How to Prevent Clogged Shower Drain
As a homeowner, you know that one of the most annoying things about owning a home is when something breaks or goes wrong. The shower drain is no exception. Shower drains are often clogged by hair and soap scum from everyday use, but they can also be clogged by other items such as tampons or paper towels.
In order to avoid costly repairs that may not fix the problem permanently, it’s important to know how to prevent clogged shower drain before it becomes an issue! In this blog post, we will cover some simple steps on how you can keep your shower drain clear, so you don’t have any issues with water backing up into your bathroom and causing a flood!
7 Common Things That Causes Clogged Shower Drain:
1. Hair
Hair that washes down your drain can tangle around other items in the pipe, causing an obstruction. Over time, this can lead to a clog inside of your shower’s drain. The simplest solution is to place a strainer over the drain to prevent harmless but annoying hair from building up and blocking water flow.
2. Soap Curds and Hair Product Scum
If you use shampoo, soap, or other hair products in your shower, they can accumulate on the walls of your pipes over time and form a clog. This usually manifests as a slow drain instead of a stopped up one.
Using a store-bought drain cleaner, you can clear out soap scum and hair product build-up over time. These products often contain table salt and vinegar, which combine to produce hydrogen-bubble foam that unclogs drains.
3. Foreign Objects
Children can be mischievous, and their toys are often a big culprit of clogged shower drains. Toys such as marbles, pennies, and bobby pins can all wreak havoc on your drain if they slip into the pipe while you’re bathing it during playtime. Fitting a mesh strainer over the drain effectively catches small objects before they enter the lines.
4. Leaves and Debris
Fall weather, particularly around Halloween time, can be a nuisance because dry leaves inevitably find their way into your home through an open door or window. Leaves are widespread items to clog shower drains, especially since they are wet and tend to stick together.
5. Food Particulates
When you eat in the shower, it’s common for crumbs to fall down the drain. These tiny pieces of food combine with soap residue around your drain and can eventually create a blockage that prevents water from draining away. It would help to dispose of food waste before you start your shower to clear the drain.
6. Hard Water Deposits
Over time, hard water can build up on pipe walls and create deposits that affect how well your shower drains. Since hard water tends to be thick, it doesn’t flow easily through pipes and is more likely to form clogs than regular water. You can reduce the effects of hard water by using a store-bought drain cleaner with ingredients like vinegar and table salt.
7. Bathroom Debris
Personal hygiene products like cotton swabs, bathroom cleaning tools, and other debris can get into your shower drain over time. Once the drain is clogged with this material, water won’t flow through it as easily. Putting a strainer over the drain will prevent these items from slipping in and causing a clog.
10 Ways on How to Prevent Clogged Shower Drain:
A blocked shower drain is one of the most annoying things that can happen when you’re in a hurry to get ready for work, school, or an important event. Not only does it keep your feet from getting wet and soapy water from rinsing out, but it creates a slippery and dangerous situation if you don’t clean it up promptly. Here we have discussed some ways how to prevent clogged shower drains.
1. Add baking soda and vinegar:
Pour a cola bottle into the drain, let it bubble for 30 minutes, and then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain. The phosphoric acid cuts through grease, and unclogs drains and is even more effective if labels warn that the product is not to be put down in kitchen sinks.
2. Use drain opener:
Dissolve one cup of salt in half a liter of boiling water and pour this solution down the drain, followed by two liters of cold water. If you do not have vinegar or soda at home, use sodium bicarbonate instead. Add half a cup to two cups down the drain, depending on the size of your bathroom sink.
3. Soak the drain:
Pour a cup of vinegar and a cup of baking soda down the shower drain. Cover it with a wet cloth to fizz up better, wait 10 minutes and pour a potful of boiling water down after them.
4. Use plunger:
Put some water in the bathtub and use an ordinary rubber plunger to pump as much air as possible into it by pulling the handle up and down for a minute or two. This creates a vacuum that seals itself against the drain so that you can create pressure with your arm muscles without having to expend any energy in forcing the rubber plunger down.
