shower drain blocked - cannot access drain for snake

[gshaw442]

I have recently had an issue with the drainage of my walk in shower. The floor of the shower (tiled) is level with the rest of the bathroom floor. I believe there is no u bend drain and I have one of those drains where you can't access the drain pipe as there is a plastic catch area once I remove the chrome top and small cylindrical bit inside.

A small pool of water had sat there with no joy from plunging or sink unblocker with hot water. I then foolishly unscrewed the whole thing and the small volume of water disapeared into a void below. It came out pretty much straight away through the door frame of the kitchen door below. I mopped it up and nothing else seems to be coming through.

2 questions - do i need to be overly concerned about the water that ran downstairs, i.e. wet wood joists etc? This is the bit I am most worried about as although nothing else is coming through I am worried if there is a pool of water above somewhere that could come through. How long would it take that to manifest itself?

Also - how do I unblock this drain? A snake isn't working. Should I just bite the bullet and call a plumber, especially bearing in mind that I have already done more harm than good? Will this involved breaking up the tiled floor? Don't mind getting a professional out, I just want to get a scale of the cost and size of the job.

Any help appreciated!

[Argyll]

I came on here expecting to see a photo of an escaped python.

[dewaltdisney]

I should not worry about the little bit of wet you had, it will soon dry out and it needs to be constant damp or wetness to cause issues.

Usually a blockage like this is a mixture of hair and soap forming a plug. Some caustic soda mixed up in a bucket of water poured down the plug hole will probably do it or Mr Muscle. They eat through organic stuff and then it will wash away. A wet vacuum might also shift it.

Good luck

DWD

[gshaw442]

Thanks very much! I'll try what you suggest, I suspected the stuff we tried before was a bit weak so that might be an idea.

[Kev888]

Hopefully that will solve it, and is worth a go to start with in any case.

If not, it could be worth double-checking that you can't actually remove the plastic inner part (I think this is what you mean by the catch area?). It is designed to make a water-lock (instead of a U-bend); in many designs it is a little removable bucket thing, rather than permanently fixed. Sometimes it is just held in/down with the top cover, sometimes it may need rotating slightly like a bayonet fitting. But yes, sometimes it is fixed, so don't force anything, it should move reasonably easily or not at all.

[gshaw442]

Thanks for the suggestion there - I'll take another look this evening and see if there is any joy before I try caustic soda. Hopefully no need for the plumber after all!

[artillerydave1]

Also boiling water from a kettle can help as it'll dissolve any soap scum residue quicker too.

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[arco_iris]

Whilst I'm vaguely aware of what you may have done "dismantling the whole thing", hopefully you have put it back together so it doesn't leak - there's usually a rubber washer underneath, hope it hasn't become misaligned.

As for the blockage, assuming all the rest has been reassembled, you can get physical unblockers - like a bicycle pump but bigger and with a rubber flange on the end - you put it over the plug hole and push the plunger down, which pressurises the waste pipe and shifts the blockage. Far better than liquid (mild, retail) liquid "solutions".

Mine came from a shop chain called Tchibo more than 20 years ago, I've never needed to use it.