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Waste pipe underneath bath leaking
Topic Started: 3 Jul 2013, 08:48 PM (2,984 Views)
XXX
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I have recently noticed that the waste pipe underneath my bathtub was leaking. I went under the house (it's pretty high up so wasn't too hard) and upon investigating the pipe (which goes from the bathtub plug down into the ground) was fairly loose, I tightened it up with my hands and that seemed to have solved the issue.

However, I can still hear leaking under there. When I go out and have a look the leaking looks very minimal and I can't really say for sure whether or not it is still leaking just yet. I am suspecting (with my limited knowledge) that the pipes further down (or maybe even the inside of the pipe I clamped) is blocked (or partially blocked) leading to slow drainage and hence the excess water weight residing in the pipe is causing it to "burst at the seams".

Was thinking of running some draino to clear it out... thoughts?
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Bardon
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Best to use a plunger first to remove any gross blockages, if that is what you suspect.
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peter fraser
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Marc Hedley
3 Jul 2013, 08:48 PM
I have recently noticed that the waste pipe underneath my bathtub was leaking. I went under the house (it's pretty high up so wasn't too hard) and upon investigating the pipe (which goes from the bathtub plug down into the ground) was fairly loose, I tightened it up with my hands and that seemed to have solved the issue.

However, I can still hear leaking under there. When I go out and have a look the leaking looks very minimal and I can't really say for sure whether or not it is still leaking just yet. I am suspecting (with my limited knowledge) that the pipes further down (or maybe even the inside of the pipe I clamped) is blocked (or partially blocked) leading to slow drainage and hence the excess water weight residing in the pipe is causing it to "burst at the seams".

Was thinking of running some draino to clear it out... thoughts?
It should be a PVC "S bend" underneath.

What you need to do is unscrew both ends and clean out anything inside.

Don't bother with draino, just a quick clean will do, once you have the "S Bend' out it will quickly be apparent to you.

The reason it is leaking is that the two rubber "O Rings" will have perished and no longer work.

If you trot off to the nearest decent hardware store someone there will help you select the correct O Rings - hint - they won't be round, they will be squared so it's important to install them carefully and make sure they are "flat" and nor rolled.

If you wanted to get really professional you could coat them with some silicone grease - the pool shop or an auto parts supplier like "super cheap" will stock that.
Edited by peter fraser, 3 Jul 2013, 09:01 PM.
Any expressed market opinion is my own and is not to be taken as financial advice
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hoofarted
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I would call the managing agent and get them to arrange a plumber..... oh wait... never mind. :pop:
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Pig Iron
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Bogan scum

hoofarted
3 Jul 2013, 09:02 PM
I would call the managing agent and get them to arrange a plumber..... oh wait... never mind. :pop:
yes, because 5 minutes of diy is worse than $1000's you waste renting. you sure are a sharp one!
Marc Hedley
3 Jul 2013, 08:48 PM
I have recently noticed that the waste pipe underneath my bathtub was leaking. I went under the house (it's pretty high up so wasn't too hard) and upon investigating the pipe (which goes from the bathtub plug down into the ground) was fairly loose, I tightened it up with my hands and that seemed to have solved the issue.

However, I can still hear leaking under there. When I go out and have a look the leaking looks very minimal and I can't really say for sure whether or not it is still leaking just yet. I am suspecting (with my limited knowledge) that the pipes further down (or maybe even the inside of the pipe I clamped) is blocked (or partially blocked) leading to slow drainage and hence the excess water weight residing in the pipe is causing it to "burst at the seams".

Was thinking of running some draino to clear it out... thoughts?
the pipe work shouldn't leak due to being filled with water. it shouldn't like hand tightening it didn't do the job.
Edited by Pig Iron, 3 Jul 2013, 09:17 PM.
I am the love child of Tony Abbott and Pauline Hanson
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XXX
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peter fraser
3 Jul 2013, 09:00 PM
It should be a PVC "S bend" underneath.

What you need to do is unscrew both ends and clean out anything inside.

Don't bother with draino, just a quick clean will do, once you have the "S Bend' out it will quickly be apparent to you.

The reason it is leaking is that the two rubber "O Rings" will have perished and no longer work.

If you trot off to the nearest decent hardware store someone there will help you select the correct O Rings - hint - they won't be round, they will be squared so it's important to install them carefully and make sure they are "flat" and nor rolled.

If you wanted to get really professional you could coat them with some silicone grease - the pool shop or an auto parts supplier like "super cheap" will stock that.

Yes Peter, it is exactly as you describe.

I guess I will have to pull the pipe apart sometime soon and check it out. Is the silicone grease necessary lol? I am quite lazy and don't wanna have to go to much effort and also don't wanna buy a whole tube for such a small job.

I think your advice is dead on the money. I will try it soon but it is really an issue besides the noise? (just to know how long I got to getting around to it) as the agent when I brought the house told me termites love water (under my house is all dirt and it's just slowly dripping onto the dirt - not much water really though).


