Start with the top: lift the strainer or the stopper
Before you reach for a tool that goes into the pipe, look at what is sitting in the drain opening. A mat of hair lying across the strainer is the most common reason a shower slows down, and a tub that holds water is often a stopper that is not lifting all the way.
Put on rubber gloves, because what you find will not be pleasant. Pull any visible hair straight up and out with your fingers, then run hot tap water and watch whether the level drops. If it does, you are done. If it drains slowly, move on to taking the cover off.
Shower strainers
Most shower strainers are a round metal or plastic cover held down by one or two screws in the middle. Back the screws out with a small screwdriver and lift the cover. Some are a snap-in design with no screws: slide a flat screwdriver under one edge and pry gently upward. Under the cover you will often find hair wrapped around the crossbars of the drain body. Pull it out, drop it in the trash and not back down the drain, and put the cover back on.
Tub stoppers: which kind do you have?
The tub is where the stopper changes everything, and there are several styles. Look at yours before you pull on it.
- Lift-and-turn. Put it in the fully raised position and unscrew it counterclockwise. The whole stopper comes out of the drain.
- Toe-touch (push to close). It also unscrews counterclockwise from the raised position. The cap may unscrew from the plunger assembly before the whole stopper comes out. If so, a nut is exposed underneath that unscrews the plunger assembly from the drain.
- Lever on the overflow plate. There is no stopper to pull, or the stopper is a small pop-up. A lever on the slotted plate works a linkage inside the wall. You reach the linkage by removing the plate (see the overflow section below).
- Other styles, such as push-pull knobs and flip-it levers. The cap or knob usually unscrews from its post. Check which model you have and do not force it.
If a lift-and-turn or toe-touch stopper spins without coming out, the threads are stripped. You can try steady upward pressure while you turn it. If that fails, the drain flange has to be unscrewed from the pipe, and that takes access from under the tub. That is a good place to stop.
How to unclog a shower drain with standing water
If the shower pan is already holding water, you cannot see the strainer, and that is fine. Reach down, back the screws out, and lift the cover out, hair and all. Standing water also changes your options: a barbed strip can still be pushed down through it, but a chemical opener poured into standing water just sits in the pan, as covered below. Work the strip, then run hot tap water and watch how fast the level falls. A level that drops slowly and steadily means the plug is partly open. A level that does not move means the plug is solid and probably past the strip's reach.
Pulling hair out with a barbed plastic strip
If the top of the drain is clear and the water still moves slowly, the hair has probably gathered a little farther down, in the first few inches of the pipe. A thin plastic strip with barbs along both edges, sold at hardware stores under several names (Drain Weasel is one), is the right tool. It costs very little effort and works well on exactly this kind of clog.
1. With the strainer or stopper out, slide the strip into the drain opening, barbs facing down, until it bends and stops against the trap.
2. Work it down by pushing and twisting slightly. Do not force it hard around a bend. The strip is flexible but it will not push through a solid plug.
3. When it will go no farther, pull it slowly straight back out. The barbs catch hair as the strip comes up, and it will often come out wearing a clump.
4. Wipe it off, repeat until it comes out clean, then run hot tap water for a minute and watch the level.
Getting into a tub drain through the overflow
A tub drain has a second opening: the slotted plate a few inches below the faucet end of the tub. It leads to a vertical tube that joins the drain below the stopper. That tube matters for two reasons. It is where a lever linkage hides and collects hair, and it is a better path for a cable than the drain opening, because the cable drops straight down instead of trying to turn the sharp corner below the drain.
1. Remove the two screws holding the overflow plate and ease the plate out. On a lever tub, the linkage comes with it. Draw it up slowly and clean the hair and soap off the rod and spring.
2. Set the linkage aside where it will not drop.
3. If you own a hand auger (a coiled cable with a crank handle), feed it down the overflow tube slowly. When it stops, turn the crank handle clockwise while pushing gently. When you feel it break through, pull back and feed again.
4. Run hot water and watch the tub.
A hand auger is commonly sold with a cable around 25 feet long, so it can reach well down a branch line. Reach is not the limit. It is turned by hand, so it has less cutting power than a powered machine, and it will not tell you what is down there. If you push it in and meet firm resistance that will not give, or the water drops but the drain gurgles and slows within days, it is time to stop.
Does a plunger work on a bathtub?
It can, for a soft plug close to the drain. Run enough water in the tub to cover the cup of the plunger, plug the overflow opening with a wet rag so the pressure goes down the drain and not out the overflow, and plunge steadily. The risk is the one covered below: a plunge can push a soft plug past the trap into the branch line instead of pulling it out. Never plunge if a chemical opener has been poured in, because the liquid can splash back at your face.
