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BeeDub's avatar
BeeDub
Explorer
Jul 14, 2020

Shower clog or something else?

I have an interesting problem that I have never seen before. During our last outing, I noticed there was standing water in the shower drain after the first shower was taken in the rig. I found it hard to believe that the grey water tank needed dumping already. So I opened all the valves to the tanks to drain all the water/wastewater. Still had standing water in the drain. I poured a bucket of hot water down, thinking maybe there was a clog and it would rinse it out. Interestingly enough, the water drained fast, but yet there was still standing water in the drain. We took another shower, and there was never any problem with a slow drain (the water drained fine and never backed up), but always standing water inside the drain.

Brought the rig home and drained out everything - grey, black, fresh, low-point drains, etc. Still standing water in drain. Used the vinegar & baking soda solution but it didn't help. Tried flushing it with the garden hose - nothing. Tried using that plastic hair drain tool - nothing. I am stumped as to why I can get all the water flushed out of the shower pipes.

After looking at the piping, it looks like there is no p-trap for the shower drain. Anyone have any suggestions as to what my problem is and how I can fix it?
  • So is the water standing in the shower pan or only down in the drain. There is supposed to be some water in the drain. The water is what keeps the tank smell from coming into the trailer.
  • Dutch_12078 wrote:
    Some RV's use a "Hepvo" or similar inline seal instead a traditional 'P' trap. The rubber "flutter valve" seal opens when there's sufficient flow through it, and it's normal to see some retained water in the drain. As the valve ages, it can get stiffer and retain more water than when new.

    Hepvo Waterless Valve


    Likely the problem. If you have room to replace it with a P trap, that would be good.
  • Some RV's use a "Hepvo" or similar inline seal instead a traditional 'P' trap. The rubber "flutter valve" seal opens when there's sufficient flow through it, and it's normal to see some retained water in the drain. As the valve ages, it can get stiffer and retain more water than when new.

    Hepvo Waterless Valve