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tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: sailor02129 My tub was draining very slowly, so I removed the drain cover plate to snake it out....no plunger and rod attached! I can't tell if it dropped in, other than water barely drains at all. How do I fish this out of there? Thanks for any suggestions!

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: dlh (TX) were you able to get the snake trough? - - - - - - - PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: kingerik (OH) A good quality Auger sounds like it might be your best bet. The sponsor of this forum does sell them: [www.plumbingsupply.com] You should be able to fish that thing out...

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: sailor02129 I can feed the snake in about three feet, and then it feels like a hard stop. I didn't want to muscle it if there is an assembly there.

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: dlh (TX) it could just be you are entering the trap and you arent making the bend. it can be tricky to get through sometimes with 1 1/2" traps. what size cable were you using? 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", ect.? does the snake you used spin? - - - - - - - PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: sailor02129 Hi - The auger is 1/4" cable, and the drum turns, but I can't gt it any further in. No big gobs of material come out, either. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: dlh (TX) sounds like you need a professional to come out to take care of this - - - - - - - PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped

Author: e-plumber (NY)

It's possible that the plunger assembly is causing your problem but unlikely. You can be certain by using a coat hanger with a hook at the end to attempt to fish it out.

You're probably trying to use a hand crank snake which is basically useless. 1/4" is the correct cable size but you need a power machine to snake and clear the bathtub drain, you're probably not jumping the trap with the device that you're using.

e-plumber
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"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: hj If the plunger was still in there, you would probably not be able to get the snake into the drain, and the plunger would only be about 12" down.

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped

Author: redwood (CT)

Without a power snake with 1/4" cable you've got a snowballs chance in hell of making the trip through a bathtub trap. If the drain assembly has dropped down you should probably be able to hook it with a coat hanger. I would avoid sticking a toilet auger down there as someone earlier suggested as it leaves little room for error and a good chance of breaking or dislodging a slip joint connection on the drain assembly. Was this drain stopper actually working or not. If you have never seen this stopper working there is a good possibility that the drain mechanism was never there.

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped

Author: sailor02129

Thanks for all your suggestions. Fishing around with a coat hanger for quite a while yielded nothing - no stopper, no sound of anything rattling around down there. I have not filled the tub since I have lived here (except with the drain being so slow!), so I don't know if a stopper ever was in there or not. If the 1/4" auger - hand crank - has little chance of jumping the trap, can I clean it out from the drain/trap below it in the basement?

I hate to bother a pro for something as low level as this, but then, maybe these are the gravy jobs!

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: dlh (TX) having the knowledge, expierence, and equiptment just make it look like gravy. we did not learn this stuff over night. it takes years of expierence and trial and error to make things like this "the gravy jobs". it cant be to minor of a thing. you havent gotten it yet have you? - - - - - - - PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped

Author: e-plumber (NY)

If you can access the drain trap from below that would be the way to handle it at this point. You can drop the trap and use your hand crank snake into the open pipe, you may have better results.

e-plumber
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"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: hj You do not "bother" a pro, and these are not always "gravy" jobs. But we do have the knowledge and equipment to do the job in the shortest time possible, hopefully at the least cost also.

Re: tub drain plunger assy dropped
Author: redwood (CT) Disturbing the trap can be "a can of worms" although it would probably enable you to look up into the waste and overflow assembly to see what is in there. It may lead to replacement of the waste and overflow assembly and or additional piping. It all depends on what type of pipe is used and its condition.