Any tricks to clearing weep holes or drying out a saturated shower pan?

[wopachop]

The shower is maybe 25-30 years old. Located in socal its likely a hot mop shower pan. I think i can look into the drain and see 3 weep holes. I tried sticking a bent nail up in there. No clue if the weep holes ever worked.

What about using a small tube and a shop vac? Maybe seal it using plumbers puddy. Think i could suck a little bit of water out a slightly clogged weep hole?

I pulled all the caulking 5 days ago. Came back and stuck paper towles into the corner of the wall and its wicking up water like crazy. I think the mortar bed is saturated and begun to weep up and over the curb, because we found a small puddle of water outside the shower.

This happened about 10 years ago. I used paper towels to soak up water. Did my best to recaulk it. Seems to bandaid the problem for a decade. Was about to do it again but would like to suck up as much water as possible. I instructed the home owner (my mom) to leave a fan on it. She said she left it for about 3 days. She knows the entire shower needs to be replaced. At her age it might be better to just bandaid it again.

If i had a mighty vac with me that might work really good. Already comes with a cone shaped rubber nozzle. Would be able to see visually im getting a good seal and forming a vacuum. Wish i thought about that before. Mighty vac is 2 hour away dang it that idea just came as typing the thread.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Sounds like new pan time to me.

 

[wopachop]

Will make sure to tell her its over Johnny!!

I think for now i might take a heat gun and dry the drain completely. Then come back and see if the weep holes look wet. If they are, maybe i could suck out some water? Hoping to get it dry enough to fill the gaps with silicone. I actually got an almond colored siliconed caulk or whatever they call it. Its not true silicone because its water based. I thought in this case since the grout and thinset is saturated with water it would be best to use a water based caulk. I considered using grout instead with a mixed in sealer that i believe is also water based. Just so she can use the shower until the inevitable new pan or new complete shower.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Remove all the floor grout and 8” up the walls and replace with epoxy grout. I’d let it dry out after I removed the grout for about 2 weeks with a fan on it before I epoxy grouted it

 

[wopachop]

Thanks will keep epoxy grout in mind.
What about using a 90 degree attachment for a drill and drilling the weep hole out? Even if it starts to bore a new hole that shouldnt be a problem? Would keep going at an upward angle until i hit sandy deck mud. If all works out it should in theory begin to drip within a few seconds?

I tried but current drill bits are too long. Was going to see if lowes has a stubby bit before cutting mine down to fit in the whole.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

Sounds like new pan time to me.

Yeah. Stop trying to beat a dead horse. It’s time to rip the old one out and replace it completely. These things don’t last forever.

 

[davea41280]

I don't think there is much you can do. Any access from underneath? If you are seeing water like that, then you have to expect water damage underneath as well. Is it on a slab?

 

[wopachop]

No damage from underneath its on the 2nd floor.
Surprised you guys aint up to the idea of clearing a weep hole. Im about to cut down a drill bit right now.
Its an older cast flange with the 3 holes. I think that style might be easier to drill because the channels run more sideways?

 

[wopachop]

Ok feel free to laugh. Remember this is my moms house not a paying customer. Decided to try an experiment and the results are not what i expected. I figured everything cement related below the tile is completely saturated by now. So i drilled a new weep hole 1/2" above the existing. Thinking i could at least evacuate water to that level. Recaulk the corners or maybe use epoxy grout. Then mix up some 2 part epoxy and fill the drill hole. Or maybe even stuff a tube in it, face it downward and leave it.

I started drilling. Felt it get through the cast. Then it hit what feels and looks like concrete. Its not sandy like deck mud. I hoped maybe it was gravel they used over the weep holes. Got about 1.5" deep on the drill bit and its still bone dry.

 

[wopachop]

Im really not seeing what i expected and want to hear peoples thoughts. Drilled a new hole 1/4" below the base of the tile. Right into the thinset. It was dry dry dry. White powder dry.

The corners of the shower are saturated wet. How can it be dry near the drain???

 

[Twowaxhack]

Im really not seeing what i expected and want to hear peoples thoughts. Drilled a new hole 1/4" below the base of the tile. Right into the thinset. It was dry dry dry. White powder dry.

The corners of the shower are saturated wet. How can it be dry near the drain???

It’s time to replace the pan. That’s the protocol for leaking pans. You can play around with trying to correct it but typically when a pan leaks it gets replaced.

 

[wopachop]

It’s time to replace the pan. That’s the protocol for leaking pans. You can play around with trying to correct it but typically when a pan leaks it gets replaced.

Help me understand though? My mom knows the pan needs to be replaced. I will likely be the person who does it. I dont get how its dry where im drilling.

 

[wopachop]

Im told there was a small puddle where the BLUE arrow is.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Help me understand though? My mom knows the pan needs to be replaced. I will likely be the person who does it. I dont get how its dry where im drilling.

Ok, it’s leaking and there’s not a good way to repair it, That’s why.

 

[wopachop]

Wow i expected more from the lab.
Anyone else on here think its strange the corners are flooded and the weep holes are clogged yet its dry near the drain?

 

[Twowaxhack]

Wow i expected more from the lab.
Anyone else on here think its strange the corners are flooded and the weep holes are clogged yet its dry near the drain?

It’s not complicated and there’s no need to make it complicated. Shower pans are to be water tight. Yours is not. The correct solution for a leaking pan is replacement.

The pan is probably flat without a pre-sloped subfloor. So it’s holding water and has been since day one.

 

[wopachop]

Are you seeing a leaking pan? That is so far off. Hopefully other members here will reply. Its a flooded pan with water leaking up and over a curb. Yet it dry near the drain.

 

[havasu]

May sound like a dumb question, but how did you confirm it wasnt leaking through the silicone under the glass?

 

[Twowaxhack]

Are you seeing a leaking pan? That is so far off. Hopefully other members here will reply. Its a flooded pan with water leaking up and over a curb. Yet it dry near the drain.

I’m going by what you’ve told me.

It’s leaking by your own admission. Get your story straight.

I’ve torn out showers going on 37 years. Anyone here that has that experience will agree with me.

Stick around and keep posting and Eventually someone might tell you what you want to hear…. whatever that may be.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

May sound like a dumb question, but how did you confirm it wasn't leaking through the silicone under the glass?

That's not a dumb question.

When I owned a car wash (and multiple homes) I learned two things that most professional plumbers always know:

1. Water always wins.
2. Water always finds a way through.

Now, in one shower I had, the water was getting sucked under the aluminum sill by capillary action/attraction. So, water found a way from INSIDE the shower, to OUTSIDE the shower. What I also discovered there, was that the shower sill, despite being siliconed in place years earlier, when I removed it to "re-do" it, still had uncured silicone under the sill.

In a second home, my primary home, the shower was built with a "mud" base in some kind of pan. The sill around the shower was "built up" with two stacked and treated 2x4s, then tiled over. Since the tiles on the sill were the same as the wall tile, 4x4 plain builder's white, water was finding a way through the small grout lines under the aluminum frame! In addition, some missing grout allowed water into this sill area (which was outside the pan, above the pan) and there's that capillary action AGAIN! When this shower was removed down to the studs and rebuilt, there was other water damage evident but had not been a huge problem yet. The shower was 20 years old when this happened.

I think the bottom line is replace it all. That's what was recommended earlier, here are just some more reasons why you may be seeing water where you don't want it. It really doesn't matter, there's work ahead.