I am hoping that you can help me. I believe our master bath tile shower floor has blocked weep holes. Right after we moved into our brand new house, there was a water leak on the ceiling below our shower. Our tile company tore up the inner 18" square, looking for a leak, but didn't find any and rebuilt the floor (leak was identified elsewhere). A few months later, we started having serious mineral deposits appearing in the grout and on tiles themselves. We tried to clean it and got a water softener a year after living in the home, but the problem has continued. I am not sure whether the weep holes became blocked from construction and repair, just the hard water, or both. I don't feel like this is our fault, but the tile company is taking a "it just happens" attitude. The tile company is not willing to cover costs and suggested we just take out all the grout and let the floor "dry out" before reinstalling regular (not epoxy) grout. They mislead me into thinking they were going to clean the weep holes but in fact are too afraid of tearing the pan. I need help. Can I clean the weep holes but pooling CLR in the area? Any way I can address this situation/clean out the holes? Tile folks don't want to rip up the tile and risk the pan tear (they state that would cost me 3 days of labor to repair if they had to replace the pan). Ideas?

Yes, blocked weep holes will cause problem but that would be the last thing I would looked at.

My first worry would be: Are there weep holes at all ? Some drains come w/o weep holes ( those are used for outside drainage where water-proofing is not necessary ) and the original shower guy might have use one of those. You should be able to investigate it on your own : remove drain strainer and look inside with flash lights. There should be 3 holes .

Moreover, I would cut out 16" x 16" square in the ceiling below, right under the P-trap and left it open for couple of weeks. I would monitor it to see where exactly is the leak coming from.

Mineral deposits on tile and around rain may not indicated absence of weep holes. It may be that grout is not sealed, soaks up water and result is what you see. Best would be if you could call a friend who understand construction to take a look at that. Such a person will give you honest opinion. Otherwise, you will never get such from the builder or original tile man.

Would be helpful if you could snap a photo of the drain and post it here...

Good luck. Let me know what happened. Back to you. Milo

Thank you for your reply!
First, I should clarify that the original ceiling leak has been gone for over two years (they identified a pipe issue. Fixed it, and repaired the ceiling). My main reason for mentioning the leak, it is that the tile folks had to rebuilt part of the tile floor when investigating for the leak, I worry that construction debris could have contributed to or caused blockage of the holes, causing our build up problem now. Or, it could have been hard water.

Also, the tile person assures me there are weep holes, but nothing that I will be able to see because of the drain trap? Does this sound right?

I know the grout was never sealed, they told me that was standard practice these days.

I am considering using epoxy grout when we regrout the floor, but now tile folks are hesitant. My understanding if that no water gets through the grout, we would not worry about accumulation of water below but perhaps I am mistaken.

The tile company has already cut out the grout and unfortunately, I didn't get a before-picture. I have a picture from several months ago, one week after we had it professionally cleaned. It got much worse, with white and black deposits on the tiles and in the grout lines. Around the drain itself, there was never any build up, just in the grout lines and on the tiles. I can email the picture to you but am not sure how to embed it here.

Thank you again!

First, let me say I can't imagine any plumber installing a flange type shower drain without weep holes,(my company doesn't even stock them).
If the weep holes are clogged you can bet it's tile grout that's blocking them. Sorry! No ":gee whiz" fix like pouring CRL down down there. Why weren't the weep holes checked by the tile company the last time the floor was opened up?
But wait!
There's something else that would cause the same problem.
If the tile grout has shrunk where the shower stream hits the wall the water would run down BEHIND the shower pan and through the floor onto the ceiling. Before you tear out the shower floor to check the weep holes I would open up a small section of wall, near the floor line, where the shower stream hits the wall. Let me know what you find. Good luck, Tom

Hi hyi669i... Let me answer your questions first...

1. Weep holes are located before (before) trap. They are located about 3" below the surface of the drain. Therefore, should be visible through drain opening

2. The wetness you are getting under the "tile" is not coming in from the tile / grout but it is the condensation that occurs every time you use shower. In other words, even when the tile is perfectly sealed you will still have wetness under concrete pad inside shower pan. It is basic Law of Physics

3. You don't have to use epoxy grout. Buy regular grout, mix it with fortifying agent and install it. Let dry 3 days. Then, seal with tile sealer. Be very generous in application. Let dry for 24 hours and repeat. Let dry another 24 hours

It is very hard to replace grout. Grout needs about 1/8" of space (depth) for both Non-Sanded and Sanded Grouts to stick well. So it is almost impossible to remove old grout w/o damaging tile. Even then it will probably crack in few months and you will have to touch it up.

Grout discoloration: Next time, when you take a shower, look if water drains completely out of the pan. Don't do anything - just step out of the shower, come back 1 hour after shower was in use and put your hand on the floor in the area in question. If your hand gets wet than that's what's staining your grout.

Back to you... Milo

Thanks for the responses!

Well, I cannot visualize any weep holes looking down about 4 inches into the shower floor drain. I can obviously not see past the standing water in the drain. Our tile guy said the weep holes were after the trap, but I cannot see how that makes sense? Thoughts?

Our tile guy said the weep holes were after the trap, Send your tile guy back to tile setting school. EVERY tile setter that's ever tiled a shower floor knows that the weep holes are located in the top half of a flange type shower drain,(see image). And that it's his responsibility to keep them clear when tiling a shower. I'm amazed that someone in the trade would even make that statement. He's wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Regards, Tom

Tom, Thanks for the image and response. That helps. I was really starting to question my sanity because the tile folk's explanations just were not making sense. So, should I be able to see the holes, if there were there? Are there any other types of drains they could have used? I am trying to add a picture of ours, but the site will not let me upload a picture for some reason...

Okay, I was able to post a tiny picture of the drain.

One more picture of the floor about a week after we had it steamed cleaned and the grout colored. The white appearing in the grout line is a mild example of the build up we were getting). You can see the caulk in the background, which never sealed or dried due to moisture. Thanks again for your time and knowledge!

Are there any other types of drains they could have used? There are lots of shower drains but the only one used with a shower pan is a flange type shower drain. I have heard of a flange type shower drain without weep holes but my company has never used or stocked them, Regards, Tom

Hopefully this is my last question on this thread. Thanks again for your time.

1. Should I be able to see/touch/get to the weep holes? EG, can I tell if they are blocked without ripping up the floor?
2. Is there anyway to clean them without ripping up the floor, if they are blocked?
3. Would you put in epoxy grout knowing the holes might be blocked?

Thanks again for helping those of us without the expertise- really appreciate your time!

. Should I be able to see/touch/get to the weep holes? EG, can I tell if they are blocked without ripping up the floor? Regretfully not. If you will look at the drain I put up the bottom part goes under the shower pan, the top part ( the part with the weep holes clamps don ion the bottom part and all that can be seen is the adjustable drain and strainer. Everything is under the tile.

Is there anyway to clean them without ripping up the floor, if they are blocked?

Not that I know of.

Would you put in epoxy grout knowing the holes might be blocked?
If I had concerns that the weep holes were blocked I'd open a 8X8" hole in the tile, unbolt the top part and check for blockage. If I found that they were blocked I would clear the weep holes, patch the tile and take the tile company to court for the expense. The fact that your tile setter told you the weep holes were located beyond the trap works in your favor. Good luck, Tom

This white drain of yours appears to be a drain w/o weep holes. I am enclosing photo from my job today. It is Cast Iron drain inside hot-mopped shower pan. Weep Holes are clearly visible from the outside and from the inside of the drain. Milo