[sdubose99]

Hey guys, my shower drain is noisy from water dripping straight down into the p-trap water. Water collects toward the middle of my drain strainer, and drops straight down into the p-trap water and is annoying. Ideally I would angle the downspout so my p-trap isn't directly under the strainer... so water would flow down the side of the drain, to the p-trap, but is there another way to prevent the echo-y drip drip drip noise?

Thanks,
Scott

[speedball1]

Ideally I would angle the downspout so my p-trap isn't directly under the strainer... so water would flow down the side of the drain, to the p-trap, but is there another way to prevent the echo-y drip drip drip noise?

Offsetting the drains raiser isn't the answer. A few solutions come to mind. Take the strainer out and flatten it out so water doesn't collect in the center or simply replace it. Good luck, Tom

[sdubose99]

Thanks very much for your reply Tom, I found a $10 strainer which allows water to drain down the side of the riser.

Scott

[novadad]

Scott,

Could you post where you found the diverting strainer? I have the same problem and tried Lowe's but they didn't have anything close. My online searched haven't turned up anything close either.

Thanks,
Jose

[dobelbower]

I have this same problem. Has anyone ever figured out what the $10 strainer is that Scott referred to?

[BrianStyles]

I experienced this same problem.

My primary home's master bath has a shower head, rain head and four body sprays. Apparently based on the anticipated water volume the plumber installed a 3" drain pipe with a 30" (approx) drop to the trap.

You could hear the shower drain on the other end of the house! It bothered the heck out of me for nearly three years.

Like others, a little experimentation determined that it was distance the water fell before making contact with the standing water in the trap. That 3"x30" pipe was a perfect echo tube.

Based on the same principle of a Zen Fountain, I figured if I could get the water down in "steps," rather than in one long drop, the problem would be resolved. It was.

My initial though was to find a massive drill bit. The water would wind down the spiral and make no noise. If a drill bit could be found it would be extremely expensive.

My ultimate solution was to build what I now call the "drain muffler."

Since a picture's worth a thousand words, here's a picture:



Since your drain is 2" rather than my 3" drain, you'd have to use a different diameter "Support pipe" than I did in my prototype.

You'll notice large "notches" cut into the bottom of the muffler. These are to allow water passage to and through the trap.

I'm just an inventor -- not a plumber. Please forgive me if I have used incorrect terminology in describing my solution.

I'm confident that buildign a "drain muffler" will solve your problem.

Kind regards,
Brian Styles
Delray Beach, Florida

Note: If I ever make a version v1.1, the 1/2" PVC Steps will be every 45-degrees creating a helix rather than a criss-cross pattern. The helix will ensure that every drop of water is diffused by a step before hitting the trap.

[pamars]

Great idea! This is a huge problem! My shower drain drop is only about 8" to the P-Trap but the noise and gurgling is insane!

My solution was to cut an oval disc from a 100 DVD spindle case (I think it's polypropylene) but you could use any flexible plastic, I cut a one-half inch piece from the narrow end of the oval, which forces the water to run down the side. Also, making the disc an oval shape means the disc can only fit into the drain at an angle. Cut side down of course. I drew the oval on the plastic with a Sharpie and cut it with a pair scissors. I made a few of these (adjusting as I went) in order to get the oval and angle right for my drain. It only took about a half-hour and now there is no sound at all! Plus, using a down slanting oval leaves no possibility of hair catching on any flaps or tubes or protrusions, meaning no cleaning ever! It's been 6 months and so far so good!

There really should be a commercially available solution for this very annoying problem!

Great idea! This is a huge problem! My shower drain drop is only about 8" to the P-Trap but the noise and gurgling is insane!

Clarification: My shower drain uses a cast-iron drain flange that attaches to a 2" ABS drain. The cast-iron flange has an internal diameter of about 2 7/8" and is about 2 inches deep before hitting the 2" ABS pipe so there is a pretty nice "step"making it impossible for the plastic disc to move down into the 2" ABS pipe.

Also, my drain is on a slight angle so I was able to make the cut-out a bit larger. You may need to make your cut-out smaller depending on how your drain water hits the pool at the bottom. You want it to hit the side... not the P-Trap water level because that's what makes all the noise. Good luck.

[speedball1]

Hey Pamars and thanks for your solution. Very helpful! Tom

[luckylindy]

Try using a screwdriver to bend the strainer up in the center. Worked for me without removing the strainer. Work the screwdriver like a lever arm in each opening to gradually lift the center so it is higher than edges. Gravity does the rest.

[speedball1]

Hi Lucky and welcome to The Plumbing Page at ANHD.com. You're responding to a 5 year old dead thread. Please check the date before you post. Thanks
And q\we thank you for the . Input. Tom

[2martins]

I made two of these "Pamars plastic disks", slanted in different directions with the semi circles off set and reduced the dB by 10 in less than 30 min for zero cost. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I heated the second disk in hot water before cutting it and the added flexibility did seem to help with breakage at the edges, but there is surely a way to do that part even better. I can now listen to podcasts in the shower and not just music! I know it's a 5 year old thread, but I was very happy to find it and the addition of a second one did improve the average noise level over a minute of monitoring even though the high and low weren't different.