new house, nice shower, doesn't drain.

[Ouch77]

Having trouble with the shower in the new house - it doesn't drain particularly well.

it does okay for me, but the wife keeps clogging it with hair (I suspect). We've had the ceiling down below it for other reasons, and the shower trap is connected to a 40mm drain pipe (quite a generous fall) with a narrow convoluted hose, which I suspect is at least one cause of the clogging. I will be attempting to replace this with a pair of 45degree bends.

I'm not sure what make/brand trap is fitted but is there one I can get that would be better suited for long girly hair?

 

[slapper]

Having trouble with the shower in the new house - it doesn't drain particularly well.

it does okay for me, but the wife keeps clogging it with hair (I suspect). We've had the ceiling down below it for other reasons, and the shower trap is connected to a 40mm drain pipe (quite a generous fall) with a narrow convoluted hose, which I suspect is at least one cause of the clogging. I will be attempting to replace this with a pair of 45degree bends.

I'm not sure what make/brand trap is fitted but is there one I can get that would be better suited for long girly hair?

Get her booked in for a good waxing....that,ll make her go Ouch aswell as keeping the hair loss to a minimum,especially the long curly ones

 

[Bahco]

There are traps with top fixing inserts that can be removed for cleaning.

Have a look round and make a schedule to remove and clean perhaps monthly.

 

[Ouch77]

There are traps with top fixing inserts that can be removed for cleaning.

Have a look round and make a schedule to remove and clean perhaps monthly.

It's got one of those already, cleaned it out last week, the girl takes one shower and it's clogged already.

Din't have it this bad in the old place which was a conventional plug-hole.

 

[Bahco]

Get a new trap and ask the wife to have one of those new short hairstyles that are back in fashion.

 

[Happyplumber]

Change the trap and definetly get rid of that flexi contraption thats haven for blockages

 

[HERTS P&D]

Don't do what a lot of people do. Which is pour a litre of one shot down it.

Do as above guys have mentioned, renew and replace.

I do like the waxing idea.!!!

Andy

 

[Bon]

How "generous" a fall is it?

Sometimes water can run too quickly down a waste pipe and leave larger objects behind.

Usually more of a problem in soil pipes, but I suppose hair in a shower waste could cause the same problem.

It will be easier to change the trap, but might be worth considering looking at if this doesn't work.

 

[Nige F]

New Build house or New to You Well, it is in Wales

 

[Ouch77]

House is late 60's so not that new

Bathroom is considerably younger, probably less than a year old.

Fall on waste pipe is approx 1 in 12, it's a 36mm (?) pipe, which could be part of the issue, as I'd bought some 40mm elbows which didn't fit. Thankfully the outlet from the trap was 40mm, and reduced down to 36mm (or whatever it is) to go into the convoluted hose.

Said hose is now in the bin, there's a pair of 45degree elbows at 40mm which then existing (cleaned up) reducer refitted to take it down to hook up to the existing (36mm) run to the waste tundish outside.

Not convinced the problem is solved, so will keep an eye on it, and then replace the trap if it still plays up.

question is, what sort of trap do I replace it with? Is there one specificly designed for long hair?

 

[MIGEM]

If you can still get to it, remove the pipe from the trap outlet and check for hacksaw burrs and rough edges from the cut. These will trap and catch the hairs internally.
Some bubbly soaps and shower gels can also cause hair to sit in the bubbles as the water runs away underneath it. Shower gels with exfoliant beads, crushed nuts/shells and minerals are a nuisance too, as these stay in the trap.

 

[Ouch77]

I've replaced all the pipework from the trap to the last run, and made a point of making the pipe runs as burr-free as possible.

I've no idea if we're using the right shampoo/gel or not, but we're not using anything that exotic..

I've a little while to get it right if needed as the ceiling is down below the bathroom, but so far, it's not backing up, but we'll see when the mrs gets in there..

 

[Diyisfun]

I use a thin piece of welding wire, bend the bottom over a few mm, pock down plug hole, twist & up comes the hair.

 

[Nige F]

House is late 60's so not that new

Bathroom is considerably younger, probably less than a year old.

run to the waste tundish outside.

That`s a hopper - and also means that you can renew the whole lot in 42mm . ie. no messing about with connections to soil pipes . You still need a shower trap with removable grid/dip pipe for cleaning though.

 

[Ouch77]

That`s a hopper - and also means that you can renew the whole lot in 42mm . ie. no messing about with connections to soil pipes . You still need a shower trap with removable grid/dip pipe for cleaning though.

Thanks for the jargon tip

I didn't replace the main run as it's farly well set into the wall, and as it was a straight run I figured any blockage would probably happen before then. Besides the mrs was putting dinner out and wouldn't think kindly of me boshing a large hole in the wall just before dinner.

I will look at alternative traps next time I'm in B&Q as I'm not 100% happy with the installation, the first elbow is quite tight against the chipboard floor/ceiling due to the height of the exit from the trap.

I've got a sink & washer waste pipe to look at (no trap on the washer) soon so will probably revisit the whole scenario again when I'm next in the mood to get covered with plastic swarf from cutting those pipes.