How To Unclog A Shower Drain
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Have you taken a shower or bath lately and noticed the water isn’t draining how it use to? It’s slow, or the water doesn’t drain at all? If the water does go down the drain smoothly and it fills up and slow drains (or doesn't drain at all) you have a clogged shower drain. If you start to notice your water is draining slowly it’s best to clean the drain now rather than later. If you want to try to unclog the drain before calling a plumber, here are a few things to try.
Boiling Water
Grab a pot and fill it with water and place it on the stove. Let the water get to a boil, and remove. You want to pour the boiling water down the drain, carefully, in increments. Doing so should help the blockage loosen up and hopefully get rid of the blockage. This is only recommended if you have metal pipes as PVC pipes can potentially loosen at the joints.
Snake The Drain
Snaking the drain is easier than you think, however as nasty as it sounds. You’ll want to roll your sleeves up for this one. You can buy a snake drain cleaner at the store but if you’re in a pinch a metal coat hanger will do the trick. You can undo the wire hanger into a straight line, leaving the hook at the end. You want to stick the hanger down the drain and attempt to feel for any blockages. Once you reach a blockage try to bring the blockage up, do not push it further into the pipes. Once you got everything out and can feel no more blockages, run the water and test it out. You can also put boiling water down the drain afterwards just as a little extra to ensure there are no blockages remaining.
Baking Soda And Vinegar
You’re going to want 1/3 cup of baking soda and 1/3 cup of vinegar for this. Mix them together in a cup and when it starts to fizz, which will happen immediately upon mixing them, put it down your drain. The chemicals should help break up the blockage and grime stuck in your pipes. Let it sit for as long as you can, but 1 hour is recommended. Then you can run hot water down the drain to see if it worked, and help loosen up anything else that could’ve been missed.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing those things, or you tried and it didn’t work, it’s best to consult a plumber to come take care of your problem. Kevin Szabo Jr Plumbing would always be more than happy to help with any kind of draining issues.
Guest Contributor: Tiffany Powell