Do you know how to clean your shower drain? If the water level is rising around your ankles during your morning shower, it’s time to clean your shower drain. Shower drains often become clogged with a mixture of hair and soapy residue, building up into a blockage that can cause major hassles for your home’s plumbing system. If you let them go for too long, they can create a lot of damage to your sewer system. They can also create a mold condition from slow draining inside your shower stall.
Fortunately, you don’t need to be a plumbing and sewage expert to remove the majority of shower drain blockages. With some basic cleaning supplies and a little DIY know-how, you should be able to clear the drains and have water flowing freely once again. Here’s how to do it.
Supplies That You’ll Need to Clean Your Shower Drain
- You will need an all-purpose spray cleaner of your choice. Your regular bathroom cleaning spray will do the trick, or you may prefer to use a mixture of white vinegar and baking soda.
- Paper towels. You’ll use these to collect the gunk from the shower waste and throw it away.
- A screwdriver. Depending on your shower waste, there may be a few screws you’ll need to remove in order to get to the clog.
How to Clean Your Shower Waste
In most cases, what’s causing the water to back up will be build up in the shower waste area. This is the part of the shower that catches debris before it enters into your pipes. It’s something you’ll want to clear out on a regular basis to prevent clogs. Manufacturers design these to be easy to clean, so it shouldn’t be difficult to access once you know how to do it.
To access the waste area, you’ll pop off or unscrew the cover over the drain in your shower pan. When you pull it out, get your paper towels ready, so you can start cleaning the hair and build-up inside. Simply wipe up as much as you can and then clean all the parts with your bathroom spray. You may find it easier to clean this by taking it apart (this is where the screwdriver comes in handy again!).
Next, reach inside the drain and remove the water trap that’s inside. It looks like a little cup, and its purpose is to catch debris from the water before it enters your pipes and where it can cause damage. Just clean this out, as well, and spray it with your bathroom cleaner.
Before you put all the pieces back together, give the drain a wipe down with your favorite cleaning product and paper towels. Clean both the inside of the drain (as far as you can reach) and around the entrance of the drain. The cleaner you can leave this area, the better it will be for your shower and your plumbing. When finished, you can put the water trap and drain cover back in place, making sure you screw it back together if you took it apart.
When done, run your shower to make sure the water is now draining correctly.
What to Do If There Is Still Standing Water in the Shower
If you are still experiencing issues with a slow-draining shower, then it may be time to call in a professional. If you’ve cleaned the drain, then there may be a clog in the pipes. A plumber can run a camera into your pipes and take a look to see what’s stopping the water. In some cases you may have a grease clogged drain pipe. As many soaps are based on vegetable or animal fat, grease clogs can occur in showers, or bathroom sinks. It is advisable to seek out soaps not made using fats, they are readily available.
It’s important that you don’t let shower drain issues linger. The longer you let them go, the more damage they can end up causing to your plumbing and sewage systems. Ultimately, it can cause a problem with your water main, and they can become an expensive and time-consuming problem to fix.
Have a question about your sewer pipes or water main? Contact Balkan Drain Cleaning today.