Showers are like any other drain in your home: sometimes they get clogged and it’s up to you and a dedicated plumbing professional to take care of it.
However, before you start pouring chemicals down the drain, we’d like to go through a few solutions that might be better choices for your home plumbing system. Chemicals, as we’ve mentioned on our blog before, can be extremely harmful for your health, the environment, and your plumbing system if you’re not careful. That’s why we have some simple DIY solutions, as well as the advice to contact a professional plumbing team like ours for your drain unclogging needs.
For anything that has to do with plumbing in Bucks County, make sure you’ve got the right team on standby to get your problems solved as soon as possible.
Anatomy of a Shower Drain
Shower drains are a little different from your average sink faucet or toilet. They often are in direct contact with our bodies, usually with a protective grating that keeps anything that’s not liquid out, so chemicals are usually the worst idea for these drains. Chemicals will stick around for a lot longer than we’d like and can either come in direct contact with your body or will eat away at the metal grating that keeps your shower drain healthy, as well as the pipes below it. Good thing there are some better solutions to try.
Boiling Water
If you’ve got a problem with soap or grease, boiling water should remove that clog pretty easily. Boiling water will dissolve anything that becomes soluble at high temperatures, which includes soap, grease, or any other cleaners we might use in the shower.
Using a Plunger
Plungers can be a great DIY way to relieve your shower of a clog. Plungers use a nominal amount of pressure to relieve the clog. Try using the plunger with some water in the shower area to increase the pressure, making sure the plunger is submerged. Also, using petroleum jelly on the edge of the suction pad could improve the seal and help get a better result.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
While still technically a “chemical,” baking soda and vinegar is a natural chemical solution to a drain clog. It’s harmless to you and the plumbing system. Start by pouring a cup of baking soda down the drain and after waiting a few minutes pour a cup of vinegar down the shower drain as well. After waiting a couple of hours, there’s a good chance your drain clog is gone. Clear out the drain with hot water and you should be fine.
Drain Snake
A drain snake can be an effective tool for removing a clog that’s usually formed from hair or other material. While they can be harder to maneuver down a drain that’s got a metal grating on it, they’re still a great DIY solution.
Call a Professional Plumber
If none of the following tricks can solve your shower drain issue, a plumber will always get to the bottom of it and relieve the problem. From hydro jets to industrial drain snakes, plumbers have a huge arsenal of equipment at their disposal.
Don’t hesitate, call Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling today and solve your drain clog problem!