No one wants to take a bath while they’re taking a shower. If you’ve ever had a slow-draining or drain clogged shower, you know what we’re talking about.
The whole reason you took that shower in the first place was probably that you were too dirty for a bath! Now you’re standing ankle-deep in your dirty water and it’s hard to feel clean.
Want to know what to do about it? Here are three things that may have caused your drain to clog and what to do about them.
1. Too Many DIY Spa Treatments
Are you, or someone in your household, obsessed with at-home DIY beauty treatments? Skin scrubs, facials, hair masks, etc that all come out of what you have in the fridge or cupboard? That could be leading to a drain clog.
Your brain is built to deal with liquid and some hair buildup. It’s not engineered to push things like oats, coffee grounds, bananas, or oils through. Those things get caught in the curves of your pipe and form a paste that can effectively glue your drain shut.
It sounds random, we know. But google “DIY beauty treatments” or “at home face-masks” and you’ll see exactly what we’re talking about and how popular they are.
2. You Have a Hair Clog
One of the most common things a plumbing service comes out to investigate is clogged shower drains. Homeowners complain that their showers have been draining slower and slower for weeks until they feel like they’re taking a bath and shower all at once.
And what’s one of the main culprits of that? Hair buildup in the drain, especially if people in the family have long or thick hair, or if there are a lot of people using one shower.
There is a way to fix this yourself, but it only works if the clog is small and should be done regularly. It’s called snaking the drain and to be honest, it’s pretty gross. To clean out mild hair clogs, purchase a drain snake, which will look like a long plastic string with hooks on it.
Drain your tub or shower and put on gloves. Then, push the drain snake down the drain as far as it will go and jiggle it around. Don’t pull up and down yet, just try to get it as deep in the pipe as possible without losing your grip on the handle.
Then, slowly and steadily, pull up. The hair clog should have caught on the hooks and will come out wrapped around the drain snake. Starting at the bottom of the snake, wipe upwards with a paper towel to remove the hair and gunk. Then dispose of it outside, since it will probably smell.
Snake your drain every 2-3 months to keep things running smoothly.
3. Your Kids Are Playing Plumber
If you can’t figure out why a drain is clogged and you have small kids, those cuties may be the culprit. You’d be surprised what plumbers have found in pipes over the years. Everything from toy cars, to wedding rings, to smashed up crayons.
Make sure to remind your children that only water goes down the drain and then get a plumber on the phone ASAP.
Drain Clogged No More
One important thing to note, no matter how clogged your drain is, is that you should never use Draino or Liquid Plumber. These are corrosive chemicals that will hurt your pipes over time.
The best way to deal with a drain clogged by a mystery source? Call a plumber. It is their job, after all!
