Reddit mentions: The best bathtub drains

Cool, you're welcome. Whenever one does work on old cast iron there's a high probability of dislodging a bunch of shit when removing old threaded fittings, ect. My house's cast iron has literally a quarter inch of rust scale/slugde on the inside. Every time anything disturbs it, it seems to throw a clot so to speak.

If you can get the drainage rate to sustain some amount of water flow, I would highly recommend a caustic or acidic cleaner, not an enzymatic cleaner. There's nothing like good, old fashioned gnarly ass chemicals. IF you can make sure it drains before the plumber has to deal with it. Otherwise you're totally right to use the enzymatic cleaner if you think it might still be sitting there when the plumber might have to deal with it.

I had a pretty darn similar situation with my upstairs sink, and what we did there was slightly risky but very effective. I had a garden hose that could reach the bathroom and so what we did was we capped off the vent stack on the roof with duct tape, and shoved the garden hose in the drain fitting in the wall. I was holding this in with a gloved hand and hand pressure, so the actual applied pressure was only as hard as I could push (maybe 20psi?) but we just pushed that clog right through. Most satisfying sound I've ever heard when it went (ca-THUUUNK).

There's actually a much nicer looking tool for doing this type of pressure assisted unclogging. It's called a clog buster. I haven't used one but what you'd do is shove it down past the vent T (so that you didn't have to tape up the vent pipe like I did) and then when you turn on the water it inflates and seals itself against the pipe, so you can successfully apply the hose pressure to the clog downstream.

Now, I will totally not take resposibility if this friggin floods your house. If you have plain threaded cast iron pipes all the way through, I don't think the risk is super high. But if there are leaded joints, they could in theory push apart with pressure. That would not be fun. So use with caution.

I used something that looked similar to this. The one I used is called 2x3 (2in to 3in) Floor Drain (used in showers). Those bolts you see are go through the drain holes to give it a secure fitting. Basically I went into home depot and just browsed through their piping section and that is what I came up with. In the particle board I drilled holes through so I could mount the bolts and used a larger bit to make holes so some of the bolts could sit flush. Those four bolts that extrude on the outside just go into the mounting pattern on the HOTAS so it can sit in place there.

/u/Super206 seems to use a "floor flange" to accomplish what I did using drain covers.

If you have any questions, or want me to clarify let me know and I'll do my best to help!

I’ve heard these work great for catching hair. I was actually looking into them myself because we are a family with three girls (the 3 boys don’t shed so much) and I just pulled a huge clump of hair out of our shower drain yesterday.

I've got these rubber ones which are great, too

You could use an xt60 female and a male/male adapter on the charger instead to mate the two female ends.. safer but still prone to water damage etc.

Ideally you could use xt60 caps like this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01FUOFZE6/

Though personally I just use a piece of black electrical tape on the tip when not in use.

FML

A. As a nightshifter: Royally fuck you winterhour, let the time of depression and moodswing begin!

B. Just spent 1.5 fucking hours trying to look for 1. a tool (or) 2. the name of the fucking tool in Dutch

It's fucking sick, I need this thing to unclog my fucking bath, 10$ on amazon in the US, OR a fucking 80 euros on amazon.de (?!!) OR it's a reasonable price but they're unable to deliver

So then, maybe fucking bol.com or gamma or something... half an hour of searching for the translation of 'dumbell wrench', conclusion: It just doesn't have a fucking name, I tried everything.

I'm done with this for today, I guess I'll just cry in the shower whenever I use it and it starts overflowing and reminding me of my incompetence /s

Could also pay someone to do it, but who's got the fucking money for that?

If any of you have a golden tip.... I'd be grateful

(it's to remove the drain-cover-shitthing from my bath, which has been clogged off and on up for 5 years or so)

Edit: Thanks for the helpful advice <3 Appreciate it!

I have used this and this in the past. The first one works better because it has smaller holes in it.

Same thing happened to me with the cross member breaking. Not sure mine was as stuck as your but this worked well for me. Maybe use it with a breaker bar?

