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rody_44
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA

rody_44

Premium Member

[Plumbing] plumbing help

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Sorry for the poor picture. Its in a basement crawl area. Does anyone know how this would come apart. Its in a tub drain instead of a trap. Tub is clogged and im guessing its clogged. Kind of looks like it screws off and there is a slot on the upper cap. Its locked tight tho. Any experience with one, anyone?

LazMan
Premium Member
join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

LazMan

Premium Member

[Plumbing] Re: plumbing help

Without a better picture, be pretty much impossible to help you...

There's probably a 100 ways a tub drain could be configured, depending on age, materials, and location.

Generally, you can get a snake down through the tub overflow drain, IME; but I'm sure that's not universal...
PrntRhd
Premium Member
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA

PrntRhd to rody_44

Premium Member

to rody_44
A thin plumber snake will remove the clog in most cases, simpler and safer than disassembly of the trap.

a and b
@68.63.161.x

a and b to rody_44

Anon

to rody_44
similar to thin snake, try one of those 3/8" thin white plastic 2' snakes, with plastic teeth on them.
tubs and bathroom sinks are often clogged by hair, which those $4. snakes will catch and pull out up.

plan b, if all that fails, you can always, worst case, cut the pipe, and replace with same or similar trap and a couple of those rubber collars with two hose clamps each.

Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC

Corehhi to rody_44

Member

to rody_44

Re: [Plumbing] plumbing help

I would snake it first. I had the kids tub back up and with a snake I managed to pull up a string of beads which basically had been catch hair for a while. 18 inches, 2 ft of beads with hair all wound up in it, nice. problem solved easily once I hooked the beads.

tp0d
yabbazooie
Premium Member
join:2001-02-13
Bulger, PA

tp0d

Premium Member

Well, looks kinda like a P trap.. You can clear this with a plunger only, no snakes..

Take the 2 screws off the overflow on the top of the tub, under the faucet.. Remove the plate assy, and plug it with a wet rag.. Try not to disturb the piping behind it.. Heat some water on the stove, to about 140°, pour it in, and plunge the balls off that mutha.. you`ll prolly get black nastys back, if you see any hair or big chunks, grab em.. Keep plungin, and add more hot water.. shouldnt be too tough

-j
joewho
Premium Member
join:2004-08-20
Dundee, IL

joewho to rody_44

Premium Member

to rody_44
If your tub has a mechanical stopper using a little knob on the wall of the tub, remove it. Unscrew the stopper then unscrew the cover on the wall of the tub. Pull it out. Don't worry, you'll be able to snake it back in the way it came out. Many times that assembly will catch the clogs.
keno5net
join:2002-01-05
Milwaukee, WI

keno5net to rody_44

Member

to rody_44
It looks like a drum trap. It should have a removable clean out cover on the top. It also looks like a lead pipe drain so based on the age there may have been an access opening in the floor or it may have originally been at floor level when it was installed. I have one but never had the courage to try to open it up and have been able to get a snake through it.

Grumpy4
Premium Member
join:2001-07-28
NW CT

Grumpy4 to joewho

Premium Member

to joewho
said by joewho:

If your tub has a mechanical stopper using a little knob on the wall of the tub, remove it. Unscrew the stopper then unscrew the cover on the wall of the tub. Pull it out. Don't worry, you'll be able to snake it back in the way it came out. Many times that assembly will catch the clogs.

Yep. I had to pull the drain guts almost monthly on a tub with two long haired users. It's a messy job with globs of hair and soap resembling some sort of alien goop, but fixes the slow and no drain issues right away. Note - be sure to keep the screws away from the drain. They are not irreplaceable, but probably not found in too many homeowner's spare nuts and bolts bins (unless you're maybe a plumber.) The tub in question was installed a few years ago.

As far as suggested detachment, hard to tell what's up. Re-thread or re glue? I'm thinking maybe the fitting came loose after some wild drain jabbing to clear clog?
rody_44
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA

rody_44 to keno5net

Premium Member

to keno5net
Im guessing thats what it is. But there is no way to get top off in current situation. I did take the guts out of tub and snaked and plunged. Seems to be working for now so im letting it as is and seeing if it lasts.

Grumpy4
Premium Member
join:2001-07-28
NW CT

1 edit

Grumpy4

Premium Member

said by rody_44:

no way to get top off in current situation.

It's often the case that the metal ring around the tub drain is held in place with plumber's putty. Removing the ring to re-attach the drain is not difficult, but a replacement ring could be required, and is available in most decent hardware stores, as is the putty. If you find broken PVC, that should be repairable as well. Hard to say from here although it appears you do have fairly easy access from below. PVC pipe is very user friendly to repair.

Fotograff
@70.65.163.x

Fotograff to rody_44

Anon

to rody_44
You took the pic using a potato, in the dark, while jumping on a trampoline how is anyone supposed to really see anything?