How to Unclog a Shower Drain
We’ve all run into the situation where the shower drain starts draining slower or stops draining at all, so you’re just standing in water while trying to shower. While this situation is common, it’s also annoying and inconvenient. When your shower gets clogged and you’re not quite ready to throw in the towel and call a plumber yet, we have some DIY shower unclogging methods for you to try!
Firstly, there are some really good preventative measures to take to try and avoid a lot of major shower clogs from hair or other debris. There are removable drain covers that you can buy at most major stores that catch hair and other debris before it goes down the drain.
Try boiling water to unclog your shower drain
The easiest way to try to unclog your shower drain is by pouring hot water down the drain. First heat a pot of water and slowly pour it down the drain a little bit at a time to give the water time to dislodge the clog. Note: do not try this method if you have PVC pipes, only use it with metal pipes as the hot water could warp PVC pipes.
Baking soda and vinegar
You’ll notice a common theme that a lot of DIY drain cleaning methods will make use of the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar.
You’ll also want to start this method by removing the shower grate with a screwdriver and cleaning off any debris. Then mix ? a cup of baking soda and ? a cup of vinegar in a cup and as soon as it starts to foam, pour it down the drain. Let the solution sit for an hour before flushing the drain with hot water.
Maybe a drain snake can help unclog your shower
This is the method for physically removing the debris in your drain, and therefore the messiest of the DIY methods. You can get a shower drain snake for under $5 and that’ll be the only one you have to buy, as you can reuse it.
To use a shower drain snake, first, remove the drain grate with a screwdriver and clean off any debris that may be stuck to the grate. Then insert the drain snake into the drain and rotate it slowly until it tightens around the clog and possibly breaks apart.
Note: you don’t want to force the drain snake too harshly or vigorously as you could damage your drains. If you believe you’ve broken up the clog, run a small amount of water down the drain to check. Then slowly lift the drain snake out of the drain. When you do so there will likely be a lot of hair and other debris on the snake that you’ll want to clean off. Before putting the shower grate back on, flush the drain with water for 2-3 minutes to flush out any additional debris that was knocked loose by the drain snake.
Call A Plumbing Professional at High Speed Plumbing
If none of the above methods work or you just don’t have the time to try them all, consider calling a licensed plumbers at High Speed Plumbing in Pomona.
