Suddenly the drain hole in the tub in my guest bathroom does not drain. The stopper moves up and down, but it will absolutely not drain a drop. I have no idea what happened. I just went to rinse it for guests coming tomorrow, as sometimes there are dead bugs in it after a while, and it just will not drain. I washed the tub 4 weeks ago and it drained very normally and no one has used it since. This is very strange. I stuck a plastic bendable stick down there, with barbs on it, and it went in and nothing came up. Can anyone give me a clue as to what may be wrong?

Hi, swetepi!

I had trouble with mine recently, but it was because the water, somewhere along the drain pipe, was frozen.

Just throwing that "out there" in case it might be a possibility.

Thanks!

Hi all:

As Clough has suggested, may be that the drain to the tub is exposed to the outside and has become frozen. Let us know if the tub is in a place that could allow drain pipes to freeze from below.

Otherwise, I'm going to suggest that you pull the trip-lever assembly out of the tub and see how things drain after that. Here, you will unscrew the screws holding the trip-lever assembly in place and then pull the assembly up and out of the tub waste and overflow... see pictures below.

Then see if the tub drains properly. If not, the tub drain is clogged and will need to be cleared. You could could use a wetted rag held into the overflow and then fill the tub with 2 inches of water and then use a PLUNGER to plunge at the blockage (see 3rd picture). Here, I would have a friend hold the rag in place with a screwdriver (hold hard but not too hard) and then you would push/pull at the plunger. This may free the clog (if present).

Otherwise, you may need to get a small snake (pic. #4) and see if you can snake the drain line. You should not need to put out more than 10 feet of snake.

Let me know what you think...

MARK

Thank you Mark (and Clough),

I have not figured out how to post a comment on Mark's answer and hope he reads this.

I am in Florida so it is not likely something has frozen. Warm and sunny today.

Not a drop drained overnight. What ever is blocking it is totally solid which is an enigma because nothing human has gone near it .

I will have to try to pull the trip lever assembly out. I am wondering what happens with the drain cover when you are pulling the assembly up and out of the tube waste. There seems to be a screw on the drain cover. I guess I will unscrew that and see what happens. I am just wondering how I would get it back together if it comes apart.
Doreen

Quote:

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Originally Posted by massplumber2008

Hi all:

As Clough has suggested, may be that the drain to the tub is exposed to the outside and has become frozen. Let us know if the tub is in a place that could allow drain pipes to freeze from below.

Otherwise, I'm going to suggest that you pull the trip-lever assembly out of the tub and see how things drain after that. Here, you will unscrew the screws holding the trip-lever assembly in place and then pull the assembly up and out of the tub waste and overflow...see pictures below.

Then see if the tub drains properly. If not, the tub drain is clogged and will need to be cleared. You could could use a wetted rag held into the overflow and then fill the tub with 2 inches of water and then use a PLUNGER to plunge at the blockage (see 3rd picture). Here, I would have a friend hold the rag in place with a screwdriver (hold hard but not too hard) and then you would push/pull at the plunger. This may free the clog (if present).

Otherwise, you may need to get a small snake (pic. #4) and see if you can snake the drain line. You should not need to put out more than 10 feet of snake.

Let me know what you think...

MARK

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According to your positive rating you are all set. Glad to hear it!

If reoccurs let us know... :)