Shower draining very slowly

newhome123

I purchased a new property and have had a slow draining shower since day 1. By the end of a shower I am always stood in an inch or two of water. I have also noticed that when the sink tap is running on full there is lots of gurgling and water will appear up the plughole of the shower. I purchased plenty of drain unblockers but nothing worked so eventually I got a plumber in. He took one look and said the fall of the waste pipe was not steep enough. It was flat along the floor, absolutely no fall at all. Had him in yesterday to do repairs and this morning when I tested it there was no difference at all. Water still filled the tray and water from the sink still came up the plughole.

If it is not due to the fall of the pipe and drain unblockers are not doing anything what could be the problem here??

UncleZen

This happens in our shower tray from time to time, something causes a blockage (soap, hair etc) (it may not be the same for you) . To fix it I blast the hose down the shower drainhole and that shifts the blockage every time.

Februarycat

I used a plunger on my shower when it was doing this, not sure if you should do this, but it worked on mine, I now put white vinegar and bicarb down every month to keep it clean.

dunroving

Ditto to the suggestions above, if it is hair/soap etc. cloggage (but be careful of using too high pressure hose, or you may cause water leakage further along the drainage system).

If it's a newly-acquired house, another possibility, if the previous owner had plastering or decorating done before selling, is that the workers cleaned their tools down the sink or shower. I had plaster waste poured down my bath drainage!

EssexExile

newhome123 wrote: »

Water still filled the tray and water from the sink still came up the plughole.

If water from the sink is coming up into the shower tray then there is a blockage beyond where the two meet. Water will always find the easiest way out, that should be down the drain but in your case it's into the shower. Can you follow the route of pipework? The blockage will probably be at a bend.

Most waste pipes are just a push fit or simply screw together so are easy to take apart, & put back together with the help of a little washing up liquid to lubricate the rubbers. Taking them apart & cleaning will do the job properly & probably permanently, pouring drain unblocker down just clears enough to get through for now but it will soon block again.

newhome123

Thanks for all you replies.

I've just heard back from the plumber who has said 'the sink pipe has been joined from below shower pipe fall so its introducing air, that's the gurgling sound coming back to the tray, and this is making shower water run away down sink outlet pipe then backs up caused, by water wanting to go down sink outlet.'

Could this be the problem. A blockage would make much more sense to me but I'm no expert.

I have no easy access to the pipes as they are all behind tiles. Can see this becoming pricey!?

Grenage

You could put some caustic soda down there; it would probably remove a blockage. Careful with it - it's nasty stuff.

Jonesya

Februarycat wrote: »

I used a plunger on my shower when it was doing this, not sure if you should do this, but it worked on mine, I now put white vinegar and bicarb down every month to keep it clean.

Vinegar is an acid and bicarb neutralises acids, so if you put them down together it won't do much other than fizz and froth a bit.

You'd probably be better with a bit of washing soda as that is slightly caustic and closer to drain cleaner.

Norman_Castle

The drain from my over bath shower is horizontal for about 10 feet without a problem. As its a shower its most likely to be hair. These can work well https://www.screwfix.com/p/sink-bath-unblocker/13894
Never tried these but they also look good, Has your plumber tried one on your shower drain?https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hand+Tools/d10/Drain+Rods+%26+Plungers/sd2916/Drain+Unblocker/p87734