HELP PLZ...Drain blocked by tile adhesive

Rovver125

zita wrote: »

Yes I am a female :eek:!!!

I am unable to post pictures as after spending over an hour looking for my camera my teenager kindly informed me that she might have lost it on a scouts trip last weekend (my life just gets better :mad:)

I have a reasonable powerful get washer, does anyone know if I can remove the lance and get some flexible part to get down the drain and try jetting it?

Falling that I'm prepared to start digging it might take me a couple of weeks but I'm sure eventually I will get there...just have to remove the entire timber decking first...oh dear!

Oh and I filled the drain again with water and its draining slowly, not that makes much difference I suppose.

How slowly? Say you fill the gully up to the top with water, how long does it take to go down to it's normal level again? Doesn't sound like you've totally blocked it, but with your adhesive residue and the high likelihood there is silt and other deposits down there, the pipe diameter will be vastly reduced hence the slow flow! See my above post, can you really not afford £60 - 100 to get the pros in?? I know it's tough times for everyone at the moment Lucky when my gully blocked and almost flooded my house I could quickly nip back to work and get my van free of charge. I admit that it would have broken my heart to shell out that sort of cash hiring someone in!

keystone

mart.vader wrote: »

I may be accused of posting irrelevant links, but here's another one:

FWIW I don't think thats irrelevant at all. However, I don't think it will work either..

Cheers

rxbren

do the cheapest option first just dig the bottle gulley out or get a friend round to do it for you

mart.vader

keystone wrote: »

FWIW I don't think thats irrelevant at all. However, I don't think it will work either..

Cheers

That's fair enough, I wouldn't put money on it working, but maybe it's worth a try, if OP already has power jet washer

Originally Posted by premkit
"you have to remove the water and try and perceiver with a long screwdriver/ any implement to brake the adhesive up in bits."

Yes, but the hard part is getting a long implement round the gulley bend. If only someone could invent something stiff enough to punch through the blockage, yet flexible enough to go round the bend . . .

southcoastrgi

matt have you ever tried to remove cement based adhesive ? once it's gone off it will be harder than the material the drain is made of, so by using anything hard enough to "punch" through the adhesive you will prob end up breaking the drain & then have to dig & replace anyway.

Leif

I'm out of my depth here, but I have found that cement based tile adhesive will dissolve or soften in water, but it takes times. A thin layer comes away quickly. a thick one needs time to soften, and abrasion. So, if you keep the drain filled with water, and regularly have a go with a brush on a stick, you might succeed. I can only guess that there might be some substances which when added to the water will help the breakdown of the cement. One approach is to create samples of hardened cement, and test with available fluids (and which are legal for use down drains) such as bleach. Given that cement is alkaline, a mild acid might well do the job, vinegar perhaps, or glacial acetic acid which you could get from chemists, and might still be able to, but wait a while for others here to warn against this if it is a bad idea. There is also household ammonia, which is rather nasty (the fumes will make you choke), but which MIGHT attack cement. Again, have a go on a sample of hardened cement. Do be careful with these substances, you don't want fumes coming back up and doing you or someone else a mischief or worse.

rxbren

You shouldnt pour any bleach or any other fluids its not a foul drain its a RAIN WATER drain the clue is in the name
As stated before remove the bottle gulley there normally 300mm or so deep
A drain jetter will have to make a hole/ break into the gulley to be able to try and jet it
At least i lf you remove it you wont have a broken gulley

The tile adhesive wont be easy to break up and no chance of getting at with a brush through the gulley/trap

keystone

rxbren wrote: »

You shouldnt pour any bleach or any other fluids

You beat me to it.

............. the clue is in the name

A bit harsh. When I first read it I thought it was a foul water drain. It wasn't until a lot later down the thread that it became clear it was a surface water drain.

Cheers

rxbren

It was a touch harsh but seems as the post originated from someone pouring something they shouldnt down a storm water pipe and another saying to pour more stuff down thought it may be a point to send home

Leif

Someone missed "but wait a while for others here to warn against this if it is a bad idea". That said, I have a drain across my property which carries water from the road to the main sewer which goes across my property at right angles.