Extra-flat shower trays that ensure correct water drainage

At Acquabella, we manufacture top quality polyurethane resin shower trays, shower trays which have been designed by a team of professionals who not only ensure that they are elegant and have surprising designs, but that they also prioritise an adequate fall guaranteeing correct water drainage. Therefore, if you have purchased an Acquabella shower tray, you only need to make sure that it is correctly installed and levelled to guarantee water drainage up to the shower tray grating.

How to install a resin shower tray for optimal drainage

In many cases, shower tray drainage problems are due to incorrect installation. There are certain aspects that need to be taken into account.

The resin shower tray may not be installed level, so that the slope of the shower tray itself is reduced, cancelled out or counter-sloped. To avoid this, it is necessary to level the tray correctly by placing a spirit level at each end of the tray, making sure that the bubble is in the exact centre. A slight deviation of the bubble to one side means that the water will not flow normally towards the drain or even that it will not flow in the correct direction.

Another installation problem is often due to inadequate support. If the substrate is not what is recommended, the extra-flat shower tray has not adhered correctly to the substrate or the minimum expansion joints have not been respected, a resin shower tray may crack or deform, causing the water not to flow in the correct direction.

Finally, the water inlet must be taken into account, the flow must not fall directly on the grille; in this case, the air outlet is obstructed and the drain does not drain correctly. It is also necessary to adjust the water flow rate to the drainage capacity of the shower tray, since an extra-flat shower tray, regardless of the material it is made of, has a limited slope due to its thinness. If the water flow from the tap is greater than the flow rate of the extra-flat shower tray, the water may overflow.

Once problems related to the polyurethane resin shower tray itself have been ruled out, problems may be related to the pipes or the valve.

Clogged or poorly sloped pipes

A common case is that the pipe does not slope down enough. On numerous occasions when renovating a bathroom, professionals come across a steep slope in the pipe that connects the resin shower tray drainage with the general piping. If this happens, water accumulates in the first pipe, giving the impression that the shower tray drain is clogged. The solution to a pipe with a too small a slope is to replace it with a new one that connects directly to the downpipe with a slope of between 2% and 3%.

Due to daily use, pipes can become clogged with debris, and to avoid this, routine care of the shower tray is vital. If the shower tray finally clogs up, there are several things we can do about it:

Clean the valve: there may be traces of dirt in the valve siphon. Just lift the grille or lid, remove the inner basket that acts as a siphon, clean it and put it all back in place.

Clean the pipe: to do this, it may be sufficient to insert the shower hose into the pipe, turn on the hot water and let it run for a few minutes. If this does not work, we can use a plunger and, ultimately, an industrial plunger.

The importance of the valve in the drainage of the shower tray

The shower tray valve must be made of rustproof materials and must never be installed with putty. The valves that accompany Acquabella’s polyurethane resin shower trays comply with European standards and consist of several parts: a stainless steel clamp on the upper part of the drain that is screwed to the valve, which is on the lower part of the tray, and between them, a high-strength gasket that ensures the product’s total water tightness. Inside the valve there is a removable basket that acts as a siphon, which prevents odours from reaching the house and prevents debris and impurities from ending up in the pipes; if there is already a general siphon in the bathroom, the basket should be removed from the valve, as this could slow down the drainage of water. Lastly, the valve is covered with a cover grille that can be lifted out for cleaning.

To avoid many of these problems, it is best to have professionals install the shower tray, so that we can ensure that the pipes are in good condition and have an optimum slope, and that the shower tray has been correctly levelled for installation. In addition, regular cleaning can prevent many blockages.