Problems W/Plumbing
Okay.. This was the only forum I think I could post this in. I know typically we're talking about leases etc.. But this one has to do w/maintenance. I have a tenant that has called me w/an issue w/their bathtub. The bathtub isn’t draining. She told me last night it was draining fine. This morning she called me and told me after she was done using the shower, the water didn’t drain. There is a guard in the drain to prevent large objects from going down the drain. Do you think this might be frozen pipes??? I’m in Madison Wisconsin… I'd hate to call a plumber to only have the pipes warm up and be okay in a day or so. Your thoughts? Anyone experience anything like this?
Dale
[addsig]
The hot water from the shower should have thawed any trap freezing. However, if the trap is near a foundation vent, it might freeze hard. Make sure vents are closed.
Are other drains working OK?
Is the man going bald, or the woman have long hair? These give more bath and vanity drain problems. Hair builds up and must be chemically melted.
If the tenant has children, anything can happen. I have had drains clogged because idiot tenants thought to pour hot wax down the drain.
If freezing is ruled out, pour in some Liquid Plumber & leave the remainder for the tenant to give a repeat next day.
In one of my houses, the main drain to the street is slow. I give the tenant an enzyme or bacterial line treatment to flush 4 days in a row, and have to do this twice a year. Helps for now, but eventually I must replace the line. Maybe I should sell the house first.
Good luck!
Dan
[addsig]
Last time I had this problem I spent about $20 at Home Depot for a pipe snake that attaches to an electric drill. (I already had the drill). Connect the snake to the drill, start it spinning and gently feed it through the drain. Once you get it a few feet in get the drill moving at full bore and keep feeding until you can't go no more. Your success will depend on the exact nature of the problem and the plumbing configuration but I've cleared some severe hair clogs and pipes with a lot of build up that prevented proper flow.
I've used it successfully about 3 times now in different drains so my cost per fix keeps going down...and not a dime to a plumber. If you are the least bit handy this is an easy task and will only take 30-45 minutes.
Not sure what you mean by vents?? Sorry
Quote:
...
The hot water from the shower should have thawed any trap freezing. However, if the trap is near a foundation vent, it might freeze hard. Make sure vents are closed.
...
[addsig]
Oh.. You mean in the basement if cold air is coming in, it might freeze the pipes..! ahh!
Quote:
On 2004-01-19 13:21, cygnus wrote:
Last time I had this problem I spent about $20 at Home Depot for a pipe snake that attaches to an electric drill. (I already had the drill). Connect the snake to the drill, start it spinning and gently feed it through the drain. Once you get it a few feet in get the drill moving at full bore and keep feeding until you can't go no more. Your success will depend on the exact nature of the problem and the plumbing configuration but I've cleared some severe hair clogs and pipes with a lot of build up that prevented proper flow.
I've used it successfully about 3 times now in different drains so my cost per fix keeps going down...and not a dime to a plumber. If you are the least bit handy this is an easy task and will only take 30-45 minutes.
_________________
Dale DeMott
[ Edited by ddemott on Date 01/19/2004 ]
Ahh... finally got it. The trap below was frozen. Apparently it wasn't insulated where the drain trap was and it was freezing up. I'll end up going in there and putting in some insulation so this won't happen again.
[addsig]