How do I fix my shower bath tub drain that has been leaking water into my living room downstairs?

Question

One fine morning, I noticed a wet portion on my ceiling dry wall located in my living room. At first, the wet area was very small and it wasn't a cause of concern for me. But after just a few days, the wet area on my ceiling dry wall became quite big and there were black molds already forming around the edge of the wet areas.

So i used a blade to cut off the wet portion of my ceiling dry walls. The dry wall had become so soft already, I could simply poke my finger through and pull out the soft wet dry wall. Though I know it may make my living room ugly with a ceiling hole for now, but it was required to find out the source of the water leak. When I flashed a flash light into the ceiling holes, I could see water dripping from the corner of a black PVC pipes. So I asked my son to go up to the washroom and listen to where my tapping noise is coming from. I began to start tapping on the black PVC pipes from inside the ceiling holes and my son upstairs could hear it. So I asked my son from where did he hear my tapping and he said it was coming from our bathtub draining hole area. I told him to start running the water so I could confirm the leak was definitely coming from the bath tub drain. Yes it was then confirmed now.

Now that I have identify the source of my Water leaks, I was wondering how I could fix this leaks without having to call a plumber which could cost me an arm and a leg. I mean plumbers charge high fees for doing certain small work which I if given the right knowledge and time, I could do it myself too. I know having the proper tools will help too and the plumber usually have those tools with them. It becomes quite unnecessary for me to buy those tools because I won't be using much of plumbing tools, but for a plumber it is worth to buy plumbing tools, since they will be using it on a daily basis.

Answer 1

More often than not, it is the shower drain pipe area which is leaking water down into the ceiling dry wall below. The problem usually is not with the black PVC plastic pipes though at times, the glue used to connect two PVC plastic pipes together could be beginning to deteriorate. If it is the latter case with the PVC pipes problem then it is best to call a professional licensed plumber rather than do it yourself. If it is just the draining area connecting your bathtub drain with the PVC pipes, then you could do it yourself.

1. Locate your bathtub drain flange.

2. Use a Screwdriver, Plier or drain key to turn and unscrew the drain connector.

3. Your bath tub drain then should look like this:

4. Use a bathroom silicon caulk and do the caulking around the edges of the hole. Let the caulking dry for over 12 hours or more. This step is not necessary but i like to be extra cautious making sure that this bathtub never leaks again.

5. Using a Teflon tape, put it around the drain body cover and put some "Plumber's Putty" over the edge of the drain body cover as in the picture below:

6. Screw the drain body cover back into the hole and tighten it with screwdriver, clamp, or drain key.

There you are, it is all done and your bathtub will never leak again unless the Plumber Putty gets old or the Teflon tapes wear out. Even then, the caulking that you applied on the edges of the hole earlier will prevent any future leaks guaranteed.

Answer 2

Watch video on "How to DIY fix a leaking shower bath tub drain with some plumber's putty" :