Is your shower drain clogged? 5 tips on how to unclog a shower drain

The cause of a blocked shower drain

Hair is the number one cause of a blocked shower drain. As hair and soap residues accumulate in the drains, your shower drain becomes blocked. Fortunately, the first signs of a blocked shower drain are easy to recognise. Does the water from your shower cubicle drain slower every time and do you have a smelly drain? Time to unclog the shower drain and to prevent a serious blockage in your drains.

If you have a serious blockage, the water from the shower cubicle does not drain away at all. The shower cubicle overflows and the bathroom floods. Besides water damage to the bathroom, stagnant water in the pipes is a source of bacteria and nasty smells.

A blocked shower drain also reduces the lifespan of the pipes. Fortunately, a blockage is easy to prevent and with the right products you can always take a shower without blockages.

Unclog the shower drain yourself

Unblock the shower drain with products you already have at home. We have collected a number of DIY tips you can try. You remove hair from your drains easily and without mess with our HG drain and plug hair unblocker.

1. Unblock the shower drain with your hands

Open the shower drain and remove the hair from the drain with your fingers. If the blockage is deeper down? Solve the problem by using metal wire:

1. Take a piece of metal wire.
2. Create a hook at the end of the wire.
3. Push the metal wire with the hook down the drain until you feel the blockage.
4. Pull the wire up in a rotating motion. Hair and soap residues will be brought up by the hook.

Keep an old towel, bucket or wastepaper bin handy so you can get rid of the mess from the drain. Do not rinse this down the drain, but throw it in the bin. Then wash your hands.

2. Unblock the shower drain with a plunger

With a plunger you put pressure on a blockage. It comes loose and disappears down the drain. Put the suction cap of the plunger over the shower drain and produce an up and down movement with the handle. The water starts to drain away again.

Only use the plunger when your shower drain has a minor blockage. A serious blockage can become stuck again deeper down the drain after using a plunger. This produces major complications.

3. Unblock with a drain cleaning coil

You use a drain cleaning coil to loosen the blockage in the shower drain, so the water starts to drain away again. Use the drain cleaning coil by rolling it out, pushing it down the drain and loosening the blockage. The drain cleaning coil reaches deep into your pipes and helps to remove deep blockages.

For this method it is also recommended to have an old towel at hand. It means you can capture the dirt from the drains immediately.   

4. Unblock a shower drain with a mixture of baking soda, cleaning vinegar and hot water

Unblock your blocked shower drain with a home-made unblocker. This product dissolves shampoo residues and hair, which means the water can drain away again. This is how you make the unblocker: 

1. Mix 50 gram of baking soda with 80 millilitre of cleaning vinegar in a bucket (NB: do this in the bathroom, because this mixture starts to foam immediately). 
2. Pour the mixture down the drain.
3. Leave it to absorb for an hour.
4. Then rinse the pipes clean with hot water.

With this product you unblock a minor blockage in a shower drain or unblock a bathroom sink. If the water still doesn't drain after using this mixture? Dissolve it with a powerful unblocker, such as HG drain and plug hair unblocker.

The most effective solution for a blocked shower drain

The above tips are convenient if you're looking for a quick DIY solution for your blocked shower drain. Yet the chance of success is not guaranteed and these unblocking methods cause mess and dirt in your bathroom.

The simplest way of unblocking your shower is to use a high-quality liquid unblocker, such as HG drain and plug hair unblocker. The unblocker is ready to use and the special formula dissolves soap residues and hair quickly. You can shower again without a blockage within an hour. 

HG drain and plug hair unblocker is strengthened with potassium hydroxide and ensures that hair, soap residues and other dirt in your drains dissolve. The unblocker is easy to use and the 2 components make it extremely effective. This is how you use HG drain and plug hair unblocker:

1. Remove the surplus water from the shower tray.
2. Carefully pour the entire content of bottle 1 down the blocked drain. Now do the same with bottle 2.
3. Leave it all to work for 1 hour.
4. Now rinse with plenty of water and your drains are free from blockages.

3 ways of preventing hair in a shower drain

You cannot avoid hair and soap residues in your shower drain. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to prevent a blocked drain. For example:

1. You can remove hair from the drain every time after showering.
2. Let hot water run down the drain after showering.
3. Put a drain catcher over the shower drain. Hair and soap residues stay on the drain catcher and no longer end up in your drains.

Frequently Asked Questions about a blocked shower drain

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