Pig Iron
3 Jul 2013, 09:15 PM
yes, because 5 minutes of diy is worse than $1000's you waste renting. you sure are a sharp one!

the pipe work shouldn't leak due to being filled with water. it shouldn't like hand tightening it didn't do the job.

The pipe between the bottom of the tub and the ground truly is a flimsy piece of s**t. When I grabbed it, it had plenty of freeplay that is why I suspected that (when loaded up with water, or blocked) all the water is bursting out at the seams as there is heaps of freeplay (or space) for it to escape.

PS: there is not alot of freeplay now that I have hand tightened it though. Pretty solid but I still wouldn't go side-kicking it or anything
Edited by XXX, 3 Jul 2013, 09:24 PM.
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mango66
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Go to buntings and buy the O rings Peter talked about. Be careful not to over tighten them when you replace. Only hand tight
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peter fraser
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Marc Hedley
3 Jul 2013, 09:18 PM

Yes Peter, it is exactly as you describe.

I guess I will have to pull the pipe apart sometime soon and check it out. Is the silicone grease necessary lol? I am quite lazy and don't wanna have to go to much effort and also don't wanna buy a whole tube for such a small job.

I think your advice is dead on the money. I will try it soon but it is really an issue besides the noise? (just to know how long I got to getting around to it) as the agent when I brought the house told me termites love water (under my house is all dirt and it's just slowly dripping onto the dirt - not much water really though).




The pipe between the bottom of the tub and the ground truly is a flimsy piece of s**t. When I grabbed it, it had plenty of freeplay that is why I suspected that (when loaded up with water, or blocked) all the water is bursting out at the seams as there is heaps of freeplay (or space) for it to escape.
If it's easy to get to it's a 5 minute job if you have the O rings.

No you don't really need the silicon grease. I carry it for my pool filter (lubricating O rings) plus it's handy when rebuilding brake slave cylinders, and I also use it to water seal wrist watches when I rebuild one. It's a handy and cheap item for me, but you can exist without it.

The agent is correct, termites will love it. They don't drink much.
Any expressed market opinion is my own and is not to be taken as financial advice
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XXX
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peter fraser
3 Jul 2013, 09:29 PM
If it's easy to get to it's a 5 minute job if you have the O rings.

No you don't really need the silicon grease. I carry it for my pool filter (lubricating O rings) plus it's handy when rebuilding brake slave cylinders, and I also use it to water seal wrist watches when I rebuild one. It's a handy and cheap item for me, but you can exist without it.

The agent is correct, termites will love it. They don't drink much.

Yeah I am gonna pull it out shortly and fix it up before I end up with a bigger issue on my hands.

Whilst we are on the plumbing issue. I feel that my toilet doesn't flush good enough. It flushes everything down, but the water is not as transparent as a normal toilet (it's yellowish and abit gross). The direct dump pipe under the toilet (running straight from the toilet into the ground below) looks new. Yes, it's definitely a new dump pipe so someone has had some kind of issue with the toilet recently. It does not strain to flush, it flushes just like any other toilet but always has a yellowish look to the water (no matter how many times you flush).

AND, a few nights ago I could hear running water through my taps (like if you put your ears on the tap you can hear it more distinctly). It sounds just like a tap does when water is running, except there was no water running anywhere around my house (I checked). I am thinking maybe the neighbours were taking a shower at 2am or something and my water is somehow connected to theirs hence the sound.
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peter fraser
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Marc Hedley
3 Jul 2013, 09:44 PM

Yeah I am gonna pull it out shortly and fix it up before I end up with a bigger issue on my hands.

Whilst we are on the plumbing issue. I feel that my toilet doesn't flush good enough. It flushes everything down, but the water is not as transparent as a normal toilet (it's yellowish and abit gross). The direct dump pipe under the toilet (running straight from the toilet into the ground below) looks new. Yes, it's definitely a new dump pipe so someone has had some kind of issue with the toilet recently. It does not strain to flush, it flushes just like any other toilet but always has a yellowish look to the water (no matter how many times you flush).

AND, a few nights ago I could hear running water through my taps (like if you put your ears on the tap you can hear it more distinctly). It sounds just like a tap does when water is running, except there was no water running anywhere around my house (I checked). I am thinking maybe the neighbours were taking a shower at 2am or something and my water is somehow connected to theirs hence the sound.
I can't help you with your neighbours taking a shower. It might be worth checking your water meter when everything is turned off to make sure that you don't have a leak that you don't know about.

But back to the dunny.

You can either replace the whole thing (about $120 at Bunning's for a good Chinese porcelain unit) or if you want a quick fix get some pool acid (hydrochloric) and dump about one litre into the bowl. Watch closely and flush it when it is clean, don't leave it in overnight as it will etch the porcelain. The fumes can be very acrid so make sure all windows are open and be a little careful, acids burn.

Pool acid at Bunning's or a hardware store will be about $10.

Any expressed market opinion is my own and is not to be taken as financial advice
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