A clogged shower or bath drain is one of the most common bathroom issues that homeowners across the country face.
Whether it's hair, soap or anything that's been dropped while bathing, a clogged drain can be a real pain to fix. Luckily, we have provided several different methods that you can employ to get the water draining properly again.
Boiling water doesn't always work to unclog drains, but it's the simplest way to resolve minor clogs. In fact, president of Mr. Rooter Plumbing, Doyle James, advises pouring boiling water down the drain at least once a week to prevent clogging. If that doesn't do the trick, you might be in a 'hairier' situation.
Take a screwdriver and remove the screws holding the shower drain cover in place.
Use a wire hanger, plunger or even a drain snake to get all the hair, organic matter and other debris out of the way.
Pour boiling water into the drain, and if the draining rate still seems slow, you have more digging to do.
If the drain rate doesn't improve after snaking and flushing several times, try an organic drain bomb.
This will take a bit more effort, but anyone with a screwdriver can do this in five minutes.
If boiling water won't budge the clog, it leaves you no other choice but to go with the organic drain bomb. In a HomeServe Living guide to unblocking bath or shower drains, they advise using a combination of 15 tablespoons of baking soda and 100 ml of vinegar to do the job.
Apart from being a cheap and effective way of dealing with any such blockages, another great thing about this concoction is that unlike certain industrial drain cleaners, it doesn't damage your pipes at all. Baking soda and vinegar also won't damage your septic tank, making it an ideal way to also unclog your toilet in the absence of a plunger.
If your drains are still clogged, you might need to resort to industrial drain cleaning solutions or call a plumber. After unclogging everything, make it a habit to pour boiling water down your bathroom drains once a week.