Many of our morning routines involve hopping in the shower to clean up before heading to work (though debates still rage as to whether the shower is a better tool for the morning or the evening). There are plenty of different opinions over how long the perfect shower should last, how to multitask when in the shower and how loud to sing! One thing we can all agree on is that we want our showers to be in tip top working condition and that a blocked shower drain can put a dampener on anyones day!
How Do You Know if your Shower Drain is Blocked?
There are a few easy signs!
- Do you end up standing in a few inches of water during your shower, which are then slow to drain away?
- Does your shower drain make gurgling sounds as it drains?
- Are bad smells lingering from your shower drains?
All of these could be signs that your shower drain has a blockage somewhere in the line.
What Causes Shower Drains to Block?
There are a variety of things that end up down drains and can cause your shower to block.
- Hard water: water that has picked up a lot of minerals like calcium and magnesium is classified as hard and can lead to scale build up in your drain pipes.
- Soap scum: not the nicest name for something that we use to clean ourselves with, but this is another way hard water can cause problems for shower drains. When hard water interacts with soap it can form into soap scum, which can cause havoc in your drain pipes.
- Hair: it's an inevitability that washing hair leads to some hair finding it's way down the drains and unfortunately it can help cause blockages, especially if hard water deposits and soap scum are added to the mix.
- Miscellaneous: there is always a chance that bottle tops from shampoo or toothpaste caps amongst other things could find their way into the shower drains, though it's less likely than the above.
What Can You Do To Unblock Shower Drains?
There are some things you can do yourself, though of course we advise proceeding with caution as with any other DIY. You will need to have removed the drain screen/drain plug first for these.
- Reach for the Marigolds: that's right, you can don the rubber gloves and reach in with your fingers if you can do so safely and if you can see blockage.
- Plunger: using a plunger over the drain can loosen stubborn blockages.
- Go Natural: you can try a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. There are plenty of how to guides on the internet, but essentially it's boiling water first, then a cup of baking power, then a cup of vinegar and let it work it's magic. This can have mixed results, but it's far better to try this than to resort to chemicals. Whatever you do try, let your plumber or drainage engineer know so they can take proper precautions if they go out.
- Use a wire: only use this option if you feel confident you won't drop it, as retrieving a wire from a drain pipe is definitely a job for the professionals! This can work well to reach hair clogs in the drain, but again, if you are considering this option you might be safer skipping it and going straight for...
- Call The Professionals: sometimes the blockage is further down the pipe than you can reach and might even be further than a plumber can access. If a blockage in the stack pipe for example, it can affect every other pipe that runs into it above the blockage and that's definitely something you'll want us for!
If you require the services of Metro Rod you can get in touch with us in a variety of ways;
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We are always happy to arrange a free site assessment and no obligation quotations for any work you might need. Alternatively, you can call our emergency hotline number on 0800 66 88 00
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