# Brown liquidy gunk coming out of shower hole!



## aep2000 (Oct 27, 2012)

We recently bought a house in Spain, went back for the first time over Christmas and a brown liquid with "bits" it in keeps coming up in one of the shower plug holes which is in the lower ground floor. The other shower in the main house is fine. We could wash it back down the first time, but after that the water took a while to drain away. Does anyone have any light to shed please? Any advice much appreicated!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

If it's a flat then you might find a metal plate maybe 15 cm in diameter screwed to the shower room floor somewhere. If you do then unscrew it and you'll find another type of lid to unscrew beneath it (possibly plastic). Beneath that is a chamber where the drain pipes from the shower, toilet and basin all connect to. Try to have a poke around each pipe with a skewer and you might find something blocking them.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

aep2000 said:


> We recently bought a house in Spain, went back for the first time over Christmas and a brown liquid with "bits" it in keeps coming up in one of the shower plug holes which is in the lower ground floor. The other shower in the main house is fine. We could wash it back down the first time, but after that the water took a while to drain away. Does anyone have any light to shed please? Any advice much appreicated!


I think you have sewerage problems! Call in a plumber - believe me, you don't want to go poking around too much.

We did that once when we had a blockage and it promptly flooded the bathroom and the bedroom - not very pleasant!

PS: None of our flats have the inspection plates mentioned above - so yours may not either.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

aep2000 said:


> We recently bought a house in Spain, went back for the first time over Christmas and a brown liquid with "bits" it in keeps coming up in one of the shower plug holes which is in the lower ground floor. The other shower in the main house is fine. We could wash it back down the first time, but after that the water took a while to drain away. Does anyone have any light to shed please? Any advice much appreicated!


Hi

If it is a house (as opposed to a flat) then do you have your own septic tank? If so, then it is possibly full and needs emptying. However, not far from me, due to the underground water table rising, people have to pump their septic tanks out every day as the water table rises to within a couple of inches of the surface leaving nowhere for the sewerage to seep into. 

Have a chat with the neighbours who will be able to advise you best. 

Davexf


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

aep2000 said:


> We recently bought a house in Spain, went back for the first time over Christmas and a brown liquid with "bits" it in keeps coming up in one of the shower plug holes which is in the lower ground floor. The other shower in the main house is fine. We could wash it back down the first time, but after that the water took a while to drain away. Does anyone have any light to shed please? Any advice much appreicated!


You could have a blockage in the pipe. I would try putting agua fuerte down the pipe and leaving it for a day. Agua fuerte is hydrochloric acid, so wear gloves and don't get any on the enamel. We had blocked pipes years ago. Nothing would go, the loo was blocked and the sinks upstairs. In our bathroom there is a round metal plate. We took it off and poured the agua fuerte in and left for 6 hours. It cleared the blockage after that time. You can buy agua fuerte in any ferriteria. Like all acid, you must handle with great care.


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## aep2000 (Oct 27, 2012)

*Brown liquidy gunk coming out of shower block*

What a great response, everyone has been so helpful - thank you. Septic tanks are new to us, but as it is a house, I must admit at the time I did wonder if it was septic tank related! So we will try first, and then try the acid and other options.
Do you know who I contact to get the septic tank emptied?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

aep2000 said:


> What a great response, everyone has been so helpful - thank you. Septic tanks are new to us, but as it is a house, I must admit at the time I did wonder if it was septic tank related! So we will try first, and then try the acid and other options.
> Do you know who I contact to get the septic tank emptied?


Just depends where you are - your profile says London 

Look up "Fosa Septica" and your location, in Google or yellow pages.


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## aep2000 (Oct 27, 2012)

Just found two providers, easier than I thought. Thanks again - much appreciated.


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