Are you able to use a saw and cut the top section off since you're replacing it anyway? You'll need to find a way to get to the actual drain and then you'd use either needle nose pliers to twist the cross piece or when that inevitably breaks you'll get something like this for your toolbox https://www.amazon.com/Superior-05255-Extractor-Removes-Stubborn-Drains/dp/B00C0M7DVA

Perhaps try this tool https://www.amazon.com/Rectorseal-97258-Golden-Extractor-Drain/dp/B008A3UM7U

It's a Rectorseal tub drain removal tool. The tool that you used that broke is good only for new installs. They're made of cheap metal and can't handle any real torque applied to them. If this doesn't work then like other have posted you'll have to cut it out.

Edit : Provided better link

Went online to find out whether there are coasters you could ride, first thing to pop up is an article about a tall man getting stuck on one.. :-(

One thing we installed in my best mate's (already huge) bath tub (he's only 6'8", mind) was a stop for his overflow. That would allow him to 'overfill' the bath tub to where the water would almost be at the rim of the bath (with him in it..).

Essentially this, but his was more permanent.

https://www.amazon.com/Superior-05255-Extractor-Removes-Stubborn-Drains/dp/B00C0M7DVA

Hammer it in and crank that drain out

This is what you need: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C0M7DVA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_eCO1PrW9BRfBw

Do you mean one of these?

https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Overflow-Gasket-Aluminum-Bracket/dp/B01BXB7FIY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1510679106&sr=8-2&keywords=tub+overflow+gasket

https://www.amazon.com/Essentially-Yours-Deeper-Overflow-Drain/dp/B078RT2J2T/ref=sxin_2_ac_m_rm?ac_md=1-1-YmF0aCBjb3ZlciBvdmVyZmxvdw%3D%3D-ac_d_rm&keywords=bath+cover+spout&pd_rd_i=B078RT2J2T&pd_rd_r=7f67f146-7cd8-4136-92bb-7848f0ca24fe&pd_rd_w=4EWIe&pd_rd_wg=GJIB3&pf_rd_p=d1a6ea92-24ed-409e-8e33-97dc5a8de815&pf_rd_r=2AJ5R9MNT0KPP48R30K6&qid=1569200333&sprefix=bath+cover

I get a lot of my odd tools on Amazon, so I found the Superior Tool 05255

It hasn't let me down yet

Use one of these.

They're stupid expensive for one-time use, but it's the only way I got out of the same situation.

a sink strainer? really? I guess that would work....

the current drain just unscrews... they can be annoying and hard to get out but most are not too bad... then install a lift-and-turn type in its place.
http://www.amazon.com/Danze-D490637BN-Conversion-Brushed-Nickel/dp/B00084NSK2

Do they have smaller tools? I recently put a new stopper in my tub, I had to buy this stupidly specialized thing called a drain extractor, which I'm sure I'll never use again... but it was the only way I could get the damn thing out.

The Waste & Overflow is 1-3/8. It's a fairly common size for decorative Waste & Overflows for clawfoot tubs.

I disagree with the earlier posters. Soap (and soap scum) buildup is a real thing. Hair makes it worse, but still. I occasionally have to use a plunger to clear the pipes. When they get really bad a Clog Buster does the trick.

$300 fuck that.

I had the same problem. Cross rotted/broke out.

You need one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C0M7DVA/ I've also seen these at Lowes, if you're not the order off the internet tape.

Tap it in with a hammer, push down, and crank it out with a 1/2" ratchet, and an extension. If you have ZERO tools, you can do this job for probably less than $35 with a Harbor Freight ratchet and extension.


edit: video of one in use - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO-bZF4L1HE

They do make what is called "clog-buster". ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001AJ5RNA?pc_redir=1410002965&robot_redir=1 )

However most plumbers I know would never use anything like this. Use a snake and be sure you can get it. If there's something actually blocking the pipe, the pressure could cause multiple problems, if it's not fully clogged the pressure goes past the clog usually.