Odd plug hole behaviour in shower!

Odd plug hole behaviour in shower!

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Discussion

8-P

Original Poster:

2,756 posts

259 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Hi All,

I have an oddly behaving shower plug hole. New house(to us, bathroom about 7 years old I think)

I have already plunged for England, dropped an entire bottle of Mr Muscle down it an another unblocker.

So what happens is you turn the shower on, the tray begins to fill up and gets to about an inch or 2 deep and then suddenly it empties away and for the rest of the shower it flows out as it should. Really odd.

Any ideas, air block of some sort?


Cheers!

Dave_ST220

10,288 posts

204 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Dunno what the answer is but I have the EXACT same issue! This also happened in my last house after a few months of living there (brand new). This is basically the same, only been in since March this year.

Edited by Dave_ST220 on Tuesday 1st December 11:07

cptsideways

13,535 posts

251 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
A U bend arrangement I reckon

soad

32,825 posts

175 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Mr Muscle isn't powerful enough imo. Try caustic soda etc.

madzo14

159 posts

121 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Had the same issue in my shower, the likes of Mr Muscle/Cillit Bang wouldn't solve it

Ended up picking up one of them vaccuum sink unblockers and it done the trick.... eventually. Nice load of black gunk came up.

Dave_ST220

10,288 posts

204 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
soad said:
Mr Muscle isn't powerful enough imo. Try caustic soda etc.
Tried that in old house, no difference. Will go the vac route I think.

triggerh4ppy

397 posts

125 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
get yourself a drain/sink snake from amazon/ebay. I get this every couple of years. Its normally a build up of hairs.

vomit

Dave_ST220

10,288 posts

204 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
I don't think that would work with the trap in mine, seems to be very tight at the bottom??

Gingerbread Man

9,171 posts

212 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Vent issues?

soad

32,825 posts

175 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
cptsideways said:
A U bend arrangement I reckon
yes

While breaking down the debris is always a good place to start, sometimes it isn't enough to tackle the problem head on.

More often than not, a blocked bath or shower is caused by a build-up of grease or gunk in the U bend.

8-P

Original Poster:

2,756 posts

259 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Cant even get my finger in the hole, let alone a snake. Taken the hair trap out needless to say!

Otispunkmeyer

12,553 posts

154 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
triggerh4ppy said:
get yourself a drain/sink snake from amazon/ebay. I get this every couple of years. Its normally a build up of hairs.

vomit
Just done our shower. You're right... minging slimy decomposed hairs and soap scum. Black gooey st. Thankfully in ours the elaborate up-down-up-down path through various strainers seems to contain the problem to just below the plug hole. But the strainer ends up with a horrible manky curtain of sludge all the way round it, blocking flow. Its just grim. Mr Muscle won't do anything because it generally won't follow the flow upward through the narrow annulus after coming out the down pipe.

MitchT

15,787 posts

208 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
8-P said:
Cant even get my finger in the hole, let alone a snake. Taken the hair trap out needless to say!
I thought the problem of not being able to get into the hole because of a lot of hair went away after the '70s!

pete

1,586 posts

283 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Have you tried One Shot? It's basically 91% sulphuric acid, and does a great job of dissolving grease, soap residue and hair (or anything else organic, so be careful with it!).

Pete

louiebaby

10,651 posts

190 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
pete said:
Have you tried One Shot? It's basically 91% sulphuric acid, and does a great job of dissolving grease, soap residue and hair (or anything else organic, so be careful with it!).

Pete
+1. It's very effective. And fizzy, and smelly. Use with the room well ventilated.

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

169 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
It's probably one of those membrane traps that don't actually have a water seal, a bit like a squashed closed pipe that gets forced opened by water pressure.

DrDeAtH

3,586 posts

231 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
louiebaby said:
pete said:
Have you tried One Shot? It's basically 91% sulphuric acid, and does a great job of dissolving grease, soap residue and hair (or anything else organic, so be careful with it!).

Pete
+1. It's very effective. And fizzy, and smelly. Use with the room well ventilated.
This.... One shot will dissolve a pigeon with ease.....

Some human hair and soap residue will not be a problem....

Zyp

14,673 posts

188 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Wish I hadn't opened this thread when I'm about to tuck into a sausage and onion toasty....

blueg33

35,563 posts

223 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
louiebaby said:
pete said:
Have you tried One Shot? It's basically 91% sulphuric acid, and does a great job of dissolving grease, soap residue and hair (or anything else organic, so be careful with it!).

Pete
+1. It's very effective. And fizzy, and smelly. Use with the room well ventilated.
And with eye protection and make sure you have no metal pipework and the rest of the pipework is sound.

I know its from the Mail but do bear it in mind

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2176839/On...

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8253292.My_face_me...

Sulphuric acid drain cleaner has a very powerful chemical reaction when it meets water or some other drain-cleaning chemicals. It generates heat that could cause violent explosions or eruptions of toxic fumes, so it can really only be applied to a mostly dry drain. This is one reason why sulfuric acid solutions with higher concentrations of the chemical are regulated and only available to professional plumbers

johnoz

1,012 posts

191 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
blueg33 said:
And with eye protection and make sure you have no metal pipework and the rest of the pipework is sound.

I know its from the Mail but do bear it in mind

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2176839/On...

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8253292.My_face_me...

Sulphuric acid drain cleaner has a very powerful chemical reaction when it meets water or some other drain-cleaning chemicals. It generates heat that could cause violent explosions or eruptions of toxic fumes, so it can really only be applied to a mostly dry drain. This is one reason why sulfuric acid solutions with higher concentrations of the chemical are regulated and only available to professional plumbers
Its on the shelf in B&Q for anyone to buy!
I hane had it eat through a plastic waste pipe and leak through a wall frown
But it is bloody good stuff.