The black ABS drain pipe under the house broke. There is a big pile of nasty food rotting on top of my moisture barrier. The smell led us to the discovery finally after several weeks (initially thought it was an animal or something). I need to replace the broken pipe, but do I need to do something about the rotting pile of food waste sludge other than scoop it up and throw it out? And, can I get the proper connectors at home depot or will I have to go specialty store?

Remove the food and pour bleach on the residue. ABS is not used anymore. Cut out the bad piece of ABS, go at least 1 ft or more on either side of the break. Get a piece of PVC (DWV code) of the same size. Buy shielded Fernco or similar connectors. They are rubber sleeves with metal covers and are easy to use. Make sure to support the pipe.

Just to clarify this... Is this pipe in a crawl space? And why has so much food accumulated?

"why has so much food accumulated"?

Probably because the pipe is in an area (crawl space or unused basement space) that doesn't get used/seen very often... ;)

I sure hope it's all cleaned up and disinfected by now!

Mark

Have you cleaned up and replaced the broken pipd or doi you need more helkp? Back to you, Tom