New shower not draining - HELP!

noblelord

Hi,

I had a new en-suite installed recently with a low profile large shower tray. The guys that did the job made a whole stack of mistakes including connecting the hot and cold supplies the wrong way round and then blaming the shower as being faulty!

Anyway, the shower waste doesn't drain away fast enough, so after 2-3 mins in the shower, the tray is full and beginning to overflow. We've taken out the filter that was in the waste and that helped a bit, but not much.

Today I took out the cup that collects hair in the waste and it flowed away just fine, but I'm now worried that the waste will clog up with hair when my wife and daughter (who have long hair) use the shower.

I suspect the problem is down to not enough drop in the waste pipe and bad installation, but there's no way I'm allowing the clowns that did the work back in and the waste pipe is under the shower tray and a tiled floor with underfloor heating, so the job of taking all of that up would be massive.

Is there any form of hair trap that we could put in the waste trap to replace the 'cup' that's there that will stop the hair going down the pipe but allow better water flow?

Thanks.

magn8p

Had a similar issue when we had our ensuite fitted but it is also down to the fact that ours uses a macerator, so waits till the macerator is full and only then drains it.

We used a superfecial hair trap like http://amzn.to/2jl1tUP which sticks the shower tray but it's soft texture.

I also purchased a pro clean descaler and unclogger ( http://amzn.to/2jiP6ZI ) which is macerator friendly. This worked wonders, so I put it down the pipe once a month to make sure there is no clog buld-up. This is quite efficient with other cleaning as well, all you need to do is to dilute it and use as a spray clean for kitchen and bathroom surfaces.

If you have a serious clog though, try to use http://amzn.to/2hsuYDD which helped in our previous house with shower that drained using gravity. Unfortunately we can't use this with the current macerator system as the acid will eat into the macerator rubber interiors - or so was I told.

Finally, a household solution also help you:

1. Pour super hot water into the drain
2. Add baking soda and wait for 20 mins or so
3. Pour distilled vinegar into the drain wait for 20 more mins (or overnight if time permits)
4. Pour hot water down the drain.

All the best.

noblelord wrote: »

Hi,

I had a new en-suite installed recently with a low profile large shower tray. The guys that did the job made a whole stack of mistakes including connecting the hot and cold supplies the wrong way round and then blaming the shower as being faulty!

Anyway, the shower waste doesn't drain away fast enough, so after 2-3 mins in the shower, the tray is full and beginning to overflow. We've taken out the filter that was in the waste and that helped a bit, but not much.

Today I took out the cup that collects hair in the waste and it flowed away just fine, but I'm now worried that the waste will clog up with hair when my wife and daughter (who have long hair) use the shower.

I suspect the problem is down to not enough drop in the waste pipe and bad installation, but there's no way I'm allowing the clowns that did the work back in and the waste pipe is under the shower tray and a tiled floor with underfloor heating, so the job of taking all of that up would be massive.

Is there any form of hair trap that we could put in the waste trap to replace the 'cup' that's there that will stop the hair going down the pipe but allow better water flow?

Thanks.

societys_child

Today I took out the cup that collects hair in the waste and it flowed away just fine

So, it's hair blocking the waste and nothing to do with:

I suspect the problem is down to not enough drop in the waste pipe

:huh:

Sounds like it's working as it should.

SuzieSue

societys_child wrote: »

So, it's hair blocking the waste and nothing to do with:
:huh:

Sounds like it's working as it should.

I think the OP meant that he just removed the empty cup, not that there was hair etc in the cup when he removed it.

ic

That cup in my shower waste is part of the U bend, take it away and you have the drain open and so will be at risk of smells coming up.

societys_child

I think the OP meant that he just removed the empty cup, not that there was hair etc in the cup when he removed it.

Ahh . . . got it now

Mmm, appears to be a problem with the cup rather than insufficient drop on the pipe, not sure how it's poor workmanship by the installers. Design fault maybe . .
Wonder if the cup can be adjusted or a few holes drilled in it could help.

TheCyclingProgrammer

As reluctant as you are to have them back, you really should call the original fitters back.

andyhop

Some of the low end 90mm shower traps don't allow water to flow brilliantly , the top cap sits too low down to the tray

If it flows away with the cup removed then the issue is the trap and not the pipework it's connected to

noblelord

magn8p wrote: »

Had a similar issue when we had our ensuite fitted but it is also down to the fact that ours uses a macerator, so waits till the macerator is full and only then drains it.

Thanks magn8p...appreciate the help :-)

Jacob_Smith

Hi, not sure if this needs a fresh post but I'll try here first as very similar problem.
I also have a low profile tray which sometimes threatens to overflow. If I leave the top cover in place then turn the shower on, water level rises quite rapidly. If I lift the cover out there is a gurgle of air and then when I replace it the water drains fine. Appears to be some sort of air lock. With shower off and the water drained, the water level in the trap does not fully cover the outlet. This seems to cause can airlock stopping the waterms from draining. Once I lift and replace the cover, the trap fills up and all sorts well. Is this normal or should the resting water level sit above the outlet. I will try and upload some photos but hope this makes sense meantime😊

Jacob_Smith

P.S. This would be much easier to explain if I was able to upload the photos. It's asking me for a URL? Can anyone advise?