How to Unclog a Shower Drain

Helpful Hints to Clear That Clog

Clearing a shower drain of clogs shouldn't be a hassle! Follow these steps to get things flowing again.

 Leave Strainers In Place If Possible

When working with shower drains, take care not to drop any screws down the drain and have a receptacle prepared to keep all small parts safely out of the way. Instead of a simple strainer, your shower may have a trap directly beneath the drain, but the procedure for cleaning then plunging still applies.

Clear, Plunge, Clean

A little softening can be helpful in breaking up large or dense clogs. You can let the clog soak in a mixture of grease busting dish-soap and hot water. If your shower has standing water refusing to drain, squirt some soap directly down the hole, next pour hot water from a height into the drain. The hotter the water the better, but be smart and do not use water so hot that a splash would burn your skin, and do not pour hot water into a mixture containing liquid drain cleaner! Let the soap soften up the clog for a few hours if you can. If the clog has not drained away, you can move on to the next suggestions.

Shed Some Light on the Situation

You can peer into the drain with a flashlight, and can see the obstruction or have an idea of its location, then your first priority should be to remove all the debris from the drainpipe. A wire coat hanger, bent to take advantage of the squiggle into a hair-snagging hook could be all you need, along with some patience, to extract the mass forming the clog.
Even in the case of standing water, you can safely stick your bent hanger down the drain, and scrape the sides as you go, rapidly busting up anything in reach. Always opt to remove the gunk with gloved hands to toss in the trash, rather than trying to rinse it down the drain and possibly out of reach.

Using a Plunger

Any clog that survives the coat hanger treatment will surely be weakened and ready to fall to the plunger. Your goal with the plunger is again to break up the clog, removing as much of the debris as possible from the drain, and finishing with pipes flowing as smoothly as ever.
With that in mind, if your clog has been softened with a soaking in dish soap and weakened with pokes by your hanger, or even if the blockage is out of reach, you next step is to try the plunger.

Form a Tight Seal

Placing the plunger over the hole of the drain, form and maintain a tight seal as you vigorously work the plunger up and down for up to a dozen strokes before checking. Release the seal carefully to avoid backsplash. If you have trouble maintaining a tight seal you can apply a small amount of petroleum jelly around the lip of the plunger and drain (not too much!) to plug the gaps.

Snake It

If you own a handheld drain auger (also known as a Plumber's Snake), then it may be just the ticket. A drain auger is a long, stiff cable which can be threaded into plumbing to bore a clear path. A good auger can be worth its weight when it comes to cutting down on calls to the plumber for active or large households.

That Should Do It

I hope that did the trick and you were able to unclog your shower drain. If not, run the steps one more time, maybe you are weakening that clog! Liquid drain cleaner is a possible solution, but only if the clog is oily, soapy, and hairy. If you have a more serious clog, that a plunger and auger won't get, you may need to find a local professional.