We’ve all been standing in the shower having a perfectly lovely time, maybe you have just put your favourite shampoo in your hair and you’re brushing it all between the follicles and boom you look down, your feet are enclosed in your used soapy water.
You might think to yourself, well why’s that happening then? In most cases it’s a blockage. That’s right, a blockage.
Over time your drain can get clogged with all sorts of hair that you wouldn’t even notice you’re missing, over time this can create an environment that is very difficult for water to pass through. Not to panic though!
The fix is quicker than you think but it does depend on what type of drain you actually have.
It could be a screw in, or a push and pull, a lift and turn, a pop up, a toe touch cover or even a flip it drain cover. Don’t worry we’ve got you covered for all your drain needs.
Often the worst part of clearing the drain is the removal of what is causing the blockage, the best bit of advice is to grab some paper towels and do what needs to be done, it shouldn’t take long and once it’s sorted you can go back to taking your lovely long showers.
Push and Pull
To remove a push and pull drain cover you’ll have to hold the body of the stopper, so that it sits in place and simply unscrew the knob on top, unscrew it counter clockwise. You should use some pliers and some sort of rag to stop anything from scratching the surface, then unscrew the brass part underneath the flat head then you simply lift the stopper and you’ll find your blockage.
Screw in
These are quite simple and do exactly what it says on the tin, find the right head screwdriver and simply unscrew.
Pop up
These are some of the easiest drain covers to remove, you simply have to pull it straight up and the drain cover will be ip ready for you to remove the item that is blocking the water from passing through smoothly and rapidly.
Toe Touch
Toe touch drain covers and be opened and closed with a push of a toe (hence the name) this style will sometimes need the stopper to be unscrewed, from its opened position, removing the cap from the open position after the stopper is unscrewed.
Lift and Turn
A Lift and turn drain cover is regularly confused with a push and pull drain cover, once you have “lifted and turned” the drain cover if your lift and turn drain cover has a screw you will need to unscrew that but if it doesn’t you can just turn it counterclockwise to remove.
Flip It
A flip it drain cover is again a very simple one, you need no tools but instead to just pull it free from its position by the body of it and rotate as you pull
Still Not Working
If none of the above have worked to their full ability and you still notice a clog then don’t panic there are still plenty of things you can do to get your water running smoothly.
One thing you can try is plastic drain clog tools, these look like zip ties to an untrained eye, but zip ties with spikes to be exact, it is recommended that before you use these that you maybe put some gloves on and some goggles to avoid the inevitable splatter that it will create.
But the process is simple, you run the tool down the drain and pull it back up, it will hopefully bring up the debris that’s causing the block, keep doing this from different sides of the drain until it is completely clear.
You could also use a home solution of baking soda and vinegar, by creating this mix you need to simply pour it down the drain in question and let it settle for around 20 minutes. Once this 20 minutes is up, boil a kettle and pour that down the drain too.
If none of the options above sound right for you, then it may be time to pull out the plunger, you want to add around an inch of water so it sits over the drain cover and place a rag over the drain cover.
Then it’s time to plunge, plunge forcefully and repeatedly for around 4-5 times.
Not Again
You may find that this is a problem that is recurring to stop yourself from having to deal with the hassle of removing the drain to clear it, if your drain is compatible you can purchase a hair catcher, these are inexpensive and will save you from having to unclog your drain on a regular basis.
In Summary
A clogging of a shower drain is not a situation that you should panic in, initially seeing the water rise or not pass through the drain properly can be quite alarming for some, you simply need to determine what type of shower drain cover you have and follow the relevant method of removing that drain cover.
Once removed the next part is easy but a little gross, just remove the blockage. If that hasn’t work then there are of course other methods that don’t even require you taking the drain cover off.
Like mentioned earlier you can use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar and simply pour that down the drain, then you need to pour boiling hot water down the very same drain about 20 minutes later.
Or you could use the standard plunging method. Perhaps the plastic drain clog tools are the route for you though, in expensive of course but a little time consuming.
If the issue is a one that keeps popping up then you can purchase a hair catcher but it’s important to remember that these aren’t compatible for any drains, so you should check before you buy.
