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A couple of months ago my son asked if we could take a look at his shower
because the water was draining really slow. After looking at the drain my wife
and I purchased a popular liquid drain cleaner and poured it into the drain. A
couple of hours later the water seemed to drain better but after a few months we
were back in the same boat again. So we pulled out the liquid drain cleaner
again and poured it into the drain. Again it helped, but the water still drained
a little slow. So now I realize that using liquid drain cleaner is only a
temporary fix. If your drain is running slow you have an obstruction somewhere
that needs to be removed.
Surprisingly in most cases you can fix this yourself with a screw driver, pliers
and watching this four minute video.
Over time a tub will gradually begin to drain more slowly as a
hair clog builds up and soon you will be taking a shower in standing water. The
good news is that the clog usually is just inches away, wrapped around the drain
mechanism, which is easily removed for cleaning. Occasionally, a neglected clog
travels down the drain line and needs to be snaked out through the overflow
drain opening.
There are two basic types of drain assemblies:
plunger and pop-up. A plunger system will have a grate over the drain opening
and an internal plunger that closes the drain. A pop-up drain has a drain
stopper in the drain opening. An improperly adjusted stopper or plunger is also
a possible cause of sluggish draining. Modern tub drain systems have an in-line
trap designed to prevent sewer gas from entering through the tub drain. Older
homes may have a separate drum trap in the floor (usually in an adjacent
closet), which can be opened for cleaning and snaking lines. Whatever setup you
have, clearing the clog takes only a few minutes using basic tools.
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