Clogged shower drain -advice wanted

[surfsatwerk]

Thank you all for your suggestions!

I probably went overboard, but I bought some lye, a drain snake, and one of those gadgets you hook your hose up to. Better to be prepared

Srsly fight club that shit. Post pics tomorrow for many internet points.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

You very first thought with a clogged anything should be a plunger.

 

[Drako]

You very first thought with a clogged anything should be a plunger.

That's not going to work on hair and female filth.

 

[surfsatwerk]

That's not going to work on hair and female filth.

Just put a wet rag in the overflow and they work like a charm.

 

[angminas]

Feralkid said everything I was going to say. The first time you use a Zip-it to clear a hair clog will be pretty memorable. Have a trash bag handy.

 

[keird]

 

[Scarpozzi]

Drano and Liquid Plumber are both bleach-based are both bleach-based chemicals.

I typically buy "Main Line Cleaner" from Walmart...it comes in a nice 1 gallon jug. It's basically Lye. That stuff is pretty caustic and works wonders on clearing your whole system out.

Remove your drain grate.....then try to remove any hair you can before treating... I typically can pull a whole plug of hair out at this step....then run hot water for a bit if it doesn't back up....then pour a pint or two down the drain....let it sit for 15 minutes....then follow up with hot water for 5 minutes to flush the line.

If the water does back up, let it totally drain, then pour a few pints until you see some lye standing in the bottom of the tub. Let stand for 15 minutes. ....run hot water for 5 minutes to flush the line.....repeat process as needed.

Aside from that, you need to go to the root cause of the problem and see about replacing the drain grate on your tub. They make some that tend to catch more hair than others. If you can keep her hair from going down the drain and keep it clean after every shower, you may be able to deter the buildup.

None of the chemicals will totally dissolve hair quickly... They just dissolve enough so what's there more easily goes down the drain. Its far easier to remove it manually and use the chemicals to clear any additional debris in the line.

 

[mikeford]

The Zipit is good, Home Depot, or Harbor Freight, but you should also get at least a small drain snake, and trap for hair.

Two or three kinds of liquid stuff, strong acid, strong base, and enzyme. Don't every attempt to use two different kinds without the drain being totally flushed of the previous stuff. I would try a week or so treatment with the enzyme stuff first, then make the jump to the hard core acid, be careful with it too.

 

[dbk]

omg @ that notice!! LOL!!!!!!!!! Clearly they need to upgrade the drain pipes.. jeez

 

[alkemyst]

Get one of these zip-line things from Home Depot. They work great and they're under $5:

Also put some kind of hair trap over your drain. I specifically had our showers built with 2" drains for this reason. My wife loses more hair than I've had on my head in a lifetime.

Living with a lot of long haired women in my time, this is the best tool for the job.

I have found it's more or less the bathtub style drains that suffer the worse and showers with a grated type drain rarely.

Also if you have metal pipes DO NOT USE DRAINO regularly. I have an issue with my main drain due to the previous homeowners believing weekly Draino treatments are key to proper plumbing maintenance.

The bottom of my pipe where the seam is has corroded. The previous homeowner also partially covered it in concrete so replacement is going to be painful.

Also if you are going to snake a bathtub drain vigorously make sure you have access to the trap in case it separates from the bottom of the drain/stopper. If not you may find yourself cutting into drywall from the other side of the wall or worse.

 

[artvscommerce]

I think Kramers solution is the best. Just install a garbage disposal in your drain! Not only will it solve your draining problem, but you'll be able to prepare your meals while you bathe! Multitasking at its finest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaudUAHZinw

 

[Red Squirrel]

Don't worry too too much about the effects on the environment, the sewage system goes to the treatment plant first. Don't overdo it with chemicals but some draino or equivalnt here and there is not going to hurt anything.

What I would try is fill the tub up with water and let it drain, do this every now and then as a preventative measure. I don't know if it would actually work but it seems to me it probably would help as if anything is slowly building up it should help clear it out before it turns into a big clog. A hair catcher is not a bad idea either, that will tangle around the drain grill and stuff and may not get flushed out properly.

Actually on second thought be more careful with chemicals if your pipes are cast iron. Try to avoid acid based stuff.

 

[RossMAN]

Another vote for ZipIt available for about $3 at most local stores, we usually buy ours from Walmart B&M.

It says single use but we use ours 3-4 times before chucking them.