At wits end, can anyone answer this insane question about emptying your bath?!

[Unsersop]

I am certain the bath is draining slowly. However, now I am confused because I put some drain stuff down and I can’t tell if it’s still blocked. When I run the taps with the plug undone, the bath doesn’t fill but it does cover the plug and fills a tiny bit if you see what I mean? Is that normal? Or should it all disappear immediately as it pours in when the plug is out?

Asking as we have a potential bigger drain issue and so hoping it isn’t related.

Sounds like there's a blockage but could be further along.
I had this and the repair man had to take the bath panel off and do something right inside.
He did fix it though, it wasn't a drain issue. He said it was years worth of my hair stuck😅

It might be a hair plug. I pull them out using a piece of wire bent into a small hook - quite satisfying!

Have you tried using a plunger?
If you cannot shift it with drain cleaner and/or a plunger then it might be time to call an actual drain specialist out!
In the future make sure you clear any hair/fluff regularly from the top of the drain and consider getting one of those little plastic/metal shields you can sit over the actual drain cover - they are good for catching any debris.

Yes it's still mostly blocked. The drain stuff you put through has made a small hole in the blockage enough for it to drain slowly. You need a more expensive drain cleaner. Something that turns into an expanding foam which you leave for an hour or so before rinsing away.

If a tap is running into an unplugged bath with no drain issues all the water goes straight down the plug hole with nothing at all pooling in the bath.

I have done all these things and it’s not like it was at all and I’m just not sure if it should be draining faster or if I’m losing my mind!

Sometimes you need to repeat using the drain blocker. Try doing that first. I find the Buster bathroom one works the best on my DDs long hair.

Depends on how big your plug is and how heavy you turn on the taps. Maybe it's draining slowly or maybe full blast taps is more than it can handle

You might need to give it a second go.

This is the best product I've used as we have an ongoing issue with a pipe that's too small and needs replacement.

HG Drain and Plug Unblocker, Effectively Removes Blockages & Cleans Blocked Drains Fast, for Blocked Drain Pipes in Sinks or Shower Traps (500ml) - 139050106 amzn.eu/d/5kRYdCX

A bath drain isn't very big and it is trying to move a lot of water from a bath. When I run the taps with the plug out mine will cover the bottom of the bath all the way along with water and it will remain at that level but I have a very fast supply coming in on the cold tap as we are at mains pressure, ie every tap in the house is not fed from a gravity tank in the loft as some older houses are. If I ran the kitchen tap it would force the tap upwards with the force of it.

Treat it again with drain cleaner and leave it overnight so no water rinses it down. If it still drains slowly, I would fill a bucket and put that into the bath so you know how much water is in the bath, then drain it whilst timing it and google that amount.

Have you tried one of these?

https://amzn.eu/d/fg0uy1L

Try squeezing some Immac, or whatever it's called now, down and leaving it 10 minutes.

@Unsersop mine does this when my (autistic) son has smushed a bar of soap into a lump and it’s gone down and partially blocked it. I’ve found the best thing is a lot of fairy liquid down there followed by a kettle of boiling water. Sometimes a plunger is needed but not always.

In the case of our bath, this happens because the pipes that drain out are very old and therefore narrower than the modern ones. It means it drains out more slowly.

I've got good water pressure and if I turned the taps on full it will cover the bottom of the bath a bit. I think it varies.

My DM clears her drains very successfully by sucking up all the gunk using her Henry vacuum cleaner and putting the nozzle over the plug hole. You just want to be a bit careful if you have just used drain cleaner as it might come back up too and its caustic

You probably want to empty the bottle trap at a bare minimum. It's not hard - it just involves unscrewing a piece of plastic with your hands, cleaning and reattaching with your hands. It is usually absolutely disgusting though 😂

I picked up a similar coily springiybtjing in tesco this year. Think I was a pound - certainly not much more.

Fished loads of hair out.

ive got one of those long narrow things you feed down plugs its surprising what rubbish comes out, agree by a good drain cleaner then buy a long thing seen them in my local b and m i think, try and pour struff down more often if yiou have a lot of hair etc going down ,

Start by buying a plunger or a pump.

A tip from a plumber is to fill your bath as deep as possible with cold water.then take the plug out.
It's something to do with the weight of all the water going down .

I use one of those plastic coated wires with a small brush on the end (bought from my local hardware shop) to clear the bath drain - much more effective and environmentally friendly than the chemicals.

Call a plumber.

2 taps running would overwhelm most plug holes imo

Story of my life - this happens with kids and long hair.

Squeeze some immac down and top up with drain unblocker
Leave overnight and have a go with a plunger