Extreme Drain Buildup - Help?

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DoorGuy500

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Hello, My wife and I purchased a home circa 1976 and started doing some remodeling. She was recently diagnosed with a medical problem and now I need to make the home ADA compatible. So....., I recently converted a sunken bathtub into a walk-in curbless shower. It turned out really nice. But I should've checked things out more carefully before I got this far. I know it. So when we turned on the water, it would not drain. I believe the blockage is in the old cast iron P trap inside the slab and foundation wall. So right now the last thing I want to do is jack hammer the new floor and work to replace the P trap.

I put a camera scope on my cell phone and found the following... photo 1

So started using a homeowners snake (with low speed drill) and made it this far... photo 2

I'm not sure what the blades are embedded into, but I managed to snake past it a little,
then snapped my snake. photo 3

Thinking I was trying to get through concrete or mortar, I found a couple bottle of concrete dissolver and let one bottle soak overnight... photo 4

Today I found it was little different, mushy... that is the same blade from earlier pictures... photo 5

I added some water and vacuumed it out... so I am making some progress. photo 6
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Would you have any suggestions I might use to make this go any quicker? The drain is virtually stopped and has been, but as you can see, I am making progress. I think I might be coming to the turn in the cast iron P trap and wonder what else I might run into.

Any help or advice is really appreciated!
Thank you in advance!
 

Terry

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If the build up is grease, then an enzyme helps to remove that. Bio-Clean is one I use.
If it's concrete or mortar mix from doing the shower pan, that's more of a problem. That should never go down a drain, but I've seen tile guys let some pass through into the drain before. Never a good idea. A snake can work somewhat on normal buildup like salt or grease, but not on mortar.
 

DoorGuy500

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If the build up is grease, then an enzyme helps to remove that. Bio-Clean is one I use.
If it's concrete or mortar mix from doing the shower pan, that's more of a problem. That should never go down a drain, but I've seen tile guys let some pass through into the drain before. Never a good idea. A snake can work somewhat on normal buildup like salt or grease, but not on mortar.
I found that Sakrete, the concrete folks, have a product called concrete dissolver. It basically undoes the cementitious bond in mortar and concrete. It does work. But I think the intended use is to clean the tools and and remove concrete from automobiles. I saw a video on YouTube about it working in an old shower drain, so I am trying it on mine.
 

Gary Swart

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I understand your desire to avoid breaking out the concrete, but you might want to investigate a concrete sawing company. These guys can cut out what is necessary, do it without a mess, and remove the debris. Yeah, it will cost you so $$, but sometimes the price is worth it to get it done quickly and correctly.
 

DoorGuy500

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Hi Guys. I've been plugging away with a snake, attached to my drill, at slow speed, working to clear my drain. I got the mortar out with a couple soakings of Concrete dissolver and my shop vac. The I was able to remove the soap scum and organics with several days using Bio-clean. This in conjunction with my snake to help break things up. I was able to get a slow drain working, but hey, a slow drain is better than no drain! And the pipes where the bio-clean did its job, wow, very clean pipes! Then I tried a couple doses of vinegar and baking soda. I got lots of activity, but not much progress. So I tried a couple more doses of vinegar without the baking soda and left it overnight. I think it disolved some of the crud, but now the drain is almost stopped again. It is slower than it was a few days ago.

Now, I've been beating the insides of the pipe up with the auger or snake, and I'm not making much progress and wonder if you might be offer some help. Or advice. My first preference is to not use harsh chemicals, it could take me several years, if ever, to get through the P trap at the rate I'm going. This is a 2" pipe as best I can judge, and I think it is cast iron. But it looks like leftovers from some kind of cave down there, but without the stalagmites and -tites.

Here's a picture or two of what I am looking at. It appears to me that this is at or near the bottom of the P track, or is at least my best guess to my location. The first picture is before the vinegar applications and the second is what I think is the same mound of crud. sorry the angles are not identical, but I have little control over the direction of the camera down the pipe...
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DoorGuy500

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One more night with a strong vinegar solution. Slow drain this morning... Now it seems to be running without backing up onto the shower floor. My wife is going to try a nice long shower and wash her hair in there. I'm grateful for working patiently... now we'll see how it does!
Woo Hoo!
 

DoorGuy500

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I forgot to mention, several gallons (3-5) of boiling water between each and every application!
 

DoorGuy500

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Correct. I used warm water for the Bio-clean..
The boiling water was between doses of vinegar and snaking. The drain remains clear enough today to use for decent shower. I think that we'll look into a whole house water softener now and hope that the hard residue will eventually dissipate.
 
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