How to remove shower trap

[swidders]

Yep - coach bolts

 

[very_pointy_ears]

No just a way of circumventing the website censor.

carp = c r a p.

Ah, I thought that's what you meant and that's what I meant by "anagram"

 

[swidders]

Ah, I thought that's what you meant and that's what I meant by "anagram"

No that's a ragman

 

[Dan Robinson]

that's what I meant by "anagram"

Sorry - not paying attention - was enjoying a nice juicy steak...

 

[very_pointy_ears]

that's what I meant by "anagram"

Sorry - not paying attention - was enjoying a nice juicy steak...

 

[very_pointy_ears]

Well well well ... the trap unscrewed nice and easily

There's a rubber seal that sits between the underside of the shower tray and the top of the trap body. I'm going to clean up the limescale from the area and re-assemble it. It wasn't particularly tight, which probably contributed to the leak.

My question is this - should I put the rubber seal in dry, or should I put some silicone sealant on it? I've got some Dow Corning stuff somewhere. I think the sealant might help it seal (though is it necessary?) but might make dismantling and re-assembling it next time more awkward.

While it was out, I took the opportunity to shove a bendy twizzly thing down the drain. The shower wasn't draining away properly anyway, which is how this whole episode started. I'd already shoved 3 litres of acid down there but it still wasn't right. I suspect it's going to be better now that I've managed to get this lot out:

 

[Dan Robinson]

Bet that smelt nice...

I probably wouldn't bother with Silicone, but test thoroughly.

 

[very_pointy_ears]

Didn't smell too bad but it was quite chewy

Thanks for the tip on the silicone. I'm going to weild the limescale remover first.

 

[swidders]

Bet that smelt nice...

I probably wouldn't bother with Silicone, but test thoroughly.

I probably would bother with sanitary silicon

Since you have the csiling down, can you not remove any sections of pipe from below to clean out more thoroughly? If possible, a hosepipe connected to the mains will help

 

[very_pointy_ears]

I've put it all back together now and have put some new ceiling in. I only removed a small square of it to get access to the underside of the trap to see why it was leaking.

It seems to be flowing pretty well now, and not leaking, so I'm happy with it as it is for now.

Now that I've fixed the nut fouling the floorboard issue, if I need to rod/boingy-thing this again I can get all of the access I need from the top.

The trap is screwed about a quarter of a turn tighter than it used to be, and it's sitting square to the tray so hopefully it should be OK now. Fingers crossed anyway! I've given it a damn good soak test (if you pardon the pun) and it's stayed bone dry underneath.

 

[very_pointy_ears]

Incidentally, a friend of mine says he puts soda salts down his once a week to stop any blockage from building up in the first place.

What are soda salts, and are they better to use than acid?

 

[swidders]

Caustic soda - strong alkali, good for dissolving skin!!!

 

[very_pointy_ears]

Ah, caustic soda - I've heard of that - never really got on that well with chemistry though - physics was more my thing.

Does it dissolve drain blockages as well as acid does?

 

[mogget]

Caustic is very good for dissolving organic matter such as hair and fats.

It's probably the most dangerous of the common household chemicals and needs careful handling.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Good for de coking exhaust pipes - if you can get enough it.