How to Unclog a Shower Drain
When you take a shower, is the bathtub backing up and you feel more like you are taking a bath but not the good kind. Yes, it’s time to clean out that drain. I am going to show you exactly how to unclog a shower drain and save you tons of money!
If you paid a plumber to unclog the drain, you will be dropping easily $100, perhaps even $150. That’s a lot of money when you can easily do the job yourself with a few minor tools and about 30 minutes.
We have three women with long hair in our family so that means a lot of clogged drains over the years. My husband and I have done this so many times now that we could do it in our sleep. But I will also say, we have saved thousands by doing this ourselves!
Let’s get started on this simple home maintenance project!
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What you need to unclog a shower drain.
There are a few items you can use. I have used most of them over the years, but here are my favorites.
- Flathead Screwdriver
- Handheld Drain Snake (works okay, very cheap)
- Electric Drain Snake (This is the one I use and I love it. It works faster – attaches to the drill.)
- Paper Towels
Either one of these snakes works fine. The one that attaches to a drill works a bit faster, and the other one is more cumbersome, but it does get the job done.
Just be careful when using the handheld drain snake that you don’t let go of it when it’s in the drain. Yes, I do know of this from experience!
How to Unclog a Shower Drain
The first time I unclogged a shower drain I was surprised to find out that you don’t actually go in through the drain!
You go in there the place that I am pointing to in this picture.
All you need to do is use your flathead screwdriver and unscrew the piece that plugs up the drain and remove the contraption.
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Once you have this out all you need to do is insert your snake give it a few twists and pull it out.
If you are using the one that I am here in the photo that is attached to your drill, make sure you spin the snake VERY slowly. If you go too fast, it will spin around and get twisted up.
Now I had to do this two or three times before I got a bunch of hair out. It looks like this when you do.
I did it a few more times and got another clump of hair. This was what was clogging up that drain and making is shower and take a bath at the same time, lol.
After you Unclog the Drain
Now you can put the plug back in and screw it in place. Next, I like to pop off the metal piece in the drain and clean it out. There will be a little hair in there and a log of gunk from shampoo and conditioner.
You are going to a lot of trouble to clean out the drain, so why not go all the way and clean this out too?
Then when you are done, you will want to give the tub a good cleaning.
And that’s it! About 30 minutes of your time and a saving of about 150 smakeroos! Now you can go shopping with all that saved cash!
Other home posts you might like:
- DIY Home Binder to Keep Everything Organized in Your Home
- Deep Cleaning Kitchen Checklist: 19 Tips to Clean Your Kitchen
- Deep Cleaning Bedroom Checklist: 6 Tips to Get it Clean
As a licensed Real Estate Agent and an avid home decorator, I strive to give my clients the very best I can when it comes to staging, selling, and decorating their homes. I have lots of experience with paint color choices and love to DIY my home so I can have everything just the way I want it. I share my ideas and projects with the world in the hopes that I can help others have their homes just the way they want as well.