5. Use chemical drain cleaner:
If the plunger does not unclog the drain, try pouring some undiluted liquid chemical plumber down the drain to break down any stubborn blockage. Pour slowly and steadily at first to keep it from splashing back up under pressure, then quickly plug with a cloth before the chemical eats its way through it.
6. Pour boiling water once more:
Pour a pot of boiling water down the drain to flush out the chemical plumber and destroy any bacteria that has built up in it while you were trying to unclog it. Do not pour cold water into the drain for several minutes to allow it time to work.
7. Use a wire coat hanger:
If you do not have a chemical plumber or are trying to unclog a shower drain that is not too severely clogged, straighten out your wire clothes hanger and use the hook at the end of it to pull out any clogs.
8. Use an auger:
The drain auger is the most potent tool for unclogging a sink or shower drain. An auger is powered by turning a handle and works like a corkscrew as it bores down into the clog and pulls it out.
If you use an ordinary plunger, chemical plumber, or coat hanger, your shower drain is probably not blocked that badly. However, have a plumber use the auger to clear out your drains if you still have no luck.
9. Clear hair out of shower drain:
Do not use a drain cover or filter when you have long hair because all the strands do not always fall into it. It is better to clean out the shower drain regularly so that all your hair will go inside and clog up the system over time rather than in one big lump.
10. Keep drains oiled:
If you have to use hair products, keep them away from your shower drain. Oil-based hair products are hazardous because they are difficult to remove once they build up inside the drain. Be sure to clean out all of your bathroom’s regular drains so that none of them will block up.
You Can Check It Out to Shower With a Heart Monitor
Tips to Maintain Your Shower Drain:
It’s a good idea to clean the shower drain weekly, but here are a few tips to help you start a preventative maintenance schedule for your clogged shower drain.
1. Shampoo and soap scum build-up in the pipes can make it harder for water to pass through them. Therefore, it’s best to use your shower daily to eliminate the scum and gunk that gets stuck in your drain.
2. Hair is a leading cause of clogged drains, so taking care to prevent shampoo and soap scum build-up will help, but if you have long hair that hangs below your shoulders, it’s a good idea to install a mesh drain cover in your shower.
3. Another good tip is to wipe the walls of your shower after you get out. Water can drip down onto the floor and cause it to become slippery, causing a potential slip/fall accident. So make sure always to dry off the walls when you get out of the shower so no water drops are left on the floor to become a slip hazard.
4. Take care not to overuse your bathroom sinks, and be sure to let all water drain out of the sink after you’re finished using it, especially if you have shared sinks with roommates. If water builds up in the sink, it can lead to scum build-up, eventually leading to a clogged drain.
5. Be sure to clean the build-up of debris around your shower head every week, whether or not you use your shower daily. The more often you clean the area around your shower head, the less chance it will get clogged with soap scum and hair.
6. Once every couple of months, you may want to pour some baking soda down your shower drain and pour vinegar on top of it. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes before running hot water (only hot water) down the drain. This will help keep the pipes clear and free-flowing, preventing clogged drains.
Conclusion:
When it comes to clogged shower drains, there are several things you can do. We have compiled the top ten methods for preventing your shower from getting clogged so that this never becomes an issue in your home again. One way is by limiting hair and other particles from going down the drain by using a combination of baking soda and shampoo or dish soap.
Another great technique involves covering up the hole with either rubber stoppers (such as those found on kitchen sinks) or aluminum foil placed tightly over it until you need to use the next step in prevention. We hope this blog helped give you information on how to prevent clogged shower drains.
Angela Ervin
Angela is the executive editor of DIY quickly. She began her career as an interior designer before applying her strategic and creative passion to lifestyle and home. She has close to 15 years of experience in creative writing and online content strategy for housekeeping, home decorations as well as other niche efforts. She loves her job and has the privilege of working with an extraordinary team. She lives with her husband, two sons, and daughter in Petersburg. When she's not busy working she spent time with her family.
