Quick answer: To clean a shower drain, lift out the strainer, hook the hair out with a bent wire or drain snake, pour in 1 cup of baking soda followed by 1 cup of white vinegar, leave it 15 minutes, then flush it with a kettle of boiling water. Repeat monthly and the clog will not come back.
Did you know that clogged shower drains are practically inevitable? After enough hard water, hair, and skin goes down the drain, it will start to attach to the shower pipes and the drain itself, making it difficult for water to go down the pipes as it’s supposed to. Fortunately, a clogged or dirty shower drain isn’t a serious problem and how to clean a shower drain doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds.
When you clean a shower drain, you will want to have a few main tools and ingredients on hand. Keep reading to learn more about shower drain cleaning tips below.
Use a Drain Snake and Boiling Water
A drain snake is an important tool to have on hand whether you need to unclog your shower drain or your skin drain. A drain snake is a flexible device that you can bend in any way you see fit. It has a metal wire that you can control with a hand crank which makes it perfect for diving down into a clogged drain to remove the clog.
While you could try cleaning a shower drain and removing the clog and dirt with your hand, a drain snake is a much more appealing (and more effective) option. It will be able to go deeper into the drain and break up whatever might be clogging the drain.
Once the clog is clear, your job still isn’t done. Even though you got most of the gunk out, there is still likely to be plenty of grime stuck to the drain and the pipes. For that reason, boiling water is good to have on hand when shower drain cleaning.
Pour a pot of boiling water slowly down the drain. This will dissolve other materials such as skin cells and grime that might be stuck to the drain. You might have to do this a few times to get the desired result.
Don’t Forget the Vinegar
In any shower drain cleaning guide you find, there will always be a section that mentions vinegar. Vinegar is a great natural cleaner that can remove everything from soap scum to calcium buildup and beyond. When using vinegar to clean out your shower drain, you will first want to mix it with baking soda.
A good ratio to follow is to use 1 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of baking soda. You will only want to use the vinegar mixture after you’ve poured boiling water down the drain. That way, whatever is in the drain will be softened.
Once you add the vinegar mixture, let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. This will give the vinegar the chance to break down the debris in the drain. Then, wash it all down with boiling water again.
After you do all this, your drain should be cleaner than ever before.
When to Call a Plumber Instead
How to clean a shower drain doesn’t have to be a hard task; all you need is the right tools. By using a drain snake, boiling water, and vinegar, your drain can be clean in no time.
If you don’t like the idea of cleaning or unclogging your own drain, a plumber can do it for you. To learn more, contact us here.
Shower Drain Cleaning FAQs
How often should I clean my shower drain?
Once a month is enough for most San Diego County households. A monthly baking soda and vinegar flush clears the soap and hair film before it hardens into the kind of clog that needs a snake.
Can I pour boiling water down a shower drain?
If your waste pipe is metal, yes. If you have PVC pipes, use very hot tap water instead of a rolling boil, because sustained boiling water can soften plastic joints over time.
Does baking soda and vinegar actually unclog a shower drain?
It works on the greasy soap and hair film that narrows the pipe, which is what causes most slow showers. It will not shift a solid blockage further down the line, and no amount of repeating it will.
Why is my shower drain still slow after I have cleaned it?
A drain that stays slow after a proper clean usually means the blockage sits deeper than the trap, or the branch line is partly collapsed. At that point a camera inspection tells you more than another bottle of drain cleaner.
Is a smelly shower drain the same problem as a clogged one?
Not always. A smell with normal flow is usually biofilm in the trap or a dried out P-trap. A smell with slow flow means trapped debris has started to rot, and that one is worth clearing before it becomes a full blockage.
If the drain beats you, our residential plumbing team clears shower and tub drains across San Diego County, and there is a 24/7 emergency plumber on call if water is backing up right now.