Hi - I'm new to this forum and I'm not really sure how to word my plumbing problem. My family lives in a 3-story rental apartment (and the landlord is currently unavailable to help.) Out bathtub drain on the 3rd floor keeps on clogging. Nothing else clogs. We have used "Draino" in the past and it seems to work for a while but after a day or two the drain becomes clogged again. But this morning nothing seems to be able to unclog it. Today, we took out the overflow plunger (?) and tried to clear the clog from the overflow drain but the snake-auger seems to hit something 1-2feet down. We have also previously tried the snake down the drain itself and there seems to be 2-bends since we're not able to get the snake around the what we think is a second bend. I know that this is probably a professional job, but is there anything that we can do immediately that may solve our problem? Thank you!

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Originally Posted by volkana

Hi - I'm new to this forum and I'm not really sure how to word my plumbing problem. My family lives in a 3-story rental apartment (and the landlord is currently unavailable to help.) Out bathtub drain on the 3rd floor keeps on clogging. Nothing else clogs. We have used "Draino" in the past and it seems to work for a while but after a day or two the drain becomes clogged again. But this morning nothing seems to be able to unclog it. Today, we took out the overflow plunger (?) and tried to clear the clog from the overflow drain but the snake-auger seems to hit something 1-2feet down. We have also previously tried the snake down the drain itself and there seems to be 2-bends since we're not able to get the snake around the what we think is a second bend. I know that this is probably a professional job, but is there anything that we can do immediately that may solve our problem? Thank you!

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Tub/shower and lavatory clogs consist of rotting hair mixed with grease from the soap. You had the right idea by snaking from the tub waste and overflow but you just needed to force the snake past the trap. Let me show you how to snake a tub.Unscrew and remove the overflow plate,(The one with the drain lever) and pull out the tub stopper. You now have a clear shot at the trap. The way you were going in through the drain ran you square into a tee that you can't get around. Now feed the cable through the overflow opening. About 2' down you will run into the bend of the trap. Crank and push at the same time to work around it. Your blockage will be found in the lateral pipe going to the stack. You shouln't have to put out more then 10 or 12 feet. I have found tub and shower clogs to be mostly hair and the worm should auger into it and pull it back. Hope this helps and good luck. Tom

Thank you - we'll try this!