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Our bathtub has always drained slowly. Occasionally I'll use some liquid chemical unclogger (big no-no, I know!), or take a plunger to it, but that only solves the problem for a day or so before it starts slowing down again. When we had our tub surround replaced a couple years ago, the company sent in a plumber first who checked everything out and said that our drain was slow probably because the pipes weren't at enough of an angle.

So, I can live with this. I don't mind that a few inches of water collects while I'm bathing, it's usually completely drained before I leave the bathroom. But, when my husband takes a shower, water will sit in the tub indefinitely! Sometimes he'll shower at night and the next morning when I go in, there is still water in the tub, not moving. I'll use the plunger and eventually that gets things going.

What could cause the difference in draining times between him and me? I use regular shampoo and body wash, he uses anti-dandruff shampoo and bar soap. My showers are generally longer and if anyone is shedding hair in there it's me. So any ideas?

Hello, I would consider posing this question to some folks that may quickly give you an answer.

 

Try www.asknachi.org

 

This is a website where the general public can ask home related questions to the largest association of home inspectors and get feedback.  There are also public message boards at www.nachi.org where you can participate in discussions about numerous home related topics as well as learn a lot about your home.

Great, thanks! I'll post my question there right now :o)

Hi,

First or all I am not a plumber, but I had a similar problem..I also tried the plunger and chemical thing..this is what finally worked for me and I did it myself .

In the basement there is a plastic trap which comes off the bathtub drain, basically just a staright pipe with a u-shaped pipe connected to it, I simply unscrewed the pipe and found it full of hair and muck, I cleaned out the pipe about 6 months ago and never had a problem since.

If you plan on trying it yourself make sure you have a bucket ready when you unscrew the pipe, cause it is a nasty smelly job. also if the pipe is not plastic I would call a plumber..

Be carefull and take your time, hopefully you dont have a finished basement and can see the bathtub drain.

As far as your plumber saying the angle of the pipe is wrong, thats BS totally, If it drains after you plunge or put chemicals tells you it is not an angle problem..A plumber friend of mine told me long ago.."if it drains ok once, then the angle is good" in other words if the angle was wrong it would have NEVER worked since they installed the tub.

P.S...my tub also had a screen on the drain in the tub itself and was held on with 2 screws, When I removed the screen it was also clogged with hair.

good luck

A slow bathtub drain is usually caused by hair.  You can get a 1/4 inch cable at the Home Depot or whatever you have there for less than ten dollars.  I had the same problem recently and liquid plumber was no help.  I used the cable and pulled a glob of hair out in just a few minutes.  I have pvc drain pipe and its quite alright to use liquid drain cleaners.  When I worked in a wastewater treatment plant we used pvc, albeit heavy duty schedule 80 pipe, to transport sodium hydroxide as well as sulphuric acid

Probably not the problem here but yes, it is possible that the drain line may not be pitched correctly.

Oh hey, other people have replied..!

helper, our bathroom is on the second floor, would I still find this U-shaped pipe in the basement? Our basement ceiling is a mess of pipes and wires and stuff, and I don't even know where I'd be looking for this...

Our pipes are PVC (luckily - considering the house is over 110 years old!). So thanks for the reassurance, harry, that they're probably not being eaten.

I don't know about any u-shaped pipe.  I ran the cable (sometimes called a "snake") into the drain at the tub;  the blockage won't be very far down the line.  The pop-up doodad at my bathtub drain screws out easily and the end of the 1/4 inch cable fits nicely between the "spokes" in the opening.  The nice person in the plumbing section of the store will show you how to use the thing, it's easy.

I simply removed the drain cover and there was all the hair.  Once it was removed, the water went down quickly.

We have always used a product called Gobble, it's a drain maintenance product that helps keep the drain clear for the most part. When drains gunk up they tend to slow down and it's often the slowing down where all the other things such as hair will begin to build up.

 Here is a link to search gobble - it's only a quart, but it goes a long way. We use this in commercial applications such as water fountains, ice machines, etc.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=gobble+for+drains&btnG=Google+Search 

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