Sink and shower drains

[lovestocruise]

Both my sinks and the shower are draining slow. I dont want to put draino down the drains. Any idea if there is a special product that can be used to clean out the drains that wont hurt the plumbing?

 

[lovestocruise]

Wow! 25 views and no one has an answer? I guess im the only one with the problem.

 

[Alex D]

My sink drain did it too. Plugged the thru hull with a cork and filled the hose with on/off hull cleaner, waited 15 minutes and drained and flushed. . Took the crud right out. THere is some black goo building up in it like a gel, not mold though.

 

[carterchapman]

No - the reason you are not getting an answer is 25 Posts without your boat info posted in your signature. No one knows whether you have an 18' 1974 Pachanga or a 2008 60' Sedan Bridge...

On my 340, the galley and head sinks drain straight out, and the shower drains into the shower sump with a bilge pump. So if both of mine are draining slowly, it would be two different problems.

 

[Sundancer]

Coat hanger? Sharp stick? Do these drain overboard or through a sump/bilge pump? Check to see if there are any kinks in the lines. Some are opaque and you can see the plug with a flashlight.

 

[sr330daguy]

I just flush ours with a garden hose,just use short blasts on your shower drain as the sump only holds about 2 quarts.

 

[tobnpr]

How are they plumbed? Your shower by nature must drain into a sump where it is pumped overboard. Do the sinks drain into the sump as well, or do they drain directly overboard?

 

[lovestocruise]

Ok sorry, It is a 97 Sea Ray Sundancer. The shower drains into the sump pump and that is the worst one. The sump works fine and i just cleaned it our. I think the bockage is from the drain into the sump pump. The galley sink and head sink and the wet bar drain overboard.

 

[Lauralex]

I was just thinking-- If you could carefully get a fishtape through there from one end to the other, you could pull a heavy string back through, then get one of those 'pull-through' shotgun cleaning brushes sold at most sporting goods stores and really clean that out nicely. (Assuming that it's just sludge in there and not hard deposits.) I used this setup on my deck sink after the plastic elbow to clean out spiders and such this spring. You need to make sure there's no 90 degree hard bends in it though. Also make sure the fish tape isn't sharp on the end. Mine has a small bend-over on it so it won't puncture the hose. G/L.

Brian.

 

[sbw1]

Best approach is prevention. Once you get it clean, keep it clean. If you have a drain with a cap that screws in, remove it. Pour some concentrated bilge cleaner down the drain. Next, install a cut to fit piece of fiberglass window screen in the drain opening and screw in the drain cap on top to hold it in place. When the water begins to drain slowly after repeated use, remove the old screen and replace it with new. I pour bilge cleaner into the opening once a week when we are living on the boat. Our boat is now 5 years old and we've used the shower hundreds of times and the drain still works as new.

 

[Southpaw II]

Start with bleach. Most boats develop a mildew, moldy sludge in the drains that is black after periods of not being used. Before pouring in the shower drain, make sure the sump is clean and the float and pump switch are clean and working properly. Bleach followed later by hot water usually does the trick. Only if you must, follow with something stronger. You don't want to damage your pump with too strong of a solution, not to mention that whatever you pour will be pumped overboard.

If you need future help, you will get it a lot quicker if you properly complete your signature with year, model (length), and engine configuration. If you mention where you boat, you might even find a local on this board to help.

 

[Lazy Daze]

The lefty pitcher eluded to this, but just to re-iterate, never mix chemicals unless you know how they are going to react. Some can react quite violently - especially in a relatively enclosed environment like the sump. Do make sure you follow South's advice and flush WELL.

I've usually had good luck with just the hot water, but our shower doesn't really get used much. That's good info about the bilge cleaner and bleach - I wouldn't of thought about those two things.

 

[northern]

As suggested a garden hose worked for me. I took the top off the shower sump and blow a lot of water through it until it was 100% clean.

 

[jpk33]

If you have a coffee maker on board run 3-4 pots of hot water through the drains - it looses up soap scum/grease/icky stuff. You should see some progress after the 2nd or 3rd one. Its fast, easy and does not require a lot of tools. Good Luck

 

[Moose]

Except for the shower drain take your hose and blast it for a few seconds to remove any deposits in the lines. You think that these lines drain directly but they don't. There's a loop in the line to impede backflow. If you want to make sure that all your sinks are clean, do this once in a while.

 

[Zklink5150]

My boat sat for awhile, I found a wasps nest in 1 drain, mud hornets in all the others. Ridiculous problem to fix to say the least!!!