Shower drain problem (1 Viewer)

[JFD]

Hi,

We have a little problem with our shower enclosure on our Rapido, and wondered if any Funster have any experience to contribute.

After we bought the Moho, and amongst other things, I removed and cleaned the water traps on both sink and basin, and a right mess they were! I couldn't see how to do the same to the shower but, as it didn't seem to have been used much, and drained well, left well alone.

We have just spent a few weeks touring, and one of our dogs developed a skin rash. A vet recommended a shower with medicated shampoo daily for a week, which we have done. Now, of course, the shower drains very slowly, probably due to dog hair deposits (thanks, Topsy), and I feel the need to clean out the drain, but have no idea how!

Do I have to dismantle the whole shower cubical to get to the tray to lift it, and get to the underside? Or is there a way of accessing from the top? Picture attached.

Any help gratefully received.

 

[The Wino]

Try looking at the panels next to the shower there could be a vent covering an acess to the trap otherwise I would try a bent bit of wire to try and remove the hair and (with the benefit of hindsight) wash the dog outdoors or cover the drain with gauze next time!

 

[Two on Tour]

The water trap for our shower is external under the van.

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[Treeeev]

You may find that there is no trap on the shower. A lot of drain pipes are made of a convoluted plastic and it maybe just hair etc caught in the pipe causing the clogging. Are you able to disconnect the drain pipe and push something down it? Or alternatively put some domestic drain cleaner / opener down it

Cheers

Trevor

 

[Just smiffy]

I've put drain cleaner down before and it's done the job ok...

 

[KUSKUS]

Just pull the chrome bit up and get access to trap, ours was the same a few weeks ago.

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[cranky]

Is the tank emptying slowly? mine was and found a piece of plastic, probably been there from installation, on the bend, just before the valve. it had been acting as a hair/gunge trap for some years judging by the smell!!

 

[Euphony]

Last weekend I used Mr.Muscle drain unblocker gel in our badly draining shower, now flows freely.

 

[Lenny HB]

Whatever you do don't use drain cleaner its caustic it will heat the pipes soften and distort them.

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[Northernraider]

And once you've fixed it you get handy little silicone hair traps on ebay to cover the drain and catch the hair.... Under £2

 

[7735]

As Titly said just pull up the centre bit and then clean it out with your finger.

Spongy

 

[sallylillian]

You put a dog in your personal shower

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[MitchandJenny]

We used drain clear on ours. It works and the pipes did NOT dissolve....
Just read the destructions on the bottle and most say "leave for (so many minutes) then flush.
A lot of motorhomes use 25 or 30mm pipe and the elbow bends are 90 degrees ! ! ! !
No wonder they block occasionally.
As a long term solution, may I suggest you fit an external shower point. I think "Bullfinch do them.
They are great for the odd cooling Summer splash, or muddy boots in Winter, and ideal for your dog.
Mitch.

 

[JFD]

Thanks, all, for the very helpful responses.

I will check if the centre thingy pulls out, but I don't think it does. Next will be the wire to oik out the hair that I can reach, then some cleaner!

We do have an external shower, but the shampoo needs to be left on for two minutes, and the shiver factor in the Swiss alps makes the use of it seem a little cruel!!

Thanks, again, for all the help and support.

 

[Lenny HB]

We used drain clear on ours. It works and the pipes did NOT dissolve....

Did you feel the temerature the pipes got up to?
My warning is from experance when I tried on my late FIL van some years ago, after a few minutes all the pipes went soft and floppy (best not to drink it then).

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[MitchandJenny]

How long did you leave the "stuff" in for, before flushing..
I think 5 minutes was the max I left ours in for.
PLEASE (no smutty comments)
Mitch.

 

[Lenny HB]

How long did you leave the "stuff" in for, before flushing..
I think 5 minutes was the max I left ours in for.
PLEASE (no smutty comments)
Mitch.

It was years ago but seem to remember the pipes stared getting warm straight away, probably depends on the brand of cleaner and what the pipes are made of as they could be PVC or ABS probably OK with PVC.
Just not worth the risk.

 

[DBK]

I suspect the heating effect will depend on the cleaner. If it is a concentrated caustic soda mixture then it will heat up on contact with water. I can only suggest testing a small sample in something you can throw away afterwards - but be very careful when you add a bit of water to it.

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[Ninovan]

Occasionally use Mr Muscle on ours, sink, wash basin & shower, never had a problem. Had to buy some in France last month as sink was getting slow, again no problem though not sure what was in it Left in for about 5 minutes then flushed. Problem solved. We have flexi convoluted pipes.

 

[KUSKUS]

Just get

a small screwdriver and lever centre bit out as photo.

 

[JFD]

Excellent post! I was thinking that the middle would not come out when I tried, but the whole lot rocked a bit. I'll give the screwdriver a go tomorrow morning.

Many, many thanks.

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[laneside]

Thanks, all, for the very helpful responses.

I will check if the centre thingy pulls out, but I don't think it does. Next will be the wire to oik out the hair that I can reach, then some cleaner!

We do have an external shower, but the shampoo needs to be left on for two minutes, and the shiver factor in the Swiss alps makes the use of it seem a little cruel!!

Thanks, again, for all the help and support.

It does, it does, you made need a knife to ease it up and then all will be revealed with access to the trap------trust me as we have had two Rapidos.

 

[JFD]

Thanks, Titley, for your post and picture. I gently prized the whole thing out this afternoon, and recovered a lot of my doggies coat! I also recovered three of the plastic screw covers which had gone missing, and sundry other bits - in fact, the shower has the best water trap in the Moho!

All now sorted, thanks to the amazing collection of knowledge on this forum. Thanks to all for your thoughts, ideas, and general willingness to help. That's what being a Funster is all about!!!