Why is my bathroom sink backing up into my shower?

Most modern residential houses have multiple bathrooms. Such architectural resolution is based on several rational decisions. For example, you don’t have to walk up or down the stairs in the middle of the night, and if you have a big family, you’ll have more chances to find a free bathroom in the morning.

Big houses have enough space inside so their owners often don’t have to choose between a bathtub and the shower cabin – the washroom can easily contain both sharing a single drain line. And that’s the tricky point. A single drain line for two fixtures can affect both of them in a moment. So if you are draining your bathtub and see bath water backing up into the shower – your pipes are definitely not alright. What causes such an outcome, and what can be done in that case?

What to do with a clogged shower drain?

Any sewage malfunction or blockage has enough power to ruin your great mood and tight schedule. Sometimes this type of breakdown can lead to the inability to use the plumbing equipment at a hundred percent.

Identifying the culprit and its professional elimination is one of the best ways to deal with this issue. Therefore, if your methods of eliminating clogs are ineffective, we advise you to resort to third-party help, the help of professionals.

Of course, the most common cause of such a terrible nuisance is a simple rubbish blockage. If small debris and grease cause blockages in the kitchen, then the main enemies in your bathtub are hair and other different sweepings. Sometimes, greasy deposits in the bathroom sewer pipes, which usually appear because of wear & tear, can also rise to this issue.

Incorrect and unprofessional installation of sewer pipes and other elements of the sewage system can lead to blockages. Inaccurately set slope of the sewer pipe or poor quality pipes and other parts is often the reason for backing up. Therefore, when installing sewer pipes, we recommend that you consult a plumber.

How to avoid all those obstacles:

  • Prevention is our best friend. You can sometimes clean the drain with special detergents or a solution of baking soda and vinegar. Furthermore, many plumbing repair companies can offer you modern techniques for cleaning sewers of varying degrees of complexity. Professional preventive cleaning of pipes once a year will only benefit.
  • Try not to pollute the drain. Avoid getting coarse debris and hair into your drain.
  • Install special nets and grids on your siphons to avoid small waste.
  • You can periodically disassemble the siphons and rinse them with plain water or a particular solution.
  • Try to avoid using body scrubs, as these substances are high in grease.

Sewage coming out of shower drain

This is the second most common issue but at the same time the most uncomfortable one. What is the reason for this malfunction?

There is nothing so supernatural in the appearance of water in the bathtub after draining in the sink. Mother Physics is at your service! There is an overflow of liquid from the upper vessel (sink) to the lower one (bathtub) if it is impossible to leave it further through the sewage.

Under normal circumstances, water from a kitchen or bathroom sink should go undeviatingly to the sewer, bypassing the bathtub and other plumbing on its way. But in our situation, due to a sewer backup in shower, water goes up the pipe, enters the siphon and into the bathtub or shower itself.

Plumbers also often point out another reason: the wrong structure of the sewer system. Because of this, different water flow rates are observed in other parts of it. Therefore, referring to physics, particularly the Principle of communicating vessels, dirty water from the sink goes into your bathroom.

Another reason, which makes bathwater backing up into the shower is tree roots. On the different plumbing forums, people frequently complain about tree roots destroying the parts of sewage.

Clean shower drain – how to eliminate all the accumulated garbage?

You can try to clear the blockage manually. It so happens that garbage has accumulated very close to the drain. In this matter, you can try to solve this difficulty yourself with a plunger.

Some plumbers have commented on the effectiveness of hot water in pipe cleaning. But this approach is practical only when there are no apparent blockages in the system. Boiling water helps fight plaque and grease inside the pipes, which somehow accumulate there.

Many specialists note the harmful effect of chemical cleaning substances on sewerage systems. And they lean towards the use of solutions from improvised means.

If you also share this point of view, then here are some simple recipes. The main ingredient in all blockage solutions is baking soda. It is this alkali that has everything you need to clear a light blockage.

The first one consists of baking soda and salt. Dissolve half a mug of salt and one mug of soda in a glass of water and pour the resulting mixture into the drain. Then wait about 10-15 minutes. That’s it!

Combining baking soda and vinegar can also help you achieve results: mix 150 grams of baking soda with 150 milliliters of vinegar. Close the drain with a plug so that the reaction of the two substances does not escape. After a few minutes, pour boiling water into the pipe.

If these tips didn’t help you, and bathroom sink backing up into shower even after all that measures, you can read more advanced methods further.

Drain snaking services

Although a plumbing snake is sold in many specialty stores and is available to everyone, we recommend that you entrust the cleaning to a professional, as there is always the possibility of damage to the pipes.

The drain snaking is the perfect anti-blockage weapon, time-tested and proven by millions of families. It fights blockages with a reasonably simple method: pushing them further into the central sewer.

Perform a video inspection

This method is one of the most beloved for our employees because it resembles a video game. A video camera is launched into the sewer pipe. With the help of plumbing camera inspection, you can capture all the defects in the sewage system and take accompanying measures to eliminate them.

This technique is one of the most radical when it is difficult to find the exact cause of the breakdown.

If you suddenly faced a bathroom sink backing up into shower issue or any other plumbing issue, contact us to get all the necessary consultations and repair services around the clock.