What to Do If Your Shower Drain Keeps Clogging

Raise your hand if you’ve experienced this scenario: You go to take a nice hot shower, only to find your feet are submerged in a shallow, murky puddle thanks to yet another clogged drain. Those aggravating shower clogs always seem to resurface at the most inconvenient times, don’t they? Like when you’re running late for an important meeting or have guests arriving any minute.

Instead of having a total meltdown and making the hairy situation even worse, let’s all take a collective deep breath. We’re going to get to the bottom of why your shower keeps draining at a snail’s pace and how to get that water flowing like it should again. We’ll investigate all the potential culprits – from gunky hair monsters to soap scum buildup and more.

You’ll get the full scoop on simple preventative measures to avoid future clogs in the first place. We’ll also share some easy DIY unclogging tricks worth trying before you surrender and call in a professional plumber. And of course, you’ll know exactly when it’s time to wave the white flag and bring in the drain-busting backup. No more shower puddle nightmares, just clear, free-flowing drains ahead!

Common Causes of Shower Drain Clogs

Okay, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty on what’s really causing that shower drain to back up on you. As we’re sure you’ve already guessed, hair is usually the biggest pain when it comes to clogged shower drains. But it’s definitely not the only thing making a mess down there.

Hair Nightmares

It’s obvious, but all that hair going down the drain during your showers is a total drain clogging disaster waiting to happen. Even if you don’t have crazy long locks, it doesn’t take much for those short strands to start tangling and binding together into a thick, nasty obstructive clump over time. And if you do have a full mane of thick hair? Well, those massive drain hairballs are inevitable.

Don’t forget about the hair you’re shedding when shaving too! Whether it’s from shaving your legs, face, pits, or wherever, those little hair snippets have this uncanny ability to accumulate and compact down into solid drain blockers.

Oh, and any pet owners out there with furry friends that shed like crazy? You can bet there’s a nice mix of pet hair contributing to your slow drain woes as well. It all binds together shockingly fast.

Soap Scum Sludge

But hair isn’t the only stringy gunk making a mess of your shower drain. All the soap residue, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash gunk can also create some serious drain havoc by coating and clogging those pipes over time. That persistent soap scum buildup acts like the perfect sticky surface for hair and debris to start clinging and binding into a solid clogged mass.

Think about it – every time you use a bar of soap, body wash, shampoo, hair products, you name it, there’s at least a little bit of that residue trickling its way down your drain. It might not seem like much at first, but it adds up fast into a nasty, clog-forming sludge mix.

Random Object Offenders

We’ve all done it before – you accidentally knock or drop something in the shower, whether it’s a hair tie, razor, kid’s bath toy, you name it. But those seemingly innocent little objects have this funny way of disappearing straight down the drain, only to get stuck and start obstructing water flow. Even a simple washcloth or towel can cause a clog if it gets tugged down there.

Don’t forget about jewelry, accessories, or other loose bits and bobs that could potentially go AWOL down your shower drain too. Anything from rings to bobby pins to spare change could be the clogging culprit you never suspected.

Crappy Pipe Problems

In some cases, the core issue has absolutely nothing to do with what’s actually going down your drain in the first place. Sometimes the real problem lies with the condition of the pipes themselves. Older pipes that are deteriorating can develop cracks, corrosion, or mineral buildup that narrows the interior diameter and allows all that hair and debris to get trapped more easily.

Pipes that weren’t installed properly with the right sloping can create low spots where water just pools and stagnates. This allows all that hair, soap gunk, and random junk to just accumulate over time into a solid clogged mess. Tree roots infiltrating underground pipes from outside can lead to obstructed drains too.

So in a nutshell, the main culprits clogging up your shower drain are likely hair (from you and your pets!), sticky soap scum buildup, random objects going rogue, and old crappy pipes. Figuring out which ninja you’re dealing with is key to finding the best way to unclog that drain for good!

Preventive Measures

Of course, it’s always better to prevent nasty clogged shower drains from happening in the first place instead of having to deal with the mess later on. There are some easy things you can do to stay ahead of gunky buildup.

Use a Drain Cover

One of the simplest preventative steps is just getting a drain cover or hair catcher for your shower drain. These cheap little mesh or perforated covers let water flow through while trapping hair, soap gunk, and other debris before it escapes down the drain. Just make a habit of giving it a quick rinse or empty after each shower. No special plumbing skills required to install them!

Be Smarter with Hair & Products

It’s also key to be mindful of what you’re letting go down that shower drain in the first place. Take a few minutes to brush out any loose hair before even hopping in the shower. This stops a lot of strands from needlessly clogging things up right off the bat.

When using soap, shampoo, conditioner or other hair gunk, try not to just rinse it straight down the drain if you can avoid it. That’s basically like flushing sludge straight into your pipes. Use a drain strainer or hair catcher to catch and toss that residue properly.

