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Question: There are two tub/showers in the house and I never used one of them (call it tub B, which is on the 2nd floor) until the other wasn't usable for a couple of weeks. So, I use tub B and discover that it's clogged. 1. 3 Draino treatments don't help. 2. Snaking doesn't help. 3. Trying to blast the obstruction out with pressure from a hose just backs water up the vent pipe. 4. I try a tougher snake - it's made from a stiff wire and has a business end, and you can shove it hard against the obstruction. I insert it into the vent pipe directly from above. This gets me nowhere. What I don't understand is this: The blockage (which feels solid) appears to be about 3 feet ABOVE where the tub drain joins the vent pipe on its way to the ground where it meets the sewer piping. What's going on here?
Answer: > QUOTE: "Trying to blast the obstruction out with pressure from a hose just backs water up the vent pipe." That tells you that the vent connection is *not* blocked. The tub drain likely meanders about until it joins (perhaps) the basin drain and finally into the stack. The clog may be all the way down where it meets the basin drain at a WYE and there could be several 90's along the way. My point is that these clogs can be very difficult to snake out; it takes a professional-sized machine (even a hand-held) to do it. Often, a common snake will simply go *up* the vent after leaving the tub trap instead of continuing down the drain. Very difficult to control. A snake with a "down-head boring tool" may be able to make it down the drain. Rent a machine or hire someone...
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