and a sort of windy handle. It was from Aldi / Lidl / Screwfix ( I've had it so long I can't remember where I purchased it) it is small enough in diameter to fit through the drain holes in the sink / bath

 

[Cycleops]

Drain cleaner.

 

[lazybloke]

I use a plunger

 

[Salty seadog]

I use a plunger

Been there done that.

 

[oldwheels]

All my waste water goes into a sump outside which in turn goes off into another drain to goodness knows where. A neighbours waste water also goes in the same sump.
My shower was not draining properly so I went out to investigate and discovered the sump was full of gunge preventing the water from escaping. My neighbour had noticed a flood outside and had lifted the cover to investigate but had no idea what to do. I had a handy drain rod and poked around which opened enough of a hole to let everything go down the drain gunge and all.
Bits of rubbish from the kitchen sink accumulate over time and this needs to be cleared from time to time but this was only the second time I had to do it in 40 years in the same house.

 

[Cycleops]

Bits of rubbish from the kitchen sink accumulate over time and this needs to be cleared from time to time but this was only the second time I had to do it in 40 years in the same house.

Fatbergs!

 

[Tenkaykev]

Our plumber keeps a wet and dry Vac on his van, useful in so many ways. He got it from Screwfix, it was really cheap and he didn't expect it to last too long. It's still doing sterling service after a couple of years of regular use. This is the one he has, sometimes it goes on offer and is even cheaper.

 

[oldwheels]

Fatbergs!

The very first one I cleared was indeed a fatberg left by a previous occupant of the house who had tipped a whole pan of fat down the sink after making chips.
The second one was not and cleared itself once a flow was estsblished.

 

[rockyroller]

My bath is draining very slowly, it has a shallow drop off. The sink is just along the pipe from the bath and when emptying the sink it gurgles up and often comes up the bath plug.

I've chucked loads of bleach down it which gives temporary relief.

Oh wise ones come forth with your suggestions.

so then the immediate tub drain is clear, but they share a drain
is there access to that?
there must be a cleanout / trap somewhere close by
what is the floor below the bathroom? basement? can you go down there & look up & see if you have access to anything

never heard of bleach clearing a clogged drain. baking soda & vinegar, maybe, but that's not as strong as a gel type drain cleaner
if you try drain cleaner, dump a big bottle down the drain & wait 30 minutes then flush it w/ buckets of hot water
let that drain & repeat

when I do my tub drain, I do it manually with a plastic thing & a coat hanger & then 1/2 bottle of drain cleaner, hot water, then repeat w/ the 2nd 1/2 of drain cleaner & hot water. I usually only wait 20 minutes. so if yours is killer, then I was suggesting a whole bottle & 30 minutes (done twice)

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Is this something new or something that has grown worse over time

I used to live in a house where the drainage was outside on the wall so I could see that the bath drain was pretty much horizontal
after a while the plastic pipe bent a bit in the middle (it should have had an extra support) so general crud gathered in the middle

I fixed it by shortening a vertical bit of the system so everything dropped a bit extra over its length - but that all depends on how easy it is to get at your system and whether or not you can easily fix it.

 

[rockyroller]

Our plumber keeps a wet and dry Vac on his van, useful in so many ways. He got it from Screwfix, it was really cheap and he didn't expect it to last too long. It's still doing sterling service after a couple of years of regular use. This is the one he has, sometimes it goes on offer and is even cheaper.

& that is used to clear a drain?

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Fatbergs!

There's just no need for that sort of language on a family friendly forum

 

[a.twiddler]

Rather than wait for things to slow down it's a good idea to give a regular dose, maybe once a month, of some drain cleaner in your shower, bath or kitchen drain. Probably cheaper to use something like caustic soda as that's likely what's in most branded stuff but it takes careful handling as it's quite noxious stuff. Should help prevent smells developing too. Shouldn't damage chrome, but not good with gold plated drain fittings. Still, if you've got those, one's man probably deals with one's domestic inconveniences.

 

[Slick]

Mr Muscle.

Your welcome.