Over my head in this one, advice needed

[Smcart5]

I was called by an old work colleague about a blocked bath waste and he begged me to come and look at it as he had just moved into the place so i went out, brought a plunger which has added to a very small tool collection that's growing slowly.

Well it was not a bath, it was a shower cubicle in a, well a hellhole really, the shower cubicle waste is connected somewhere inside a wooden box where the toilet pan connector goes through, i did not even try and take anything apart due to the fact both toilet and shower cubicle is blocked, the cubicle floor is full of water and refuses to drain period.

First thing he tried was some drain cleaner, it did squat all so he then tried a small plunger, it did nothing except bring up a large amount of dirt and grit which i assume is making up the blockage, i thought the next step would be to siphon off the water somehow and open up a waste connection then try and get a drain snake down there but i did not have a wet and dry hoover, bailing it out would be pointless as the water still in the pipes would flood the floor, and the waste pipes from the cubicle to the back of the toilet were too low to the floor to get a tray or something under, i did not want to waste any more of his time so i told him i was in over my head, he knew i was only college educated and wanted it done as a quick favor, I'm not sure what i could have done about it.

My question is what was probably causing that blockage and would would you guys have tried, or have any of you come across something similar and solved it.

 

[leadpig]

had this before when some one emptied there fish tank down the sink and i mean all of the contents of the tank.
plenty off fairy liquid and a lot off work with a plunger eventually cleared it,but it was mainly sand

 

[flat pack]

sounds like another cowboy

or someone from Europe........
in Spain they use junction type manhole that take all sizes of pipes, the box in about the size of 4 shoe boxes. all content drop in to a mini well box, fill up then off in one pipe to main drain .
the system works 99% of the time

 

[Smcart5]

I tried and tried with the plunger, but it failed to do anything and after 5 mins i gathered it was not working, anyone know what i should have done?

 

[leadpig]

try plunging the toilet first,if not your going to have get wet and messy

 

[david williams]

use a six inch plunger on a drain rod not one of them silly 4 inch ones

 

[Smcart5]

Maybe i should have just kept using the plunger on it, but it did not feel like it was doing anything, probably need a better quality plunger, the one i have is a bit flimsy.

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

If your getting grime and muck out then it is at least doing something but you dont know how far this block goes.

 

[Winston]

Drain the water out as much as possible, I have even admit to using a clear hose which I also use to remove excess watter from copper for soldering. Go to you merchant and get a Litre of flowrite Drain cleaner and a funnel with some gloves and safety specs.

Gently pour the contents down and leave for 20 minutes. Put kettle on and once again very slowly put water down it will clear it believe me!

But please be careful it burns like hell!

 

[GreenArmy]

Am i missing something? Have you actually lifted the main drain manhole cover and checked for a blocked drain? If drain not blocked you could try rodding back up drain (in direction of toilet) to check and clear blockage. Otherwise it sounds like pan out job. Or if your lucky as me you could use a Jet Plumber Plunger which takes air-rod cans and will clear pretty much any blockage (be warned can also blow pipes apart).