Bathtub lift bucket is missing.

scottier

I have an old house (73) and when we moved in one of the tubs drained a bit slow but not slow enough to think it was clogged. Well a couple of days ago it clogged up and quit draining. The drain stopper on the overflow cover never worked but didn't think much of it b/c it had a rubber stopper in the tub. Plunging didn't work so i went to use my auger (one of those attach to a drill ones. Well i took the over flow cover off and of course the drain stopper hardware was missing on the inside. I pulled out as much nastiness out of the trap as i could with the auger but it was stopping about 2 foot into the pipe and would not work it's way any farther and the drain was still clogged.

Here comes my redneck. I used some fishing line with a tri-hook and some line weights and feed it down the overflow and surprise! Pulled out a globs of hair and the second fishing attempt, I pulled up a small rope. It looks like it was part of the original drain stopper. After cleaning it out the drain flows again but VERY slow. After finding the rope i'm wondering if the lift bucker (drain stopper, or what ever it is referred to) from the original parts may be actually stuck down in the trap and that's why the auger stops.

If your still reading thank you for your time and what do you think? Is that even possible, and if so how do i remove it. It is a concrete foundation with no access behind the tub with out wall removal.

Just Bill

The worst part is the trap is probably a bell or drum trap. You can't get a snake thru them, even if you had access. Without making access somewhere, I don't know how to clear them, except maybe acid, and I do not recommend that.

DUDE!

I only get to work with one type drain stopper, its all metal, so I don't know about the rope you pulled up. I can only assume if the parts broke off, they would be blocking the trap, in which case I'd try a bent coat hanger down the overflow pipe. I'd also try a plunger to get "stuff" moving around some. Although I don't like using drain cleaners, sometimes you need to.
A ridgid brand "sea snake camera" would be helpful although its hard to know what you are seeing. Keep us informed how you get through this problem.

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plumberinlaw

try one of those spring loaded grabbers that mechanics use when they drop parts where they cant fit their hands