Third floor tub won't drain

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Author Message   jrbell Citizen Username: Jrbell Post Number: 54 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 10:22 pm:        So the third floor bathroom of the house we bought 4 months ago probably hasn't been used in 20 years. The shower works great (although I'm going to change the head) but the drain is very... very... slow. I thought about using an enzyme cleaner, but my gut tells me this won't work because I can't believe there's much hair and oil down the drain... the thing just hasn't been used in a long time. I bought one of those auger attachments for my power drill at Home Despot... will this work or could I have a more sinister problem?   bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 4739 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 5:59 am:        I have posted this before, but will do so again. Be very careful using a snake on old tub and shower drains. This is doubly true with a poer auger. Up until around 1930 or so standard plumbing practice was to use lead for the trap and a three or four foot section of drain back to the stack. Lead is soft and easily penetrated.   jrbell Citizen Username: Jrbell Post Number: 55 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 8:52 am:        Thanks for the warning, I hadn't heard that before. My house was built in 1938... am I in the clear? Are there any alternatives you'd recommend I try first?