cast iron soil stack

[firefox]

My soil stack is indoors and boxed in by plasterboard.After a blockage in the toilet ,which was cleared with plunger,the blockage is now lodged in the stack. Outside we have rodded as far as we can go so assume the clog is in the vertical part still - downstairs sinks drain away fine. I cannot get onto the roof to rod down the stack so I wonder if I remove the plasterboard , would there be an access panel in a cast iron stack? If not any ideas how I can dissolve this blockage? I think its due to a cleaning wipe which I doubt will break down.

[Chris Bacon]

I doubt it.

If it's only a "cleaning wipe" it shouldn't be much of a blockage! If you need to get access, you'll probably be best off removing the WC bowl.

Have you tried pouring a pail of water into the WC from a good height (practice outside to get a good "aim")>

[Part P]

take an ordinary (old) type mop, pour some water into the wc pan and use the mop like a plunger - works 99% of the time.

[firefox]

I have fed a wire spring thing,into the stack via the basin waste pipe, it has gone down a fair way and hit nothing as far as I can tell.With the kitchen sink draining ok into the same stack about 8 ft below ,I cant understand why I havent hit the blockage with my 15ft wire. I can flush away liquids and it drains slow ( 5 mins for water to go down) with lots of gurgling from bath plughole.

[Chris Bacon]

You get gurgling from the bath waste when you flush the WC? How are the fittings plumbed to the stack? How do you know it's cast iron, if it's boxed in?

[Tim S]

If liquid is draining slowly via the bog, how about pouring some seriously strong chemicals down and leaving for a day and see if that breaks the blockage down enough to dislodge?

Cheers

Tim

[firefox]

Plunging isnt working - well it seems to have shifted it further down the pipe.I have now got some Plumbers one Shot to try. I know its cast Iron because we had a panel off in the kitchen before.

[EricP]

Go onto the roof and remove the dirt trap on top of the stack there and rod down?

[Chris Bacon]

That will just trickle past the obstruction and be wasted. Get the bog off and investigate.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Try caustic soda first, then sulphuric acid. Builders merchants will supply., Sulphuric is not hugely good for cast iron so once its done its work, flush away.

Ultimately you may HAVE to hit the roof.

If you can rod upwards, try a hose pipe pushed up and turned on full bore.

Or a rod with a twisty corkscrew on the end Either push the lot up out of the vent, or drag it all downwards

If all else fails, remove bog and pull from that end

[chris French]

In message , firefox writes

Ahhm but it would be quite easy for something like that to posssibly push past an obstruction in a large pipe without noticing really. IME chemicals probably won't work here either.

I had blockage in an underground drain - a wodge of solid fat (from previous owners) that has caused serve blockage, after trying various things (drain rods wouldn't get to it, chemicals were a waste of time, too the head end off the presssure washer and just used the pipe as a jet) I got a karcher drain cleaning attachment (not sheap, but I have it for the future) for a pressure washer - it is a flexible pipe, with rear/outward facing jets one - pushed down the pipe it shifted things a treat.

It was flexible enough to go round the underground corner/u bend/trap arrnagement. Might be a possible solution

[dom]

Compared to the disturbance of pulling off the bog - though it pains me to say it - it might be time for the professionals.

[Ian Stirling]

I've had good results with a hosepipe, with a spray attachment on the end. Of course, a pressure washer is 'better', but... Only if you've got decent pressure water. I haven't in fact used this method on a sewerage pipe, obvious cautions apply.

[firefox]

Had to call the experts out - he was quite a long time trying to get it clear.In the pipe was chunks of limescale , some of them huge. Getting up on roof would be very difficlut due to conservatory in the way, but I did think of it. Thanks for all your suggestions.

[The Medway Handyman]

Often easier said than done. They tend to use brass screws on WC's and they can be a bugger to undo without fubering the slot. Last one I did I had to drill them out & remove stubs with mole grips.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Told you to use sulphuric acid didn't I? :-)

Gets rid of limescale fast that does.