1925 shower drain SLOW

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tarance_c

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I recently bought a house built in 1925. Much of it is original. There is a shower on the second floor that is tile and grout. The drain is very slow. When I take a shower it gets ankle deep. The shower and drain look original but it looks like the shower was regrouted because I can see that the cieling below was repaired.

I have used the drain enzyms which worked on other slow drains in the house. The ones you warm the pipe with hot water and then put the product in the drain followed by more warm water. This has had little or no affect on the drain speed.

I am hesitent to stick my cheap drain snake down there or use a straonger solution because of the potential age of the pipes. The last thing I want to do is damage them further and create a mess of a leak.

Any suggestions on what I might do to open this drain up. Hoping to get an idea I have not yet thought of.

Thanks
Tarance
 

Patrick88

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I would try your cheap snake. I say that because a cheap snake is less likely to cause harm than a real drain cleaners snake that is less flexible than a cheap one. I am assuming that your cheap snake has alot of play or bends very easy.

If you try anything else you could still end up causing harm to your pipes if they are as old as you think. your pipes could be cast iron or dwv copper i bet C.I. for a 1925 home.

The hardest part is getting through the trap. I'm sure its just a bunch of build up caused from years of use.
 

tarance_c

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Pretty sure all the original stuff is cast iron. No way to see the plumbing for this shower.

I tried one of those flimsy plastic things you get at home depot that have sharp pointy snaggers on the side. I couldn't get it through the trap. My snake is the $10-20 home depot version. Looks like I try it and see.
 

tarance_c

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I snaked it. I got about 20 feet in. I didn't hit any real obstructions and didn't bring any gunk out either. It might be slightly faster but not much at all. I have started the enzyme treatment again because I have nothing more that I know of to try. Any new ideas are appreciated. Thanks for the help so far.

Tarance
 

Cass

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Try bending the end of the snake to a 45 degree angle and snaking again only go very slow. The pipe is probably galvanized pipe and you may have a cast or steel trap.

The trap may be rust restricted.

The pipe may only have a pencil size hole for the water to flow through. If you use the snake with the 45 degree angle and go slow it will open the pipe more than it is now. You may have to run the snake a few times, not just once.
 
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