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Old 05-16-2018, 10:23 PM   #1
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My shower is draining SLOWLY

Guys,

All of a sudden my shower is draining very slowly. I'm gonna dump some baking soda and white vinegar down the drain and follow that with some hot water. After that I'll clean out the top of the drain with a coat hanger.

If that doesn't work then what?? Where is the sump/pump? In the hatch where the black water tank is?

The pump sounds fine and is working but maybe it's partially blocked??

Help! Thanks.
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Old 05-16-2018, 10:31 PM   #2
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Try an Enzyme drain cleaner.

Flush with garden hose, suck with a shop vac?
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Old 05-16-2018, 10:32 PM   #3
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So your sump box filter is full of hair and scum. Find the shower sump and clean the filter and box, I clean mine every month and is a nasty job IMO.......


Here is what it looks like.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/rule-...08?recordNum=1
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Old 05-16-2018, 11:02 PM   #4
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So your sump box filter is full of hair and scum. Find the shower sump and clean the filter and box, I clean mine every month and is a nasty job IMO.......


Here is what it looks like.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/rule-...08?recordNum=1
+1 it can be really nasty.
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Old 05-16-2018, 11:21 PM   #5
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You might find some valuable information in the thread "shower sump pump" ongoing now.

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Old 05-17-2018, 01:00 AM   #6
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Guys,

All of a sudden my shower is draining very slowly. I'm gonna dump some baking soda and white vinegar down the drain and follow that with some hot water. After that I'll clean out the top of the drain with a coat hanger.

If that doesn't work then what?? Where is the sump/pump? In the hatch where the black water tank is?

The pump sounds fine and is working but maybe it's partially blocked??

Help! Thanks.
We are of comparable size with similar layout. When we had this problem due to faulty plumbing in really hard location to reach, decided to dump the shower directly into the bilge where we pump it overboard. Doesn't hurt to flush a bit of soapy water into and out of the bilge.

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Old 05-17-2018, 01:40 AM   #7
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We are of comparable size with similar layout. When we had this problem due to faulty plumbing in really hard location to reach, decided to dump the shower directly into the bilge where we pump it overboard. Doesn't hurt to flush a bit of soapy water into and out of the bilge.

Al-Ketchikan
Hurt depends on what your boat is made out of. Body oils and soap can make unpleasant odors and the hair eventually will clog the bilge pump.
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Old 05-17-2018, 06:51 AM   #8
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Don't let the hair go down the drain in the first place, that's a start.
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Old 05-17-2018, 06:59 AM   #9
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Don't let the hair go down the drain in the first place, that's a start.
I will let you have that conversation with my wife!!!

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Old 05-17-2018, 07:07 AM   #10
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I will let you have that conversation with my wife!!!

David
I'd be glad to. Been there done that, bought the strainer.
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Old 05-17-2018, 07:13 AM   #11
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yes, a cheap rubber strainer can be found at WalMart. Sits right on top the shower drain and keeps out the hair. We also did that for the house after so may times of me having to clean the house drain, we got smarter.

Can you use drano, drain chemical cleaner in a boat?
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Old 05-17-2018, 07:43 AM   #12
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We use a fine mesh screen to collect hair but after 12 months enough soap scum builds up inside the the bilge Pump you have to open it up and clean everything including the screen. Do this about once a year and you should be ok. I have mention the on the H38E everything was very accessible just forward of the engine.
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Old 05-17-2018, 08:08 AM   #13
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Stainless mesh strainers can be found in various sizes. We placed them in all galley, head sinks plus shower drains , catches all debris.
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Old 05-17-2018, 10:46 AM   #14
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We are of comparable size with similar layout. When we had this problem due to faulty plumbing in really hard location to reach, decided to dump the shower directly into the bilge where we pump it overboard. Doesn't hurt to flush a bit of soapy water into and out of the bilge.

Al-Ketchikan
I had a 1986 Sea Ray 300 that did just this. Came from the factory set up this way.
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Old 05-17-2018, 12:06 PM   #15
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Bi-weekly or so (full time liveaboards) generous doses of distilled white vinegar keep the scum down dramatically, along with regular flushes of fresh water in between. I don't recall ever cleaning a sump in almost 7 years of living on our boat.
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Old 05-17-2018, 12:39 PM   #16
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I had mud wasps plug the through hull while it was on the hard, my first shower on board all went into the forward bilge instead of overboard. I would check the line from through hull backwards, checking the easiest first and then moving on to the harder issues.

I tend to be lazier the more times I find the fix isn't the hard one (and expensive one) but an easier remedy.
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Old 05-17-2018, 11:18 PM   #17
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Guys,

All of a sudden my shower is draining very slowly. I'm gonna dump some baking soda and white vinegar down the drain and follow that with some hot water. After that I'll clean out the top of the drain with a coat hanger.

If that doesn't work then what?? Where is the sump/pump? In the hatch where the black water tank is?

The pump sounds fine and is working but maybe it's partially blocked??

Help! Thanks.
Did you ever find the pump? I was going to look at mine and drop you a note..but forgot. Sorry. I will be down there tomorrow....for sure....

toni
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Old 05-17-2018, 11:49 PM   #18
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We use a fine mesh screen to collect hair but after 12 months enough soap scum builds up inside the the bilge Pump you have to open it up and clean everything including the screen. Do this about once a year and you should be ok. I have mention the on the H38E everything was very accessible just forward of the engine.
Make sure you use only liquid soap in the shower and sinks. Bar soap will try to resolidify and creates messy clogs. No such problem with liquid soap.
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Old 05-18-2018, 07:09 AM   #19
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Can you use drano, drain chemical cleaner in a boat?

You can, but if things go wrong and the drain stops, you'll be dealing with whatever you poured down the drain up close and personal. The snot in the drain is smelly and ucky, but it won't strip your skin. Drain0 just adds another magnitude of danger. Then there's the cleanup....??? From the perspective of 25 yrs in the plumbing trade, the best approach is first, mechanical cleaning/opening of the drain. Flush it. Maintain it with a biological. Regularly clean the screens/sump. It's a maintenance item. Maintain.
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Old 05-18-2018, 09:05 AM   #20
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I am 99% sure that pump is is between the holding tank and engine compartment bulkhead. I haven't used the shower onboard. I want to add a power vent through the head 'ceiling' and up top under the flybridge, with another intake just below the main cabin ceiling. My marina has a great bathhouse!
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