On Mar 26, 11:12*pm, Steve Kraus
wrote:
Yesterday I went to work on the one that is stuck up but not broken. *I
tried NaOH drain cleaner, strong HCl, ice water on the theory that brass
(the plug) has a greater coefficient of expansion than iron (the pipe), and
boiling water on theory that I might as well try everything. *I was using a
piece of garden hose with a funnel down the overflow to apply these liquids
and that's also a good way to push on the plug. *No significant help.

But when I gave up and decided to close it up I found that the trip lever
was now able to move the plug up and down. *Not easily and I could not pull
the plug all the way up and out but if it's working where it needs to, case
closed.

So far similar techniques have not budged the other one. *Someone asked if
I could make it go down since the connection broke trying to pull it up.
No, originally I was trying to push it down as well as up and could not get
it to do either. *One thing I fear right now is that I end up dropping it
into the closed position. *As things stand now I still have a usable shower
and with a little effort to close the drain with something, even a bathtub.
If I drop it closed I'm screwed. *There's always the danger if the thing
drops only because I push hard on it that snagging it with a coat hanger
wire might not be able to urge it back up to open the drain. *So I must
proceed thoughtfully.


Foolishness, the overflow tube, waste arm, fitting and plunger
are all made of brass if they are metal -- any ductile or cast iron
drain piping wouldn't begin until the connection out of the fitting
which you are trying to blindly detarnish/degunkify/descale...

~~ Evan