How to Unclog a Shower Drain?

A shower drain gets clogged when contaminants such as hair, cosmetic residue, etc. get into it. Ideally, you should clean it regularly (e.g., with boiling water and salt) and avoid blockage, but sometimes the drain still gets clogged, and you need to take emergency action. How to clean the drain? Here are a few methods.

Cleaning the Drain - Home Remedies

A clogged shower drain not only makes it impossible to take a shower but also poses a risk of flooding the bathroom. To prevent total blockage of the drain, it's a good idea to regularly unclog the drain. You don't always have to reach for chemical cleaners right away, as their fumes can be harmful to health, and the products themselves are toxic to the environment. What natural methods can be used for unclogging pipes?

• Use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar - pour a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar and immediately plug the drain with a stopper (so the substance doesn't overflow). After about 30 minutes, pour everything with water.
• Use aspirin - drop 2 tablets into the drain and pour vinegar over them. It will bubble for a while - after the bubbling stops, pour water down the drain. Exercise caution, do not lean over the shower.
• Use a flexible thin wire - sometimes to unclog the drain, it's not enough to pour substances into the drain, but you need to remove the remnants stuck there mechanically. Usually, it's enough to remove the drain cover and take out hair or other debris.
• Use a rubber plunger - it works based on pressure. The pushed debris moves to larger pipes, from which it should flow freely.

How to Disassemble a Shower Drain for Cleaning?

Sooner or later, simply pouring water with soda won't be enough, and it will be necessary to clean the drainage set thoroughly. Certain contaminants may be under the drain cover, which can be removed to check. Others may be a bit deeper, so the drain should be disassembled step by step. How to do it?

• Remove the drain cover,
• take out the debris that has accumulated under the cover,
• contaminants can also be under the drain insert - remove it and clean,
• carefully clean the drainage set.

After cleaning each element, most of the accumulated contaminants should be removed. If water still doesn't flow freely, it means that the cleaning of the drain was not fully successful.

Drain Cleaning - Chemical Agents

If after removing contaminants, water continues to accumulate in the shower, it means that not all remnants have been removed. A clogged shower drain thus needs to be treated with appropriate chemical preparations. Strong caustic substances, which are what we're talking about, "eat away" all the dirt that has accumulated in the drain. When using them, special caution should be taken - wear gloves, do not get too close to the drain, and do not lean over it. Strong caustic substances are not suitable for use in aluminum installations.

It should be remembered to remove the drain cover before using the chosen preparation. Then pour or sprinkle - depending on the chosen method - into the clogged drain and wait several minutes. Strong chemical agents should act inside the drain, dissolving further contaminants. After this time, large amounts of water should be poured down the drain to rinse the bottom and walls of the shower well.

Clogged Drain - Tips

Even without any knowledge of plumbing, it's easy to deal with cleaning the drain. The easiest way is to use gels and granules that dissolve the accumulated contaminants. You can also take apart the shower drain into individual elements and clean each of them. In most models of drains, it's easy to remove the cover where most of the dirt accumulates.

For preventive use, it's recommended to use baking soda, which should be poured with water to get rid of any residue from cosmetics or leftovers after pet baths.