Clogged Shower Drain

Clearing Clogged Shower Drains

Serving Vancouver WA | Portland OR

More than likely, your shower drain is clogged due to hair and soap scum. Clogged bathtub drains are usually pretty shallow and easily fixable, but sometimes clogs can build up, deep down under your fixtures, and become incredibly stubborn to repair on your own. Your local plumbers at Pacific Plumbing & Drain Services can help with all your drain cleaning projects–even the toughest clogged shower and tub drains!

From our professional experience, most shower and tub clogs can be resolved without calling a professional. The concept of shower or tub drain cleaning is simple: remove the drop stopper, and pull–not push!–the clog up and out of your drain. The trickiest part of cleaning clogged tub drain tends to be removing the drop stopper.

How to Remove Your Tub’s Drop Stopper.

Every drop stopper seems to be a little different. Here are some of the different shower drain stoppers we’ve encountered over the years:

1. Can you unscrew the knob used to lift the stopper?
   • The most commonly found drop stoppers have a knob that screws off unveiling the screw cap.
   • If you are able to unscrew the knob, the screw cap underneath simply requires a few turns with a screwdriver to remove it completely.
   • Once it has been removed you can use a coat hanger to scoop up the hair and soap scum clogging the pipe.
2. Other drop stoppers release when they are pushed down on twice.
   • The first push typically seals the drain, and the second releases the drop stopper, allowing you to quickly screw it off.
3. Older shower/tub combinations tend to have the lever stopper variation of a drop stopper.
   • With this type of drop stopper, the lever connected to the overflow plate must be flipped down, which allows easy removal of the drain screen.
   • Once the drain screen is removed, you should be easily able to retrieve the junk clogging the drain.

How to Clear Clogged Shower Drains

When attempting at home shower and tub drain remedies, be sure to not push clogs back down the drain. Try to pull clogs up and out of the drain. Pushing clogs further down pipes can result in hard clogs that become increasingly difficult to resolve. If you’re not having any luck clearing your shower or tub drain, call Pacific Plumbing & Drain Services today! We’ll have your shower drain cleared before you know it.

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