Strong odor from possibly corroded brass shower drain

[levelsjerrylevels]

Hi all, my shower drain looks to be brass piping and appears to have corroded. I didn't think brass could rust, but the attached photos and orange water seem to say otherwise (unless it's not brass, but I can't tell anymore).

The stench coming from this drain permeates my home. It's so strong, I have to keep the drain plugged. I really don't know what to do since I can't just replace it, as it's some 30" long or so to the p-trap, extending into the downstairs neighbors' ceiling.

I've exhaustively googled solutions but have only ended up with contradictions from one page to the next (use vinegar... don't use vinegar, etc.)

This apartment is only 6 years old and I'm the original owner. I used all kinds of common bathroom cleaners containing chlorine over the years, only to find out now that these are bad for plumbing. I presume this caused the corrosion, and so I hang my head in shame for my ignorance (a painful lesson I won't forget).

I snaked the p-trap, so there's no hair left in there as of 4 days ago, but it only seems to smell more now.

The odor is like a mix of earthy, metallic, moldy, toxic, bleach, hair gunk... Is this the smell of corrosion? Or maybe mold? I used to be a chicken catcher so I'm no stranger to stench, but up close, this smell makes me want to cough.

Aside from taking courses on how to safely clean a shower, is there anything I can do to partially restore this pipe and hopefully lose the stench? I threw a deodorizer stick in there yesterday and it made no difference.

I'd really appreciate any advice.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Chicken catcher, never heard of that before.

Do you ever hear the drain bubble or gurgle ?

 

[levelsjerrylevels]

No, I've never heard any gurgling other than when running the shower. It's otherwise very quiet and there's always water in the trap.

I'm confused as to how this isn't a common issue, whether in my building or in general, considering I use the same mainstream cleaners as everyone else. I do use organic soap and wonder if that's the difference. But I don't see any film/build-up inside the pipe.

Re: chicken catcher... Moving thousands of chickens from large coops onto trucks. It was a messy job to say the least : )

 

[breplum]

I doubt corrosion as a problem per se. The inside of metal drain pipes always looks bad but is NORMAL, whether steel (not really used any more) or cast iron.
UPC code for length of drain from trap to fixture is 24".
Most drain cleaning plumbers have snake ends that scours the pipe but not to the degree of a bottle brush.
We have 2" copper tube wire brushes in the trade. You could buy one, jury-rig securely to a long thingy and clean physically with dangerous chemicals.

Replacing the section of pipe would be an option.

 

[levelsjerrylevels]

I doubt corrosion as a problem per se. The inside of metal drain pipes always looks bad but is NORMAL, whether steel (not really used any more) or cast iron.
UPC code for length of drain from trap to fixture is 24".
Most drain cleaning plumbers have snake ends that scours the pipe but not to the degree of a bottle brush.
We have 2" copper tube wire brushes in the trade. You could buy one, jury-rig securely to a long thingy and clean physically with dangerous chemicals.

Replacing the section of pipe would be an option.

I would have thought scouring with a steel wire brush would make things worse, but I feel better knowing that this sounds like a normal thing to do to steel pipes (or at least in bad cases like theses).

I tried with a 2" plastic (or whatever toilet brushes use) brush, but that didn't seem to do much or reduce the smell (though it did turn completely rust-colored). Those orange bumps are solid and look like rust.

Thanks for the idea, I might give a steel brush a try!

 

[levelsjerrylevels]

So it wasn't rust after all, but maybe mold eating away at the pipe? I scraped with an aluminum pole and it turns out the pipe is ABS. Note the heavy/deep texturing. I can feel it with my finger too. My pole didn't cause this, as I could feel it right from the beginning while scraping away the soil-like crust over it (I tested on the smooth abs segment above it and couldn't scratch it)...

Have you ever seen anything like this? Can mold do this? It may look cleaner, but it still smells after flushing the scraps out, so back to square one : (