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Help! Shower trap insert causing water to drain slowly

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Discuss Help! Shower trap insert causing water to drain slowly in the Showers and Wetrooms Advice area at Plumbers Forums

W

WattsHN

Hi

Can anyone offer advice on what might be happening here please?

In our downstairs shower room the water has always flowed fine since we've lived here (2 years) but recently the water has started to drain very slowly and fills up the bottom of the shower to the point where I have to stop mid shower, let the water drain away, then start again.

I've removed drain cover, grating and waste trap to clean (not really anything significant in there as far as I can see) but doesn't make any difference. Was worried it might be something wrong with the saniflo (recently had new replacement but it's not very easy to access to check) but bath seems to still drain fine. Funny thing is that I've now noticed if I take out the trap insert (inner white tube thing) it seems to drain fine! When I put it back in it flows slowly again. Not sure why this would be the case when it's never caused a problem before. When I look into the fitting where the trap insert sits there is a strip of plastic across the bottom that looks a bit knackered but I can't really see how that would make a difference anyway.

Any ideas please???

Grateful for any advice.

Thanks

H
 
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You could get someone to try using a pump plunger, but have to be careful as you could push fittings off below the floors (trap compression or push fit) with the pressure.
Chemicals for clearing blockages are a bit dangerous unless you know what you are doing. They can dissolve hair & any other organic material.
* Edit, - Don't do any of above if it is into a Saniflo!!! *

Hope your waste pipe below the floors has been supported fully or it can be the cause of slow flow if it sags.
 
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Best said:
You could get someone to try using a pump plunger, but have to be careful as you could push fittings off below the floors (trap compression or push fit) with the pressure.
Chemicals for clearing blockages are a bit dangerous unless you know what you are doing. They can dissolve hair & any other organic material.
Click to expand...

Wouldn`t do either of these if the pipe goes to the Saniflo.
 
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Thanks guys. 'H' is for Helen so I'm the pesky plumbing-issue-causing-woman apart from my hair is short!! I'm a bit stumped. My friend Jayne stayed the weekend and she has long hair although surely she couldn't have molted that much in two days! Also isn't that the point of the trap to catch it all and there was nothing in there? Furthermore when trap insert is out the water flow is ok. Any ideas of what I can do next if pump plunger and harsh chemicals are too much for the saniflo? Is it possible that the trap insert is causing the issue somehow or am I completely barking up the wrong tree?! Thanks all. H
 
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probably is hair in waste somewhere, those inserts do slow the water down anyway but not to that extent unless it's got a partial blockage..Have you got a metal coat hanger you can try and firk around with? plumber call if not me thinks.
 
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If it's the sort with a plastic cover on top of the trap, maybe it's been stood on? It does look like you should be able to stand on but you can't, it will break if you do (or your friend does).
For less than a tenner, I'd get a new trap and replace the inner cup and top cover, take your old bits to the merchant when you do so you can get a good match.
 
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Really don`t think your friend caused the problem Helen (and welcome to the forum) as hair in the trap or pipes is something that builds up over time. Don`t think the Saniflo is the issue either unless it happened as soon as the new one was installed OR the new one is different to the old one and has higher side inlets.

Take it the waste trap mentioned earlier was under the shower tray if so remove it again and poke a length of wire with a hook on the end down the pipe as far as you can and see if anything comes out or you can buy a cheap £40 wet vac and use that on the end of the pipe.
 
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Saniflo deals with water from the shower, bath and washing machine in the next room. Bath and shower seem to drain fine so seems that the issue is somewhere between he shower plug and the saniflo. Here is a pic of the trap dismantled:

Shower Trap.jpg

Finer grate thingy sits on top of trap insert, bigger grate thingy on top of that, and yes it looks like it's been stepped on but surely that's just cosmetic damage that shouldn't impact what's going on underneath? Sorry don't quite understand how this all works!

I have already tried running a bendy piece of thin plastic around the rim of the inner container that's holding water in the pic to see if anything is stuck down the side but seems to be clear. Haven't tried anything with a hook on the end. As the inner container doesn't seem to be removable I can't even work out where the entrance to the connecting pipe is underneath (i.e. whether it is straight down underneath or whether the exit pipe would come off to one side).

I'd be open to changing the trap mechanism if that would help but can't see how that would be done without some more invasive work!

Thanks for all your help.

H
 
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Don`t see that you can do anymore at the shower end Helen and doubt the wet vac idea would be worth trying. Shame the Sani is difficult to get too as you could wet vac from that end at least you haven`t got the Sanimatic shower floor pump which was rubbish and has just been replaced hence my question in #12.
Different pumps start at different water levels in the tank so if the problem started as soon as the new one was fitted then that might be the problem. I mention this because of the washing machine which tells me that you should have the Sanibest but that model has a high ativation point. I seem to remember a post last year where the advice was to cut 10mm off the bottom of the tube part to allow water to flow away better but don`t do this until another member say`s so in case I`m wrong.
 
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Thanks 'Pub Member' I too found that post about cutting 10mm off the bottom earlier before I wrote this post and did wonder. What does everyone else think?

Truth be told I am moving out soon anyway but feel bad about leaving this problem for someone else! Plus I could be here another few months before that happens anyway.
 
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That's really nice of you 'village idiot' but I am Bristol based! Was planning to see what I could do on my own first before working out if I need to get a plumber in.
 
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