Signs of a shower or tub drain clog
- Water pooling around your feet during a shower
- The tub takes a long time to empty after a bath
- A ring of soap and scum that keeps getting thicker
- Gurgling from the tub when a nearby sink or toilet drains
- Dirty water coming up into the tub or shower from below
- A musty smell from the drain opening
Why showers and tubs clog
Shower and tub drains handle a steady stream of hair, body oils and soap. Bar soaps in particular can combine with minerals in the water to form a waxy residue that sticks to hair and the pipe walls. Over time that becomes a dense plug just below the strainer or inside the trap.
Conditioners and oil-based products add to the coating, and bath products with glitter or exfoliating beads give it more to hold. Tubs with a trip-lever or toe-touch stopper also give hair a place to wrap around and collect.
How we clean a shower or tub drain
Strainer and stopper
We remove the strainer or stopper and pull out the hair and residue right at the opening. Sometimes that alone fixes the problem.
Through the overflow
On a bathtub, going through the overflow plate often gives a better path to the trap than the drain opening. We run a cable through it to clear buildup in the trap and the line beyond.
Shower pans
Walk-in showers usually have a trap directly under the drain. We cable through the drain carefully to avoid scratching tile, stone or acrylic finishes.
When dirty water comes up into the tub
If gray or brown water rises in the tub when you flush the toilet or run the washing machine, stop using water in the house. That pattern usually means a blockage in the main drain or sewer lateral, not a hair clog, and the tub is simply where the backed-up water appears. Clearing the tub drain will not fix it.
Our emergency drain cleaning page explains what to do while you wait, and the fix is usually a main line cleaning. A camera inspection afterward can show whether roots or a damaged pipe caused it.
Keeping your shower drain clear
- Use a hair catcher and empty it after each shower.
- Clean the stopper or strainer every month or two.
- Choose liquid body wash over bar soap if soap scum builds up quickly.
- Brush long hair before showering so less of it ends up in the drain.
Shower & Bathtub Drain Cleaning in Long Beach, step by step
- 1
Ask about the pattern
We ask whether the clog is only in the shower or also shows up when other fixtures run.
- 2
Clear the opening
We pull the strainer or stopper and remove hair and residue at the surface.
- 3
Cable the trap and line
We work through the drain or overflow to clear the trap and the branch line.
- 4
Test for flow
We fill and drain the tub or run the shower, and check that the rest of the bathroom drains normally.
Beach sand in Belmont Shore, Naples and Peninsula showers
For homes near the water in Belmont Shore, Naples and the Peninsula, beach sand is a real factor in shower clogs. Sand is heavy, so it settles in the trap instead of washing through, and it combines with hair and soap into a dense plug that a plunger will not move.
Rinsing off at an outdoor shower or hose bib before coming inside, and shaking out towels and swimsuits outdoors, keeps most of it out of the drain. Vacation rentals and homes with frequent beach guests may notice slow showers more often and benefit from a hair-and-sand catcher on every tub and shower.