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need bathtub drain repair advice
Post your question at www.plbg.com, far and away the best plumbing advice
site. "Timothy Miller" wrote in message ... Hi, I have a one story house on a slab, on a flat lot, downscale, in California, built in 1953, one bathroom, three BRs. The bathtub and bathroom sink drains are more or less back to back with the kitchen sink drain. The bathtub drain probably wouldn't pass code today. I think there's too little fall. It drains slowly, and periodically stops draining altogether until cleaned out, either with enzyme drain cleaner or liquid plumber. The other day it stopped draining altogether. The usual measures didn't seem to help. All the other drains in the house seem to be working. My wife called the plumber while I was at work. He says he couldn't get his snake down the bathtub overflow tube. He says the brass fitting has corroded hopelessly, the tub has to come out, and then "he'll see what kind of repairs are needed." He may be right, but I have a funny feeling I don't trust this guy. He said he "might try" to go in thru the back of the kitchen sink. It's "not impossible" that he'll have to break out the old jackhammer. When I remove the overflow cover and the drain basket, the brass does not seem seriously corroded. (This stuff is supposed to resist corrosion, isn't it?) The fitting is pretty loose in whatever it connects to. I'd guess it's a compression fitting with some old fashioned kind of putty or packing or something, but I don't really know. I wonder if it's possible to put some kind of scope down the drain so I can diagnose the problem without ripping the house apart. Beyond that, I suppose this is a pretty common problem. Any suggestions regarding diagnosis and treatment? There's a recession on. I just want it to keep on working for a few more years, at minimum expense. Thanks a bunch, Tim Miller |
#2
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need bathtub drain repair advice
Thanks to all for excellent assistance on this one.
BTW, the plumber didn't say the overflow tube was shot. He said that the entire bathtub drain fitting (the drain and the overflow tube were all one heavy brass casting) and the tee they connect to, and maybe the main drain line were all "rotten." Further investigation suggested that the brass drain fitting was fine. They were kind of loose in the expansion joint on the tee that connects them to the main drain, but I figured it's no big deal because it doesn't need to hold pressure. The bath water runs downhill, after all. Further investigation showed the plumber didn't really troubleshoot. The water from a sink farther upstream was coming up in the bathtub. The next drain downstream was the kitchen sank. It drains fine. Duhhhh.... I figure the sink doesn't clog because the dishwasher drains into the sink. Very hot, very soapy water going down twice per day keeps it clean. I turned the temperature all the way up on the water heater, put lots of really hot water and several boxes of dishwasher detergent down the bathtub and the sink upstream. It cleared in about twenty minutes. So the problem is solved, but I'm not very happy about the $200 for the useless service call. I'm even less happy about the plumber's insistence that I needed several thousand dollars in repairs, immediately. He wanted me to sign the contract and start that afternoon. I'm wondering about trying to get my $200 back or going to the board of conumer affairs. Comments? Suggestions? Tim Miller Timothy Miller wrote: Hi, I have a one story house on a slab, on a flat lot, downscale, in California, built in 1953, one bathroom, three BRs. The bathtub and bathroom sink drains are more or less back to back with the kitchen sink drain. The bathtub drain probably wouldn't pass code today. I think there's too little fall. It drains slowly, and periodically stops draining altogether until cleaned out, either with enzyme drain cleaner or liquid plumber. The other day it stopped draining altogether. The usual measures didn't seem to help. All the other drains in the house seem to be working. My wife called the plumber while I was at work. He says he couldn't get his snake down the bathtub overflow tube. He says the brass fitting has corroded hopelessly, the tub has to come out, and then "he'll see what kind of repairs are needed." He may be right, but I have a funny feeling I don't trust this guy. He said he "might try" to go in thru the back of the kitchen sink. It's "not impossible" that he'll have to break out the old jackhammer. When I remove the overflow cover and the drain basket, the brass does not seem seriously corroded. (This stuff is supposed to resist corrosion, isn't it?) The fitting is pretty loose in whatever it connects to. I'd guess it's a compression fitting with some old fashioned kind of putty or packing or something, but I don't really know. I wonder if it's possible to put some kind of scope down the drain so I can diagnose the problem without ripping the house apart. Beyond that, I suppose this is a pretty common problem. Any suggestions regarding diagnosis and treatment? There's a recession on. I just want it to keep on working for a few more years, at minimum expense. Thanks a bunch, Tim Miller |
#3
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need bathtub drain repair advice
"Timothy Miller" wrote in message ... Hi, I have a one story house on a slab, on a flat lot, downscale, in California, built in 1953, one bathroom, three BRs. The bathtub and bathroom sink drains are more or less back to back with the kitchen sink drain. The bathtub drain probably wouldn't pass code today. I think there's too little fall. It drains slowly, and periodically stops draining altogether until cleaned out, either with enzyme drain cleaner or liquid plumber. The other day it stopped draining altogether. The usual measures didn't seem to help. All the other drains in the house seem to be working. My wife called the plumber while I was at work. He says he couldn't get his snake down the bathtub overflow tube. He says the brass fitting has corroded hopelessly, the tub has to come out, and then "he'll see what kind of repairs are needed." He may be right, but I have a funny feeling I don't trust this guy. He said he "might try" to go in thru the back of the kitchen sink. It's "not impossible" that he'll have to break out the old jackhammer. I have a similar recurring problem. I run a snake through the sink (after removing the p-trap) and with many tries I can get the snake to go into the bathtub drain connection which fixes it until the next time. I have also rigged up two large stoppers which I use to apply water pressure to the drain (one in the overflow tube and the other in the tub drain. This sometimes works if the hair isn't too solidly packed. His two answers are not compatible. If the overflow tube is hopelessly corroded then why is he suggesting that he may be able to clear the drain but leave a defective overflow in place? No plumber worth his salt wants a call back for not fixing a problem correctly. If the overflow tube is shot then the potential for water damage would be a serious risk. The chemicals available to the homeowner are pretty useless in clearing any real blockage. They may be of some benefit in preventative maintanence but once the flow stops forget using plumber in a bottle--or at least I have never had any success with them. A licensed plumber can get concentrated sulphuric acid which will clear hair and most other organic material blocking a drain. I have had good success with it but thanks to the nannies it is not easy to come by. Regards, John |
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