Give it a Routine Cleaning

Even if you’re being super careful about what gets rinsed down there, it’s still smart to give your shower pipes a little routine cleaning every so often. Do a monthly drain refresh by dumping some baking soda and vinegar down there, letting it sit for a bit, then flushing with hot water. You can also get one of those cheap little drain snake tools to manually pull out hair and gunk buildup every couple months.

Using an enzyme-based drain cleaner product here and there can help too. Look for eco-friendly formulas that use bacteria to break down organic matter over time.

Inspect Pipe Condition

If you’ve got older pipes or notice any slow drainage issues, you may also want to have a plumber come do a camera inspection every so often. This can identify cracks, mineral buildup, improper sloping, or invasive tree roots that could be contributing to clogs before it becomes a total nightmare.

Replace Old Pipes

In some cases with really old, crappy pipes, it may be time to just bite the bullet and re-pipe everything with new materials like PVC or PEX. This prevents a ton of the corrosion and mineral buildup issues that old metal pipes are prone to. Just make sure they’re installed properly with the right sloping.

A little preventative maintenance really does go a long way! Taking some simple precautions like using drain covers, being mindful of what’s going down there, and keeping up with routine cleaning can save you one serious clogged drain headache down the road.

Unclogging Methods

Okay, so you’ve already let the clog situation get out of hand and you’re stuck dealing with a stubborn, slow-draining shower. No need to panic just yet! There are some DIY unclogging tricks worth trying before you throw in the towel and call a plumber.

Give It a Forceful Plunge

Sometimes a little old-fashioned elbow grease is all you need. Plungers aren’t just for unclogging toilets – they can work wonders on shower drain clogs too if you use ’em right. First, make sure you get a good tight seal by filling the shower base with enough water to cover the plunger cup. Then start plunging it up and down like there’s no tomorrow. It might take some serious muscle power, but a vigorous plunging session can be surprisingly effective for dislodging clogs.

Snake It Out

For tougher drain blockages that won’t budge no matter how much you plunge, you might need to go in for a closer look with a drain snake. These long, flexible little auger cables can reach way down into the pipes to grab onto hair clumps, soap sludge buildup, or whatever nasty clog monster is lurking down there. 

You can get basic hand-cranked models or fancier powered auger snakes. Just don’t go too crazy with the cranking and risk damaging pipes. Slowly and patiently work that snake back and forth to try grabbing and pulling out the gunky clog.

Baking Soda Volcano

If you want to take a more natural, eco-friendly approach to unclogging, you can try the baking soda and vinegar trick. First, pour a bunch of baking soda directly down the clogged drain, then follow it with some vinegar. You’ll get a fun little volcano-like fizzing reaction as the baking soda and vinegar work to help dissolve hair, soap scum, and other gunk. Let it sit and do its thing for 10-15 minutes before flushing everything out with a kettle of boiling water. Might need a few rounds for really stubborn clogs.

Store-Bought Drain Cleaners

If you’d rather not mess with DIY ingredient combos, just grab one of those store-bought drain cleaning products instead. Look for the eco-friendly enzyme and bacteria-based formulas that are designed to eat away at hair, soap residue, and organic gunk over time. Just be careful with those harsh chemical drain cleaners – they can potentially mess up pipes.

Vacuum Power

For really nasty, solidified shower clogs that just won’t budge no matter what you try, it might be time to bring in some serious suction power. A wet/dry shop vacuum can sometimes dislodge and suck out even the most compacted, stubborn drain blockages when other methods fail. Just make sure you get a nice tight seal over the drain for maximum vacuum force.

Those are some of the top clog-busting tactics worth trying yourself before throwing in the towel. If none of that seems to fix the slow drain though, it’s probably time to call in a professional plumber with the really big drain snakes and rooter machines. Sometimes you just need those heavy-duty tools to knock out the nastiest clogs!

It’s Clog-Busting Time!

You now have all the knowledge and tricks to wage war against those annoying clogged shower drains. Whether you want to try using a drain hair catcher for prevention or go full baking soda volcano mode, you’ve got an arsenal of DIY unclogging tactics at your disposal.

But listen, if those stubborn drain clogs are just too solidified and nasty for you to fix on your own, don’t be a hero. Know when to call in the professional reinforcements from a trusted local plumbing company. Somewhere like Precision Today, who has decades of experience sending our drain unclogging ninjas to clear every kind of gunked-up, hair-filled shower drain disaster you can imagine. Just one call to (630) 425-8995 and we’ll dispatch the big drain snake cavalry to power through and eliminate that clog quickly.

No more cringing at gross shower puddles or snail’s pace draining. Just free-flowing drains and the sweet relief of showers operating like they should. Don’t let those clogged drain nightmares linger – pick up that phone and let Precision’s pros make them history!