Whats the best thing to buy to fix a clogged shower drain?

Question

Ive tried Drano & The Works. What have you found is the best of these?

Answer 1

The clog is caused by either organic material, such as hair, soap, body oils, etc or inorganic material, such as water minerals, bits of plastic from shampoo bottles, etc.

If the clog is organic, the first thing to try id running the hot water for about 5 min. This will loosen and wash away the soap and oils. If that doesn't unclog sufficiently, add the chemicals. My experience is that a product with HCL (hydrochloric acis) is more efficient than others. Pour in and let sit for several hours if possible.

if inorganic, the above will make little difference, if any. You'll need a plumber's snake or a "fish" wire to free the clog.
If the clog is mineral deposits, the HCL will dissolve it, but will take a while.

Answer 2

First and foremost is older plumbing, from years of use and abuse, isn't as smooth inside as newer piping. So a rough surface, inside the pipe collects debris a lot easier than newer pipes. Also the drain stopper for the tub could be causing a problem too. When you try to clear the drain do you remove the stopper first? If so, whats the condition of it? Many people, when they plunge the drain of a tub, don't remove the stopper and plug the overflow. That's important to really making a plunger work it's magic by creating optimal suction. And the cleaner a drain is, the less likely it will be to collect more debris. Several years ago my dad bought a new house that had a very slow tub drain. A plumber told him it was an inherent flaw in the original piping. Well, to make a long story short, I bought a good plunger, removed the stopper and plunged the hell out of the drain and it suddenly started running fine and it's been that way ever since.

Answer 3

Try a plunger if that don't work get a snake from the hardware store or call a plumber i wouldn't put Drano or anything like that down your drains they do more harm then good most of the time.

Answer 4

I used Drano it worked. I just poured a certain amout in the drain. I bought the most expensive one. :)

Answer 5

If it is clogged bad; pour a gallon of thick clorox bleach down the drain; let it set; try running hot water down it. Repeat if necessary. Once a week thereafter; pour 2 cups down drain after running very hot water down it. Let set and run water again. Bleach dissolves the hair and soap scum; is rather inexpensive.

Answer 6

Buy a snake. You "snake" the coil down the drain and then pull out all the gunk. This will clear the drain better than any liquid.

Answer 7

Whenever it happens at our house, its usually because of the long hair from my kid. So I unscrew the drain part that pops up and get a clothes hanger and just pull the mess out. Grose but that beats getting a plumber!

Answer 8

I would try " Liquid Plummer ", that way you will not corrode the PVC drain pipe that is likely used to connect to the bottom of the shower stall.

Answer 9

Try some drain cleaner.

Answer 10

wear gloves, open up the drain and pull all of the hair out.