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When any plumbing fixture drains, the air in the pipe has to go somewhere. If your vent is obstructed with debris, snow, whatever, the escaping air will slow and so will the water leaving your tub. But if you have crud in your drain pipes or drain trap this will slow the flow too. Just clean them out, and you'll be fine. There are enzymes that you can use periodically that can help eat-away build-up. Simply by pouring a little down your drains will help maintain good flow and reduce stench (especially garbage disposals, floor drains and urnals.
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Hi TR
First, a vent 4 feet away from your tub is an appropriate distance from the tub drain/PTRAP, but as Scott said, if it was clogged it could cause issues with drainage, but I would expect to hear you talking about your tub gurgling if the tub vent was the major issue at hand. Instead, I'd start by removing the tub drain trip lever assembly (if present... see image) and inspect the plunger assembly for gunk/build-up. If that doesn't show something obvious, then next, as a homeowner, I would stuff a wetted rag into the tub drain overflow hole, fill the tub with 2 inches of water and then use a plunger to see if I could clear gunk from inside the PTRAP under the tub. A final step would be to rent a small hand-held electric snake (purchase leather gloves and safety goggles) and snake the tub drain THROUGH THE OVERFLOW hole. Expect to meet resistance in at about 20-22" or so as you meet up with the PTRAP, but just keep the snake spinning while pushing on it and it should go through the PTRAP. Send out another 5-10 feet maximum (most cases) being sure to work the snake back and forth many times in any areas you meet resistance. Note that keeping hot water running down the tub drain while snaking should help to churn/clear the drain even better, OK? Questions? Let us know, OK? Mark |
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I found an article online which has some information and also products for resolving this problem. Pipe cleaners might be helpful. Drano is always good as a first measure.
How to Fix a Slow Draining Tub - Pipes are Clogged - Hot Tubs 101 |
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Sorry answerman, but on a plumbing page, "DRANO IS ALWAYS GOOD AS A FIRST MEASURE" isn't going to gain any fans!
The best "first measure" for a tub drain that is clogged or partially clogged will be to remove the tub strainer and clean that. Then, removal of the tub's trip lever assembly is the next easy step... clean this and then reassemble. Snaking is the next best measure and usually the final result to finish the job! Drano, other chemicals usually take an easy job and just delay it until it gets to be a bigger/harder job to do. I'm sure you can appreciate that after the thousands of drains I have cleared over the years I may know a little bit here, never mind that my answer above is going to be more individually tailored to the Rigs' problem than any article placed online, huh? Mark |
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Hey AnswerMan,
I stopped reading your link when I came across this,
The best way to do that is with a chemical =
They then go on to change us with this,
If you know of a better way or have found a better way to clean your pipes, please let us know
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Yeah, we hate to be the "plumbing police", Answerman, but when that site you put up states, "There's no way for you to reach inside the pipes to clean them, so you have to get a proper chemical that will do the job, and dump this down the drain" they don't really care about what they are putting up on their page... they are just filling up the 1/4 page that the page needed!
You would definitely be doing a service to the site owner if you took a few minutes to communicate with them. Don't forget that the site is a HOT TUB site, so you can be sure the emphasis for these guys is on selling hot tubs, not giving out individualized help like we do! Thanks for understanding! Mark |
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