# Our bath tub won't drain. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2019, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443 "2019-12-06T00:36:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/41 "2019-12-15T20:46:41Z")
UPDATE: Plumber #3 concurred with #1 and #2: He’ll need to go in through a 2-foot hole in the living room ceiling, under the tub drain. Apparently none of their snakes can maneuver a right angle (OR they hit the actual obstruction). What worries me is the possibility that he still can’t find the blockage, and the next step is going in through the wall. As a last resort, I’m calling Roto-Rooter tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/42 "2019-12-15T21:20:47Z")
If you wind up with a very inconvenient hole someplace in the house, talk to the plumber about installing an accessible, unobtrusive cleanout, preferably in the bathroom or nearby closet. You’ll end up having to re-plaster two holes instead of just one, but it would make things easier when coping with the next tub catastrophe. ~VOW (Merry Freakin’ Christmas, right?) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/43 "2019-12-15T22:00:54Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Drain pipes usually do have water in them, i.e. the trap–it’s a feature, not a bug. While that wouldn’t be an issue with a sink, which usually has the trap indoors, a bathtub drain tends to run below the floor and somewhat “outdoors” as it were. > > We often get freezing temperatures overnight this time of year, but almost never in the daytime. Do I need to worry about drainpipes freezing, or is that only an issue in places where the temperature stays below freezing more consistently? > > We had the water pipes replumbed with PEX when we moved in, but that didn’t involve the drains. You’ll be fine so long as overnight temperatures get above freezing around here. But if we get a sustained freeze where overnight and day temperatures stay below freezing, say 3-4 days, definitely take steps. In such circumstances, I’ve had pipes freeze (but not burst) in an insulated exterior wall and once, one even burst in my heavily insulated attic. To be fair, that was as a result of a weird remodel plumbing choice that placed a portion of copper pipe above the insulation and very close to the roof. Still, not fun when it happened. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/44 "2019-12-15T22:17:34Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > If you wind up with a very inconvenient hole someplace in the house, talk to the plumber about installing an accessible, unobtrusive cleanout, preferably in the bathroom or nearby closet. You’ll end up having to re-plaster two holes instead of just one, but it would make things easier when coping with the next tub catastrophe. There’s no place for anything like that, adjacent to the tub, just a chimney and a stairway to the attic. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/45 "2019-12-16T03:55:29Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > There’s no place for anything like that, adjacent to the tub, just a chimney and a stairway to the attic. Then if you have to do the living room ceiling, make it permanent. Like a trapdoor, or a removable panel in the ceiling, giving access to the plumbing. It can be finished to match the rest of the ceiling, and besides, people don’t usually look up at the ceiling. But having this will save a lot the next time you need plumbing work there. I don’t understand why they build houses this way. It’s so easy to plan for the bathtub/shower plumbing to be behind a plywood panel in a linen closet, or some other obscure place. I know of one behind a hinged hall mirror, and others behind decorative wood panels. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/46 "2019-12-16T11:01:24Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > UPDATE: Plumber #3 concurred with #1 and #2: He’ll need to go in through a 2-foot hole in the living room ceiling, under the tub drain. Apparently none of their snakes can maneuver a right angle (OR they hit the actual obstruction). What worries me is the possibility that he still can’t find the blockage, and the next step is going in through the wall. > > As a last resort, I’m calling Roto-Rooter tomorrow. Snakes can maneuver past right angles. See my post #26 in this thread. It would have to be a helluva blockage to prevent a properly managed snake from proceeding. Roto-Rooter, in my experience, is primarily interested in scaring and upselling. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/47 "2019-12-16T13:47:18Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Snakes can maneuver past right angles. See my post #26 in this thread. It would have to be a helluva blockage to prevent a properly managed snake from proceeding. I suspect that, rather than hitting a right angle, the snake hit the actual obstruction (whatever the hell it is). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/48 "2019-12-17T05:34:25Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > You’ll be fine so long as overnight temperatures get above freezing around here. But if we get a sustained freeze where overnight and day temperatures stay below freezing, say 3-4 days, definitely take steps. IIRC the daytime temperatures were mostly above freezing even during last year’s snowfall. Do we often get days-long periods of sustained sub-freezing temperatures here? Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/49 "2019-12-17T16:14:28Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > IIRC the daytime temperatures were mostly above freezing even during last year’s snowfall. Do we often get days-long periods of sustained sub-freezing temperatures here? > > Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk Not often, but it does happen. Last year was above-average warm. This year so far looks like it will be the same. But in my 15 years here, we have had some stretches where temperatures never rise above freezing. I always pay attention to the first week of December. For some reason, that’s often when it happens. We’ve also had a couple lengthy multiple days of sub-freezing temps in January and February. Never fun. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443/50 "2019-12-18T00:59:05Z")
Above-average warmth and above average snow…only in Oregon! Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-bath-tub-wont-drain/844443.md?page=2)