help--bottle stuck in shower drain!
Sima Misra
We were wondering if anyone could help us with this plumbing problem. A
small shampoo bottle fell down our shower stall drain (2" diameter pipe)
and is presumably caught in the P trap. The drain is now stopped up. Is
there any way to fix this ourselves? The pipe is PVC--the landlord would
prefer we not use a hacksaw to cut the pipe.
Many thanks to anyone who can help!
-Sima Misra & Chris Siebel
Clay Hayes
si...@mendel.berkeley.edu (Sima Misra) wrote:
When I used to work in hotel maintenance, we had this problem
frequently. I bought one of the small drain cleaners (looks like a
funnel with cable in it) at a hardware store, sharpened the end of the
coil, ran it into the drain and kept turning it until it pierced the
plastic bottle and then pulled it out. Worked well for me many times.
They are not very expensive either as you only need a short cable. Hope
this helps.
Clay the Catman from Little Torch Key
in the Florida Keys
(almost PARADISE)
PAUL CLINE
SM>We were wondering if anyone could help us with this plumbing problem. A
>small shampoo bottle fell down our shower stall drain (2" diameter pipe)
>and is presumably caught in the P trap. The drain is now stopped up.
What an interesting problem. I become so bored with the normal,
routine issues.
I assume you can see the plastic shampoo bottle when you look into the
drain. The first thing I would try is a powerful household vacuum
cleaner with the long pipe fitting. Stick it down the drain and touch
the bottle and see if you can coax it out of there.
Plan B: Because the bottle is made of plastic, I would figure a means
to pierce the plastic and hook the bottle, then pull it out.
Plan C: Getting to P-traps in showers generally means going to the
floor below and cutting a rectangular hole in the ceiling sheet rock.
The cutting of the PVC pipe and repair is a minor job compared to
replacing the sheetrock piece, taping and using the three applications
of joint compound and then repainting the entire ceiling. This
stretches out into a very messy three day job.
* 1st 2.00 #7040 * "Life is easier, the lower I keep everyone's expectations".
sle...@my.plaz.com
paul....@wdn.com (PAUL CLINE) wrote:
>
>SM>We were wondering if anyone could help us with this plumbing problem. A
> >small shampoo bottle fell down our shower stall drain (2" diameter pipe)
> >and is presumably caught in the P trap. The drain is now stopped up.
>
>
Why not try a stick with some High grade Super glue on the end. Stick
it to the bottle, and pull her out. Course if you can pull it out,
you;d have more stuff in the drain, eh?
TB
Richard
Glue might help. Better yet break the bottle and vacum it out with a
heavy duty wet-vac that you can rent.
Sima Misra
> >SM>We were wondering if anyone could help us with this plumbing problem. A
> > >small shampoo bottle fell down our shower stall drain (2" diameter pipe)
> > >and is presumably caught in the P trap. The drain is now stopped up.
Well, we took out the trap--no bottle, and the drain was still stopped.
We sharpened the end of a 20' snake's coil, and used that. It went down,
past the trap, but we were not able to get the coil to pierce the bottle.
Perhaps there's a trick to it?
I don't think superglue would have worked under water, unfortunately.
In the end, we called rotorooter, and they cleared the line with a power
snake in about 15 minutes.
Thanks to all for their helpful suggestions!
-Sima Misra
Gene Morrow
sle...@My.Plaz.com wrote:
>paul....@wdn.com (PAUL CLINE) wrote:
>>
>>SM>We were wondering if anyone could help us with this plumbing problem. A
>> >small shampoo bottle fell down our shower stall drain (2" diameter pipe)
>> >and is presumably caught in the P trap. The drain is now stopped up.
>>
>>
>Why not try a stick with some High grade Super glue on the end. Stick
>it to the bottle, and pull her out. Course if you can pull it out,
>you;d have more stuff in the drain, eh?
>TB
Try heating a piece of wire such as a coat hanger bent with a small hook using a
propane torch. When hot, press the hooked end into the plastic bottle and turn.
Wait a few minutes for the wire to cool, then pull.
Tom Geletka
si...@mendel.berkeley.edu (Sima Misra) wrote:
:
:We were wondering if anyone could help us with this plumbing problem. A
:small shampoo bottle fell down our shower stall drain (2" diameter pipe)
:and is presumably caught in the P trap.
Given the time elapsed, you have probably dealt with this already.
I suggest a strong wet-dry shop vaccuum cleaner to suck stuff from
drains.