How to clean a shower drain: pull the hair, flush it, keep it flowing

Step by step: how to clean a shower drain

Safety first. Never mix drain cleaners with each other, with bleach or with vinegar, and never plunge or snake a drain that has chemical drain cleaner in it; it can splash and burn skin and eyes. Wear gloves when you handle hair and drain slime.

1. 1

   Take off the drain cover

   Most shower drain covers are held by one or two screws, snap in and pry up with a flat screwdriver, or twist off. In a tub-shower, the stopper may lift out or unscrew. Put the screws in a cup so they cannot fall down the drain.

2. 2

   Pull out the hair

   With gloves on, pull out any hair you can see. Push a plastic barbed drain tool down the drain as far as it goes, twist it, and pull it straight up; it usually comes out wrapped in a gray clump of hair and soap. Repeat until it comes up clean, then bag it for the trash.

3. 3

   Scrub the cover and drain opening

   Scrub the cover, the stopper and the inside of the drain opening with a small brush and hot soapy water to remove the slimy film that holds hair and smells. Rinse them well. A clean cover also shows you how quickly hair builds up again.

4. 4

   Flush with baking soda and vinegar

   Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain, then 1 cup of white vinegar, and let it fizz for 10 to 15 minutes. Follow with a kettle of hot water, poured slowly. Use hot tap water instead of boiling water if your drain pipes are plastic.

5. 5

   Test the flow

   Run the shower for a minute and watch the floor. Water should drain as fast as it comes out, with no pooling around your feet. If it still drains slowly, the clog is deeper than the barbed tool can reach.

6. 6

   Plunge a slow drain

   Block the tub overflow opening with a wet rag if you have one, run enough water to cover the plunger cup, and seal a cup plunger over the drain. Push and pull firmly about six times, then lift it and check. Roto-Rooter says most clogs need only about six good plunges.

7. 7

   Snake it if plunging fails

   Feed a hand drain auger into the drain, cranking until you feel resistance, then twist through the clog and pull the cable back out with the hair on it. Flush with hot water and put the cover back on. If a snake does not clear it, call a plumber.

Which shower drain cleaning method should you use?

Start with your hands and a barbed tool, because hair is behind most shower clogs; move to a plunger, then a snake, and treat chemicals as a last resort.

Roto-Rooter’s shower drain advice is to plug the overflow with a wet rag, add just enough water to cover the plunger, and plunge with firm up and down strokes. For a tub-shower, their bathtub guide explains how to unscrew the overflow plate, pull the stopper linkage and clean the hair off it, which is often where the clog is.

Are chemical drain cleaners safe for shower drains?

Household gel drain cleaners can clear a hair clog, but they are caustic, they are dangerous if they splash, and they make any later plunging or snaking risky. Try mechanical methods first.

Roto-Rooter explains that most store drain cleaners are based on lye, caustic potash or bleach, and that acid drain cleaners, which use sulfuric acid, should only be handled by professionals. A Western Washington University facilities policy likewise has staff try plungers and augers first and use acid drain cleaner only when those fail.

If you do use a drain gel, follow the label exactly, wear gloves and eye protection, never add a second product, and tell the plumber what is in the pipe if it does not work.

How to keep a shower drain from clogging

Catch the hair before it goes down. A drain hair catcher and a monthly clean-out prevent almost all shower clogs.

• Fit a hair catcher over or inside the drain and empty it after each shower or two.
• Brush long hair before you shower so less of it sheds in the water.
• Run hot water for a minute after showering to carry soap film further down the pipe.
• Flush with baking soda, vinegar and hot water once a month to cut odor.
• If small black flies hover around the drain, the slime layer needs scrubbing out; our guide to getting rid of drain flies covers that.

Mistakes to avoid

• Pouring drain cleaner on a hair clog first, when a barbed tool would pull it out in a minute.
• Plunging right after using a chemical drain cleaner, which can splash it onto your skin and eyes.
• Mixing two different drain cleaners, or a drain cleaner with bleach or vinegar.
• Dropping the cover screws down the drain because the drain was left open.
• Pouring boiling water into plastic drain pipes instead of hot tap water.
• Skipping the hair catcher and repeating the whole job every few weeks.