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.

Try an Enzyme drain cleaner.

Flush with garden hose, suck with a shop vac?

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-industries--shower-sump-system--P011_331_001_508?recordNum=1

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

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-industries--shower-sump-system--P011_331_001_508?recordNum=1

Click to expand...

+1 it can be really nasty.

You might find some valuable information in the thread "shower sump pump" ongoing now.

Peggie

South of Heaven said:

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.

Click to expand...

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

Al said:

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

Click to expand...

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.

Don't let the hair go down the drain in the first place, that's a start.

caltexflanc said:

Don't let the hair go down the drain in the first place, that's a start.

Click to expand...

I will let you have that conversation with my wife!!!

David

djmarchand said:

I will let you have that conversation with my wife!!!

David

Click to expand...

I'd be glad to. Been there done that, bought the strainer.

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?

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.

Stainless mesh strainers can be found in various sizes. We placed them in all galley, head sinks plus shower drains , catches all debris.

Al said:

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

Click to expand...

I had a 1986 Sea Ray 300 that did just this. Came from the factory set up this way.

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.

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.

South of Heaven said:

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.

Click to expand...

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

N4061 said:

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.

Click to expand...

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.

sdowney717 said:

Can you use drano, drain chemical cleaner in a boat?

Click to expand...

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.

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!

Thanks gentlemen! I fixed it this afternoon. And thank God it was an easy fix and didn't cost me anything. Haha

It was just the inline strainer that was blocked... cough,cough, ahem, TOTALLY blocked! I can't believe it was draining water at all. I've been using it since last fall in 2017! The top part screws off and there's a internal screen. While I was at it I flushed the whole system with white vinegar and baking soda. Then straight vinegar at the end.

I took a few pics but the actual Jabsco 362000 in line filter is not visible in the pic (I'll add a generic Google pic for that).

Anyway, all is good for now and I learned a lot more about the head/plumbing systems. There's actually 2 big pumps down there and they are all "connected". Still lots more to learn!

I took a shower once in the head and I probably won't do it again unless really needed. I have a hard time justifying introducing that much moisture into the cabin and electronics behind the mirror. The door and mirror access panel are not moisture-tight. If I need a shower or rinse I much prefer the cockpit shower. No moisture inside the cabin issue, no sump pumps, much more room. Canvas screen enclosures ensure privacy.

jhance said:

I took a shower once in the head and I probably won't do it again unless really needed. I have a hard time justifying introducing that much moisture into the cabin and electronics behind the mirror. The door and mirror access panel are not moisture-tight. If I need a shower or rinse I much prefer the cockpit shower. No moisture inside the cabin issue, no sump pumps, much more room. Canvas screen enclosures ensure privacy.

Click to expand...

Those are definitely valid points and I like the idea of using the cockpit shower (a hardtop and full enclosure are on my "radar" this season").

But my boat is just that, a boat. Not a 7 figure yacht! I'm fine with using it the way that it was designed to be used. The wrap around shower curtain seems perfectly functional to me and seems to do the trick (but your point of humidity is well taken). As Milton P mentioned, I may add an overhead fan vent but no need to reinvent the wheel either! That's like saying : I'm not gonna boil water to cook and use the cooktop because it will introduce too much humidity into the cabin....That won't fly in my book. I'm gonna be a fulltime Camano liveboard by November of this year. Humidity and all.

Think about adding one of these
https://www.amazon.com/LEKEYE-Catch...8&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=shower+strainer&psc=1

South of Heaven said:

Those are definitely valid points and I like the idea of using the cockpit shower (a hardtop and full enclosure are on my "radar" this season").

But my boat is just that, a boat. Not a 7 figure yacht! I'm fine with using it the way that it was designed to be used. The wrap around shower curtain seems perfectly functional to me and seems to do the trick (but your point of humidity is well taken). As Milton P mentioned, I may add an overhead fan vent but no need to reinvent the wheel either! That's like saying : I'm not gonna boil water to cook and use the cooktop because it will introduce too much humidity into the cabin....That won't fly in my book. I'm gonna be a fulltime Camano liveboard by November of this year. Humidity and all.

Click to expand...

I would really suggest you dive deep into working on controlling the moisture issue if you are going to be using that shower daily. Ventilation is best, but also fans, dehumidifier, etc. etc. Opening the head port light window helps but the shower curtain blocks it. In a perfect world you'd have an exhaust fan in the head. Maybe something can be rigged on the window. Moisture is the enemy on a boat and if you aren't fully attacking the problem on a daily basis you may end up with a mold mess. And the issue may not be in visible areas but in hard-to-reach areas like behind the mirror, in your electronics, and deep inside cabinet and storage areas.

At a minimum I would ensure plenty of ventilation while showering and place damp-rid bags in cabinet and storage areas. I have them throughout the boat and they collect plenty of water (without using the shower much if at all). And if you haven't already, I would consider a small dehumidifier as a full-time liveaboard.

as to moisture, its there whether you shower or not.... why people who dont live aboard wind up with damp rid and humidifiers.

sure there are temporary increases in humidity, after showers, company, cooking, etc....but living aboard and going in and out and cracking ports/windows helps substantially.

I have found that living aboard and keeping fresh, moving air aboard seems to reduce those issues rather than making it worse.