Why is my Ella walk-in tub draining slower than it should?

An Ella walk-in tub drains by gravity through two 2-inch drains, and once it is connected to a proper 2-inch drain line it typically empties in two minutes or less. When a tub takes noticeably longer, the cause is almost never the tub: the most frequent reason a new tub drains slowly is an old, clogged or poorly vented house drain, followed by how many drain ports were connected and how the branch line was run. How fast does a walk-in tub drain after a bath? explains the normal speed. This page is for the tub that falls short of it, starting with the checks you can make yourself and moving on to the ones your plumber should make.

What a Normal Drain Looks Like

Two figures are published for Ella's Dual Drain. Ella's own field test, run under Ella's conditions, emptied the tub in 52 seconds. The figure to plan around at home is two minutes or less for a tub connected to a proper 2-inch drain line. Everything between those two numbers sits on the house side of the drain: the size of the drain line, the run to the main stack, the trap, and any partial blockage in it.

The reason the tub side is rarely the problem is that there is no pump anywhere in the system. Water flows straight down through the two 2-inch openings and out, so the speed comes from the size of the openings and the pull of gravity rather than from anything that can wear out or lose power. The drain body is a gravity-driven T-type four-port dual 2-inch drain, and it also works as a vent system, allowing fast air pocket relief so the tub keeps draining steadily to the end instead of slowing as the water level drops. An installer who has fitted competing tubs puts the size difference plainly: a standard house bathtub drain is 1.5 inches, a 2-inch pipe carries about four times the volume of water of a 1.5-inch pipe, and Ella uses two of them. If your tub is slow, something is holding back a system that was built to be fast.

Checks You Can Make Without Tools

• Open both drains. Each drain is independently operated with its own large dial opener, fitted with extenders for an easier grip and turn. The dials use a stainless steel cable with a lever to open or close each floor drain. Opening the first drain empties the tub at a fast pace, and opening the second makes it faster still, so a tub drained on one dial is using half of the system. Make a habit of turning both.
• Look at the floor drain covers. The covers are height adjustable for optimum sealing and draining. A cover set for a tight seal is what keeps a full tub full while you bathe, and the same adjustment governs how freely water leaves, so confirm each cover lifts clear when its dial is turned.
• Listen while it drains. A properly vented drain lets the water leave without gurgling or backing up. Gurgling, or water that rises before it falls, points to venting or a blockage on the house side rather than to the tub.
• Time it. Fill the tub, open both dials and time a complete drain. Two minutes or less is normal. Well over two minutes with both drains open means the next section applies.

House-Side Causes Your Plumber Should Check

Ella walk-in tubs are gravity draining by design, and Ella asks for the house drain to be tested for free flow before the tub goes in. If that step was skipped, or the tub is slow anyway, these are the points a licensed plumber works through, in the order they most often turn out to matter. Ella does not send technicians, so the labor here is a local plumber's job, with the support team available to answer questions about the drain body.

1. Condition and venting of the existing drain. An old, clogged or poorly vented house drain is the most frequent reason a new tub drains slowly. The drain must be trapped and vented to local code, and a partially blocked trap or line slows the tub no matter how the rest is plumbed.
2. Number of ports connected. The drain body has four ports. Connecting two is common, and connecting all four gives the fastest gravity flow. If only two are tied in and the tub is still slow after the line is cleared, adding ports is the next step.
3. Size of the branch line. The line the tub ties into should be 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches in diameter, and a 2-inch house main is recommended for the fastest emptying. A standard T or Y fitting into a 1.5-inch house drain works with a 2-inch to 1.5-inch reducing coupling on the tub side of the P trap riser. A smaller or partially blocked line slows the tub regardless of the sewer main.
4. Fittings and turns. Prefer a Y fitting over a T, because the water changes direction less, and keep the run as straight as possible, since the fewer turns the faster the water leaves. There is roughly 3 inches of clearance under the tub for 2-inch PVC, so the run can go to either side.
5. Height of the house drain. Because the system is gravity driven, the house drain has to sit below the tub outlet. Draining into a washing machine box or any drain higher than the tub calls for a pump arrangement instead, which is a decision to settle with your installer before the tub is set in place.

The rest of the drain-side guidance, including how the four ports are used, is collected in How Fast Do Walk-In Tubs Drain and What Speeds It Up?.

What Does Not Slow the Tub

Two things get blamed that make no difference. The first is the sewer main. A tub on a 3-inch sewer line drains about as fast as one on a 4-inch line, because everything downstream of the 2-inch tub connection is already larger, and water leaving a 2-inch outlet into a 3-inch main has plenty of room. The same principle applies to a home on a septic system. Will a 3-Inch Sewer Line Make My Walk-In Tub Drain Slower Than a 4-Inch Line? covers it in full. The second is the lack of a pump. Powered drains can be faster, but they put stress on house plumbing and stop working when the power goes out, which is why Ella tubs are designed to drain by gravity. A slow gravity drain is fixed on the house side, not by adding a pump. The fill side of the tub is separate from the drain side, and Drainage and Fill Time covers both together.

Getting Help with a Slow Drain

If both drains are open and a full drain still takes well over two minutes, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850. Have your model and serial number ready, along with how long a full drain takes with both dials open, how many of the four ports your plumber connected, the diameter of the branch line, and whether you hear gurgling or see water back up. Those details let the support team point your plumber to the right place first. The work itself, from clearing a trap to adding ports or resizing a branch line, is done by a local licensed plumber.

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