Need advice removing shower drain trap (pictures)

abacuslearns

abacuslearns

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Our shower drain has gotten increasing s-l-o-w to the point where you are standing in water over your ankles by the end of a shower. I tried to plunge it- no help, tried to snake it but couldn't get the snake to really penetrate the drain. So I decided to see what the trap looks like.

We live in a raised ranch- so I punched through the ceiling downstairs (what fun) to expose the plumbing. Once I did that- I was looking at what the pictures show. Whenever I have cleaned sink traps, the slip nuts are usually pretty obvious and can be loosened very easily to remove the trap. Where are the slipnuts on my drain trap? Is that part with the little "tab" exposed the slip nut? :confused:


Thanks for any advice!
 

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That a solvent weld joint. It's glued.
Have you removed the overflow plate with trip lever, pulled out the stopper and snaked from the top?
 
Terry said:
Have you removed the overflow plate with trip lever, pulled out the stopper and snaked from the top?
Click to expand...

No- and I am not even sure what that means. Do you mean the plate with the lever that opens and closes the drain? Unscrew and pull that ensemble up and out right into the tub and then snake from there?
 
Yes. Unless you want to cut off that trap and put in a new one, that's the best way.
 
It would be almost impossible to snake a tub through the drain on the bottom. Go through the plate on the back if the tub.


The trap is glue up, but the tub drain connects to a slip joint. It would be easy enough to cut the straight pipe just after the trap, and redo with a cuopling, but your access for running a snake is probably easier down through the tub. Cut the trap only as a last resort.
 
Last edited:
drain

That drain, and almost all tub drains, are installed so you do not have to access the trap, which means you cut the hole in the ceiling needlessly. The ONLY way to snake a tub drain is through the overflow opening, so if you did not do that then you were trying to snake it improperly.
 
Maybe not totally needlessly. At least you learned how the trap on tubs is assembled. Might be an expensive lesson, but most of us have paid more for learning about how things work.:)
 
Correctomundo..... Keep doing stuff like this and soon you will be a genius. I am still striving, myself.


:)
 
Not sure what the definition of "soon" is, but I've been working toward genius status for many years and I'm afraid I don't have enough years left to make it all the way! I used to be fast, but now I'm just half fast.:p
 
Check for hair in the drain between the tub and that brass tee.

If you have a pop up drain that operates by a lever on the overflow plate remove the pop up by pulling it up then sliding the linkage out. Unscrew the overflow plate and pull the wire linkage out at the bottom of that linkage is a wire spring that catches a lot of hair.

If the drain has a grid remove the grid and check for hair.

If this is clear you probably want a plumber to snake the drain. getting a snake through a trap is not the easiest task.
 
I would leave a bottle of drano in overnight before using such extreme measures.

If it is just a slow flow and not completely blocked, it will work.

I assume you have checked for human hair at the cross hairs of the drain? Slow flow normally aggravates this buildup.
 
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