Home remedies: baking soda and vinegar, hot water, dish soap and a bent hanger
Baking soda followed by vinegar fizzes, and it feels like something is happening. One plumbing manufacturer's guide says natural mixtures like this open a blockage only partially. It does loosen a little light film and it is fine for freshening a drain. It does not dissolve a wad of hair, because the fizz is mostly carbon dioxide and water, and hair is protein. Treat it as maintenance and not as a way to clear a blocked tub.
Dish soap and hot tap water make a slippery rinse for a greasy film. They will not pull a clump of hair out of a pipe. A bent wire coat hanger can snag hair in the first inch or two of a drain. It also scratches the finish and can shove a plug farther down, so the barbed strip is the better tool for the same job.
Hot tap water is fine. Boiling water is another matter. A pipe maker lists standard PVC drain pipe as limited to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and boiling water is 212, so hot tap water is the safer choice for a plastic drain line.
Is shower drain cleaner safe, and what if the tub is still clogged after one?
Shop-bought liquid openers fall into two groups: caustic (lye) and acid. They work by chemical reaction and heat, and in a tub or shower the liquid can sit in the trap and the pan rather than moving down the line. Do not use one if you plan to snake the drain afterward, because you would be pushing a tool through standing chemical that can splash.
If you already used an opener and the tub is still clogged, leave it alone. Wear eye protection and gloves, do not plunge, do not add a second product, and tell the technician when you call. Never mix two products, and never follow one with another.
Why is my shower draining slowly when there is no hair?
Hair is the most common cause, but it is not the only one. Soap scum narrows the pipe wall over time, and in hard-water homes mineral deposits can do the same. Older cast iron pipe can also form rust scale inside. None of these show up at the strainer, and none of them are pulled out by a barbed strip. A drain that is slow with a clean strainer, or a tub that will not drain even though the stopper is open and the overflow linkage is clear, usually has narrowing below the trap. That calls for a longer tool or a scouring one.
Where this goes wrong
The honest truth about shower and tub clogs is that the quick fixes work on the first layer and then run out of reach.
- The strip pulls out a clump but the water still stands. The plug extends past where the strip reaches, or the pipe wall is coated with soap residue.
- The clog is gone but returns in a few weeks. Hair is rarely the whole story. A coating of soap scum narrows the pipe, and the hair catches on the narrowed part again.
- You push the clog farther down. A plunger or short cable can move a soft plug past the trap into the branch line, where it settles in a place you cannot reach.
When should I stop and call a plumber?
Stop and call if any of these are true:
- The water is still standing after you have cleared the strainer or stopper and made two or three passes with a strip.
- Water backs up into the tub or shower when you run the washing machine, flush a toilet, or use the sink.
- More than one drain in the house is slow at the same time, or a toilet bubbles when the tub drains.
- What comes up smells like sewage or looks dark. See sewage coming up in the shower first, because that is a different and more urgent problem.
- A cable meets a hard stop and will not go farther, or the clog comes back within weeks of being cleared.
- A stopper will not unscrew and the drain flange is spinning.
For a stubborn shower or tub, our page on clogged shower and tub drains explains what the job involves from our side. If you would rather not guess, call (208) 366-5771. For how cabling works on any fixture, see drain snaking, and for the wider picture see drain cleaning and clogged drain repair. Where soap has coated the full length of the pipe, hydro jetting is the tool that scours the pipe wall. If the drain also smells, see smelly shower drain.
What it costs to have us do it
Clearing a single branch line, one fixture and not a main line clog, is covered by our $59 drain cleaning special. Past that, what moves the price is which fixture is involved, whether there is a cleanout or other way in, whether the line needs a cable or jetting, and whether the trouble sits in the branch or the main. We diagnose first, then hand you a flat price in writing that you approve before anything starts. It is a flat rate and not an hourly meter, and on-site estimates are free.
Why does my shower drain slowly but never fully stop?
Soap and hair narrow the pipe over time, and hard-water minerals or rust scale can do the same, so water has less room to pass. Clearing the top of the drain helps only if the narrowing is near the opening.
Is boiling water safe for a clogged shower drain?
Hot tap water is fine. A pipe maker lists standard PVC drain pipe as limited to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and boiling water is 212.
Should I plunge a bathtub?
It can work on a soft plug close to the drain. Cover the plunger cup with water, block the overflow with a wet rag, and never plunge after pouring in a chemical opener.
My tub is still clogged after using a drain opener. What now?
Do not add another product and do not plunge, because the liquid can splash back. Wear eye protection and gloves, and tell the technician what you used when you call.
Where we work
American Rooter & Drain was established in Caldwell, Idaho in 1945 and has worked the greater Treasure Valley since 1945. We clear shower and tub drains in Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Meridian, Kuna, Eagle, Star, Middleton, Garden City, Emmett and the rest of the valley, plus Ontario, Nyssa and Vale in Oregon. See what we do in Boise, Nampa, Caldwell and Meridian. Call (208) 366-5771, days, nights, weekends and holidays.
