Our house is an older house (ca. 1955) on a septic system. We bought the house and moved in back in late March of this year, when the septic system should have been pumped by the previous owners.

We're currently having issues with our bathtub not draining properly. All of our other drains are working fine.

The tub has always run a bit slow, but never more than about a quarter of an inch would gather near the drain during a fairly long shower (~20 minutes). That is, until recently.

The tub is taking about an hour to drain from a 10 minute shower now. I have cleaned the drain opening multiple times (it should be clear of debris). We plunged the tub this weekend, and it looked like there may be moss :eek: or other debris blocking our pipes somewhere, as this came into the tub when we plunged it.

We're calling a plumber today to see about having the problem taken care of. However, if you have suggestions for the meantime (safe for septic), they would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Heather

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Originally Posted by hoot1018

Our house is an older house (ca. 1955) on a septic system. We bought the house and moved in back in late March of this year, when the septic system should have been pumped by the previous owners.

We're currently having issues with our bathtub not draining properly. All of our other drains are working fine.

The tub has always run a bit slow, but never more than about a quarter of an inch would gather near the drain during a fairly long shower (~20 minutes). That is, until recently.

The tub is taking about an hour to drain from a 10 minute shower now. I have cleaned the drain opening multiple times (it should be clear of debris). We plunged the tub this weekend, and it looked like there may be moss :eek: or other debris blocking our pipes somewhere, as this came into the tub when we plunged it.

We're calling a plumber today to see about having the problem taken care of. However, if you have suggestions for the meantime (safe for septic), they would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Heather

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Hi Heather,

You have a clog in the tub branch line. Had you contacted me before you called the plumber I could have walked you through the procedure of snaking the branch through the tub waste and overflow, (It's impossible to snake through the drain). However since the clog consists of rotting hair and grease from the soap I have found that pouring a gallon of bleach down the drain and letting itset over night. Next morning,(and this is important) flush out the drain line with 2 large pans of boiling water. The bleach will began to dissolve the hair and make it slippery and the boiling water will melt the grease and flush the whole mess out into the main. Good luck Tom

Tom,

Thank you for the quick reply -- I actually have not yet called the plumber, and would love for you to walk me through how to snake the line. I'm willing to give it a shot and go from there! :)

Thanks for your help and advice,
Heather

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Originally Posted by hoot1018

Tom,

Thank you for the quick reply -- I actually have not yet called the plumber, and would love for you to walk me through how to snake the line. I'm willing to give it a shot and go from there! :)

Thanks for your help and advice,
Heather

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Hi Heather,
Let me show you how to snake out a tub clog. If you don't have a power snake you can rent one from a rent all company. Use a auger tip on the cable.Remove the two screws on the plate with the lever.(The tub waste and overflow, you can't go down the drain) Pull out and up to get the plug and linkage out. Then run your snake down the open hole. You will hit the bottom of the trap about 18" in and come up against some resistance, work it on past. The tub drain pipe shouldn't be too long,6 to 8 feet so you shoudn't have to run out too much snake. After you snake the drain , flush it down with a pan of boiling water, Good luck and if there are more questions I'm as close as a click. Tom