If you’re a professional contractor, the problem of how to clean a shower drain of cement is a common one. After all, construction workers often become so rushed to finish a project that accidents can easily happen, and when those accidents involve concrete, it can get very expensive and very ugly – very fast. Sometimes, these accidents mean that concrete has found its way into unwanted places like shower drains, sewer pipes, and electrical conduits.
Croc Crete is professionally developed to soften dried cement in a drain pipe, making it easy to remove, especially in shower drains. This powerful solution attacks concrete at its core, breaking it down into sand and aggregate and allowing contractors to flush it away using a water jet or a wet/dry vac. Most of the time, it’s really that easy!
How Does Cement in Drain Pipe Cause Issues?
During renovations or home repairs, sometimes cement finds its way into drains and sewer pipes. When this happens, a mixture of cement and its components flows into the drainage system and finds the lowest point in the pipes, where it hardens. This most likely occurs in the p-traps under the drain in the PVC and cast iron pipes since the p-trap is the first place the cement will settle. As a result, water is blocked completely or moves more slowly through the pipes, creating a backup or slow drain situation.
In some cases, the blockage caused by cement in the drain pipe is small enough that it’s not noticeable right away. But over time, other particles cling to the concrete and slowly clog the drain until it backs up. Homeowners usually call in a plumber to use a snake to try to unclog the drain if it’s possible, and it might work a few times, but eventually, the pipes may become damaged from clearing with a snake too many times. If the problem happens to be in a shower drain, which is most common, and the snake wears through or breaks the p-trap or piping under the shower, then it will have to be replaced, and this can be done in one of two ways. You can tunnel under the house to get access to the piping, which is a huge and dangerous task, or the shower floor will have to be cut and removed so the damaged pipe can be replaced. Usually, this repair results in having to demo the shower and rebuild it, which costs many thousands of dollars.
How to Dissolve Cement From Drainage Pipe
Clearing concrete from the drainage system while it’s still wet is the best-case scenario, and if you are very quick and have the right equipment, you may be successful. Of course, that’s not very likely, so we’ll look at some methods that get rid of concrete once it has hardened.
- Use Croc Crete to Remove Hardened Cement
This is quite simply the best method of removing hardened concrete from a drainage system. Croc Crete is a cement softener that attacks concrete at its core. It transforms cement back to its basic components, allowing you to work it through the drain. This product is the best on the market. It’s safe for sewage and septic systems for a typical application.
The following methods are not as effective. They also risk expensive damage to the pipes.
- Plumber’s Snake
Snaking is the traditional method used by plumbers to clear a typical soft clog in a drainage system. Using a snake is very risky when the objective is to remove concrete from the pipe, especially a shower drain p-trap. Here is a common, real-life example: A house has been remodeled, and unbeknownst to the customer, the shower floor guy accidentally spilled a floor leveling compound in the shower drain and sewer piping. He flushes the drain, gets it flowing, and hopes for the best. The contractor finishes the job, and the homeowner uses the shower and notices that it drains slowly. After a couple of weeks, a blockage forms that backs up the sewer system, and now the toilets won’t flush. The frustrated homeowner calls a plumber, and the plumber comes in and runs their snake down the drain to clear the clog. If they are very lucky, and the concrete deposit is minimal, the clog is worked until the snake breaks it up, and the concrete deposit and the clog are cleared. What usually happens, though, is the snake binds up on the cured concrete and snaps off, leaving a broken cable in the pipe with the concrete, or the snake will beat up and break the pipe before it breaks up the concrete deposit.
There is also the problem of a recurring soft clog happening from a partial blockage of concrete where a snake can pass by the concrete deposit and clear the soft clog. That’s great, but it doesn’t get rid of the underlying cause of the clog, which is the hardened cement that is still in the pipe. The blockage will occur again and again over time, and at some point, repeated uses of the snake will eventually damage or break the pipe.
- High-Pressure Drain Jetting
High-pressure jetting is designed to clean pipes containing sludge, grease, and scale buildup, not removing a hard concrete deposit, and especially not in a shower drain. When high-pressure jetting is used in an attempt to remove a concrete deposit, the jetter head blasts water forward, backward, and against the sides of the pipes at supersonic speeds in hopes of taking the hardened cement with it. It is effective in some cases if the deposit is weak. The problem is that it requires a lot of water pressure to remove a hard, large concrete deposit – usually more than a jetter can generate. Blasting water at this velocity to break up the concrete will put a lot of stress on PVC and cast iron pipes. High pressure can break the pipe and also erode it until a hole is created, causing the pipe to collapse or fill with sand, which can lead to an expensive pipe replacement and bigger problems.
In short, high-pressure jetter blasting may work in a few cases where the concrete deposit is minimal and weak, but if the concrete deposit has any strength and size then there is a high risk of compromising the piping in the drainage system before the concrete deposit is removed.
- Using Acid to Clear Blockage
Acid does not work very well in pipes. Yes, acid will dissolve a layer of hardened cement on a flat surface like a concrete driveway, leaving it rough and pitted, but it will not dissolve a large concrete deposit contained in a sewer pipe where penetration is required. It will dissolve about ⅛” layer off the concrete deposit and then simply gel up and stop working.
- Replace the Affected Pipe
If it’s a shower drain, then there is no easy way to replace the affected pipe unless the home has a pier and beam foundation. If it’s a sewer pipe that is easy to access, such as in the front yard, away from the trees, and only a foot deep in Florida sugar sand, then replacing it might be the right option. This is rarely the case, however. In most cases, pipe replacement is only considered when the cement blockage is too severe for other options to work.
How to Get Cement Out Of The Drain with a proven Concrete Dissolver such as Croc-Crete
If you’re a contractor struggling with the question of how to clear a drain blocked by cement, don’t panic! There are several steps you can take to get rid of the concrete nightmare:
- Flush the drains carefully with a high pressure water jetter or any water at all from a hose. This may not solve the problem if it’s done before the concrete has a chance to harden, but it will reduce the amount of concrete that the Croc-Crete solution will need to dissolve, and speed up the removal process.
- If the concrete has already hardened, then flush the pipe with water to clear out any debris that the pipe may contain so the Croc-Crete can work unimpeded.
- Vacuum all the water out of the pipe so the Croc-Crete can work at full strength.
- Follow the instructions for the application of Croc-Crete that best fits the type of concrete deposit that you are dealing with, whether it’s a shower p-trap or a main sewer line.
- Using Croc-Crete to dissolve concrete from drains is the best solution because it does not create mechanical stress on the pipe that could break it. Croc-Crete will convert concrete back to its unbonded mechanical components, which will be loose sand and aggregate. The drain is then flushed of all the loose sand and aggregate using water and other tools. This is the safest and most reliable solution for removing concrete from pipes.
- Croc-Crete is hands down the best concrete dissolver for drains, sewer piping, and PVC electrical conduit; it is proven and time-tested.
- If the pipe that will be exposed to Croc-Crete is made of cast iron and it is weak or crystalized, Croc-Crete may damage it. However, when used properly, Croc-Crete will not damage good cast iron pipe.
Contact us today to learn more. And remember: Croc Crete is for professional use only – homeowners should not try using this solution!
