Sink & Shower Drain Blocked

JOHNPT

Hi All
Both my sink and shower upstairs in my house are blocked ie water is very slow to drain out. I presume the 2 pipes interconnected and run under the floor boards to outside drain at the back of the house. What are the best options to try and clear blockage - Should i buy or hire out rods or would a plunger work or i heard caustic soda might help.

Any help appreciated. Thanks

maggy_thatcher

JOHNPT wrote: »

Hi All
Both my sink and shower upstairs in my house are blocked ie water is very slow to drain out. I presume the 2 pipes interconnected and run under the floor boards to outside drain at the back of the house. What are the best options to try and clear blockage - Should i buy or hire out rods or would a plunger work or i heard caustic soda might help.

Any help appreciated. Thanks

I've found this stuff works pretty well anytime I've come across slowly draining pipes

De_man

buy a plunger for a 5euro in any diy shop (most likely it's hair blocking the drain)

Joey the lips

Its very unusual to have them both blocked at the same time. Is this something that happened together or has been building up.

I would not use any chemical cleaner yet. If you pour chemical cleaner down the shower tray it can come back up and stain the tray.

If you pour it down the sink it can come back out and stain the tray.

Firstly try the obvious. Pop the top off the shower trap. Use a pen. Its plastic. Put it into the grate and pop it out gentally.

Then clean all the gunk out.

Try this because if this works first then it limits where the sink blockage might be.

Joey the lips

De_man wrote: »

buy a plunger for a 5euro in any diy shop (most likely it's hair blocking the drain)

For the record and no disrespect ment. You should never use a plumger on a compression waste and a shower tray is a compression waste. It does not matter if you have used it before. You were lucky...Sorry.

De_man

Joey the lips wrote: »

For the record and no disrespect ment.

no problem you learn something new everyday, anytime i've had a problem
with a shower tray, i removed the drain cover on tray and used the plunger
always worked for me...:D

for info - compression waste could you give me the gen on this


tks

Joey the lips

De_man wrote: »

no problem you learn something new everyday, anytime i've had a problem
with a shower tray, i removed the drain cover on tray and used the plunger
always worked for me...:D

for info - compression waste could you give me the gen on this




tks

i think your still missing my point. It might always be working but thats just look. The problem with compression waste is this.

Firstly a compression waste fitting is any fitting joined together by a nut ring and rubber washer. now under normal circumstances this is joined quite easy. The pipe is cut to length and the fitting joined. Under certain circumstances plumbers on site used first fix lads to do this. Sometimes they cut the pipe to short and stretch it. Sometimes they join the pipe correctly but cause strain on it further down the line.

If it holds for a week it generally holds for a month.


Then 5 years later you come along with your blocked drain and decide to get a drain b0mb or a plunger. This is usually enough force to pop that drain thats already week.

Now the drain might have been fit perfectly all done well but just due to movement the compression fittiing has weakened slightly. Then you apply pressure and it comes loose.

Then again none of this might happen.

My point is as this compression joint is located under the floor and out of reach the whole shower tray will have to be taken up. Or as i seen some plumbers do, a hole will have to be cut in the ceiling down stairs to fix it.

So really with all this rish why not try a less envasive method.

Drain bombs sould only be used where you have access to the compression joint but dont want the trouble of taking it apart as in sinks and basins.

De_man

joey thanks for that thorough explaination, i learn something new everyday:D

won't be quick with the plunger next time!!!!

thanks again