The bathtub in my master bathroom is clogged to the point that water does not budge. It used to drain very quickly. Then slower. Then really slow. Now nothing moves. I have had two different plumbers come out. Both worked on it a couple of hours and then threw their hands up and said I don't know and left. I don't know what else to do. I am sure I am out several hundred bucks by this point and no better off than when I started. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do next? My dad brought me a bottle of acid but both plumbers asked me not to use it.....

What says ya'll?

Is that the only slow drain in the house?

Did either of them try to snake it with a machine? Did they offer a camera service? If the answer is no to either, then chances are they weren’t very good plumbers.

Yes. All other drains work as expected.

Both tried snaking it. The first offered to use a camera but wanted $250 just to stick the camera in the drain. At this point I wanted another opinion, hence second plumber.

Vent stack clogged with a real snake or rat?

They both said vent was clear and the clog is below the tub.

Is it completely clogged or will it leak down over several hours/day?

Also, is there not a way (certainly for a plumber, at least) to put air pressure to it to push the clog?

Assuming you have tried liquid plumber etc.?

Sounds like a camera etc. is the next step.

Is it a slab home?

I’m not sure what to say, other than run a camera down there. In my experience plumbers are about the highest paid trade out there. It’s crazy what they charge to run a camera down a pipe. But it does show you where and what the problem is. Sorry man.

Harbor freight sells the cameras for under $100. If your a diy'er go get one.

The water does not leak down at all - at least not noticeably after several days. I just bought a waterproof endoscope camera with 50ft cord from amazon for $30. I'll tape that sucker to a fish tape and see what I can see. If that doesn't work I'll pay for the real deal. Yes, this is a slab home. I grew up in a pier and beam house. I would have cut the pipe out days ago if I had a crawl space. Slab homes are a pain in the @$& when it comes to plumbing. I'll report back on my camera findings. Hopefully I don't get it stuck in the pipe too. LOL.

They make a hose end spray thingy that swells up to seal off and sends pressure down the line.
The big box hardware store has them. I have used them with good results.
I would try that first.

my a/c drip pan in the attic drains into the sink piping next to the shower and has clogged this sink twice in 20 years, i went and bought a new pooper popper (plunger) and while it had sitting water, i went at it and it worked both times. is your a/c in the attic above your shower?

rc, i've also been told to try to avoid using chemicals in the drains

[i][/i]Here it is, Called a drain bladder.
https://www.homedepot.com/s/drain%2520bladder?NCNI-5

You might want to pick up a shutoff valve so you don't have to run back to the faucet.

A couple of years ago, I had a similar problem. My line was broken under the concrete foundation. It cost $4,000 to fix it. I sincerely hope that's not your case.

If you do enough to finally get it to drain at least slowly you might try a product called Clean Shot. There are two versions, one that was sulfuric acid. This one is some other less dangerous chemical. It worked great the two times we have had a stopped up drain, or that was mostly stopped up. I got this at Lowes.

Put firecrackers down there.

Broken or crushed pipe.

I wouldn’t use any chemicals on old iron pipes.

And you’re saying you had 2 ACTUAL licensed plumbers throw their hands up?

Sounds like one heck of a hair ball

Or maybe a Razor blade wrapped in hair, sealed off with shampoo. Clogged vent will eventually drain and your description of it getting worse over time is a tell-tale sign of that. Mechanical removal is always best with a hand or drill snake so you don’t blow apart any fittings with pressure. If they tried a snake before, it’s probably not going where they think it is so they’re nowhere near the clog, they done turned right Clyde!

Just be ready to be grossed out.

I did that once with one of the REAL expensive cameras. It went past the break and caught it on the way back and I wasn’t digging down 8’ in Addison. SNAP. Whoops.