excess mineral buildup in shower drain from mud base?

[Malena]

It only goes down 5 or 6 inches (until I knock it off and then a lot of it falls.)

I don't remember how it was built. I went back and looked at my construction photos and I missed any of the bathroom. I do know it didn't have a prefab pan. It passed a 24 hr leak test required by the city inspector. I think it had a black membrane. I am not confident it was really done right.

[ss3964spd]

Any chance you can get the kids to move out? I mean, I know when ours did nothing got broken or clogged anymore; not cups, glasses, plates, decorative pottery, automobiles, drywall, parental nerves, sinks/toilets/shower drains. Probably a long shot though.

I got nuttin. Since you mention the build up is soft-ish, if the off spring are using bar soap you might try switching to liquid soaps. Concerning the chunks that fall into the drain, fill a bucket with 2 or 3 gallons of water and, with the grate still off, pour that water directly into the drain as quickly as the drain will take it. That ought to flush all those bits.

[Malena]

Thanks for the drain flush idea. I'll do that.

The kids do use bar soap (but it's also used in non-chunked up showers do I dunno) and I can at least see if they'd be willing to change. We don't want to risk less soap use. And hey, one WILL be moving out in the fall but the other isn't quite ripe yet.

[jerrymlr1]

Dan makes a good point. Next to zero soap scum with the liquid stuff. I switched a long time ago with no regrets. My guess would be it solves the problem.

[Malena]

I'll try the soap switch but I'm not optimistic--the same soaps, etc., are used in other bathrooms that don't have the problem.

I wouldn't be surprised if the soap scum sticks to the mystery crud and makes it worse, though, so I guess it should help.

Does soap scum fizz when you put it in vinegar?

[cx]

No, but Jerry's efflorescence does, Malena.

[Malena]

Thanks all!

Yeah. Mega inflorescence. Possibly accentuated with soap scum?

If that's the case, would it be from water below the tile seeping downhill and exiting the weep holes at a nice slow rate like it should that allows it to solidify just inside the drain instead of being flushed down while the shower is running? I don't have especially hard water so it would be picking up stuff in the floor mud which might be the wrong material?

(I might have shower anatomy totally wrong and not be getting how it should drain...)



The problem isn't horrible. I don't think that I really need to solve it. But dagnabbit I want to know what it is!

[cx]

I understand the anatomy pretty well, Malena, presuming we're presuming that it's a traditionally built shower receptor. But I don't see how that could be efflorescence. I'm hoping Jerry will tell us why he thinks it's efflorescence and how it formed where it did. Maybe he's seen this trick before?

[jerrymlr1]

Maybe the drain is not your standard version. It looks to me like the "efflorescence" is coming from the wall of the drain, not residue from water running from the top down. Perhaps the mud bed was built and the square drain is just adhered to the top of the mortar bed. That would leave the sides open for leaching out.
However, with epoxy grout on the floor surface you would think migration would be at a minimum, unless there is a lot coming from the walls. I was thinking all that deposit couldn't come from just portland but...
THEN CX said I was wrong and I bought it. I thought Dan made a good point about the bar soap. But then, I'm pretty much a pool guy.

[cx]

Don't believe CX said you were wrong, Jerry, I believe CX said he thought it was not efflorescence, particularly because of the location. And he still does.

[Malena]

Ack. Well, if I chipped off enough of the crud to expose the sides of the drain (and I plan to do that anyway), would you be able to tell if it's a standard drain?

Is there a possibility that defective tile would have anything to do with this?

[cx]

Probably. I believe you'll find that to be a Sioux Chief or similar clamping drain with square strainer top.

No.



My opinion; worth price charged.

[jadnashua]

You said it felt grainy, like sand? Just throwing this out there...could it be mastic dissolving from under the tile? Any tile feel 'loose', or hollow if you tap on them?

[Malena]

The tiles all feel sound. The stuff is sandy but I don't know if it's crystals or sand.

And drain photography is really hard! Maybe since you know what you're looking for it's good enough...