Shower drains blocked

Beverley Macca

The drain from our shower is blocked. We've tried various drain unblocking products but the drain remains blocked. Can anyone advised of any really strong fluid which might do the trick. Thanks.

Shzm

We use one sold in the euro shop or whatever it is.. just make sure you leave it a good while (overnight pref) and it does the trick.

Sparkpea

hopefully its an easy clean shower trap, have u removed the inside of the waste fitting to remove hair etc?

often u will find that a waste pipe blocks at a bend and commonly where it goes into the gully or soil stack so if you can find where this is then remove the pipe out of the end of it and try to clear it

ive never really needed to use chemicals to clear a drain but from what I hear 'dambusters' is good stuff.

Buford T Justice

Caustic Soda. gets rid of all the nastiness.

Joey the lips

Just for records your not ment to use anything chemical to clean a shower especially caustic soda.. I tell you why and you will understand....

Shower trays always get blocked its the relationship between them and the thick hair products women use.

If you use caustic soda it will bubble up out of the tray and either damage the tray or the seal on the trap.

The simpleist solution is to pop the top off the shower trap and pull the inner out and clean if necessary....Sometimes the inner does not need to be pulled out...Popping the top off and cleaning out the sludge is enough.


This seems to be a daunting task to most people....possibly fear of messing up so what i would do is take a ramble into your nearest plumbers suppliers and tell them you are building a house the plumber is ordering the materials at the moment and he is talking about useing an easy clean shower trap. Ask them to show you how it works...

They are usually very accomadating....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5Gb3EWnb5o

Or else watch the above video..... Note i would not use the screwdriver but the handle of the toothbrush as you may damage the trap

sheepo

Hi,

Didn't know if it's better to reply to an old thread or begin a new one, hope this is ok.

Bought a house in Jan. The upstairs shower is very slow draining, it's not fully blocked but when it does drain down will leave the shower try looking dirty.

I've removed the shower trap and cleaned it of all hair etc, the blockage seems to be a lot further down.

I have tried several unblocking formulas, left them overnight etc.
I thought it might have been a mix of shampoo/shower gels type stuff built up over the years, so i slowly poured lots of boiling water down it to try melt through it or whatever, that didn't work either.

I then got flexible rods in Woodies and stuck them down as far as I could, I don't know whether they were eventually stopped by a bend or valve in the pipe or by whatever is actually obstructing it, but they didn't work either.

Just wondering before I get a plumber in is there anything else people here could suggest that I try?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

sky6

Is there a cleaning eye on the outside pipe. You may be able to ready it from the Cleaning Eye if there is.
Dambuster is also very good. It burns away anything that's not metal.

nmacc

If all else fails you can go to a plumber's merchants and get 97% Sulphuric Acid.

It's extremely dangerous and consequently you're unlikely to see it in any of the usual DIY emporia. Make sure you take all precautions including thick rubber gloves, safety glasses and long sleeves. It's also a good idea to have a bucket of cold water nearby in case of accidents.

Take as many parts as possible from the shower trap, especially all metal. Pour the acid in carefully and slowly, holding it at arm's length. Usually only a small amount is required. The pipes may get extremely hot - hot enough for the PVC to bend, so make sure the pipe is well supported. Any standing water in the pipe is likely to boil, so keep well back as this may cause the concentrated acid to splash back.

Like I say, it's very dangerous, but it has never failed me, unless there was something other than a normal organic blockage involved.

solargain

Have you tried a plunger to move the obstruction

K.Flyer

Too many chemicals will destroy the trap and pipe-work. As already suggested by solar gain, try using a good quality plunger, it rarely fails to clear the blockage.

Sleeper12

I hate to be a downer but if you have never seen it drain properly yourself then it's possible that the fall in the pipe isn't good enough and it may never drain the way you want.

Having said that I might as well mention that most people forget to try a plunger. Might be worth giving it a try

sheepo

thanks all for the replies - will get a plunger and use that, hopefully that'll do it