Shower clogged drain in Los Angeles

Pull the strainer, lift out the hair you can see, then run a small plastic drain tool or a bent coat hanger down the drain and pull up what catches. That fixes most clogged showers in ten minutes. If water still pools, try a plunger with the overflow blocked, then call a plumber. A plumber clearing a shower line typically costs about $150 to $350.

Below is the order to follow, what the usual remedies really do, and the signs that your problem is shared with other drains. For more on cables, see drain snaking. The LA Drain Works home page has the full service list.

How do you know if your shower drain is clogged?

Your shower drain is clogged if water pools above your ankles, takes more than a minute or two to clear, gurgles, or smells of old soap and hair. Check the drain cover first. If only the shower is slow and the sink and toilet are fine, the plug is local and usually fixable at home.

Quick checks:

• Pooling water that clears slowly points to hair and soap.
• Gurgling means air is being pulled past a partial clog.
• A smell from the drain is rotting hair and soap, not always a sewer problem.
• Other fixtures also slow means the shared line, not the shower.

If the tub and shower are slow together, the plug may be below the point where they join. See why does my shower drain keep clogging for causes that come back.

What is the fastest way to unclog a shower drain?

The fastest way is to remove the strainer or stopper, pull out the hair mat by hand or with a plastic barbed strip, and flush with hot tap water. This works in most cases because the clog is usually within a few inches of the drain opening. If it does not, use a plunger.

Step by step:

1. Unscrew or pry off the drain cover. Many have one screw in the middle.
2. Pull out the hair plug with a drain strip, a bent wire or gloved fingers.
3. Run hot water for a minute, as hot as your tap gives, not boiling.
4. If it is still slow, put a wet rag in the overflow if you have a tub, cover the drain with a cup plunger and plunge firmly ten times.
5. Test with a full minute of water.

Hair is the main cause in showers. See cleaning hair from a drain for the tools.

What can I pour down my shower drain to unclog it?

Hot water, dish soap and a baking soda and vinegar fizz are the usual home tries, and they help a little with soap film and light buildup. They do not dissolve a hair plug. Nothing you can pour from a kitchen cabinet will reliably clear a real hair clog, so remove it physically first.

What each one does:

Do not follow a bottle of chemical cleaner with baking soda and vinegar, and never mix products. Lye-based cleaners can burn skin and eyes. If one is already in the drain, tell the plumber before they put a cable in.

What will dissolve hair in a shower drain?

Strong lye-based gels or enzyme cleaners can break hair down, but the safe and reliable route is to pull it out. Hair is protein, and it binds with soap scum and hard water minerals into a tough mat. Chemicals can take hours to work and may leave a half-dissolved mass that catches more.

Southern California water is often hard, so mineral scale adds to the plug. A drain strip and a monthly hot flush do more over a year than any bottle. Enzyme cleaners are slower and gentler, and they suit prevention, not rescue.

Can salt, Dawn dish soap or a named brand fix it?

Salt does little. Dish soap loosens grease, which helps in a kitchen but not in a hair clog. As for comparing brands, we do not rate them: the chemistry of lye-based gels is similar, and the same safety rules apply. If one product has already failed, do not try a second.

If a product fails, you have a real plug further down. That is the time for a hand snake or a plumber.

Can I unblock the drain myself, and when should I stop?

Yes, until the plug is below the trap or other drains slow down too. A hand snake of 15 to 25 feet reaches the trap and a bit beyond. Stop if the snake meets a hard stop, if you hear gurgling from the toilet, or if water backs up in a lower drain.

When it is more than the shower:

• Multiple drains clogged at once points to the main line. See main line drain cleaning.
• A shower that keeps clogging within weeks can be a bellied pipe or roots. A camera shows which.
• Storm drain clogged (the grate in the street or your driveway) is a city matter for a street drain, or a property drain you own. Call the city for public storm drains, a plumber for your own.

What does a plumber charge to clear a shower drain?

A plumber clearing a shower or tub drain in Los Angeles typically charges about $150 to $350, depending on access and whether a cable is needed. A hair plug removed through the drain costs less. A camera visit or an after-hours call adds to that. Your written quote after a visit sets the real price.

In tubs, the plug can sit under a trap that you cannot reach, so snaking runs through the overflow or the drain. Read snaking a shower drain for the process.

If it is more than hair, tell us on the price request page which drains are slow.

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Questions people ask

What is the strongest thing to unclog a drain?

A cable or a jet is stronger than any chemical because it physically removes the blockage. Chemical cleaners can burn skin and eyes, and can damage old pipe. For a shower, a hair tool and a plunger are the right first strength.

Does Dawn dish soap clog drains?

No, in normal amounts. Soap helps loosen grease, though it does not fix a hair plug. Heavy soap bars and thick scum can add to buildup, and in hard water they bind with minerals. Rinse the drain and flush it with hot tap water once a week or so to keep the film from building.

How do I fix a slow shower, not a full clog?

A slow shower means a partial clog. Clean the strainer, pull the hair plug and flush with hot water. If it is still slow after that, the plug sits deeper in the trap or the branch line. See how to fix a slow draining shower for the next steps, including when a hand snake is worth trying.

Can I use boiling water?

Hot tap water is fine. Boiling water can soften older plastic traps and joints and can crack a cold porcelain tub, so skip it. Hot tap water is enough to soften soap and body oil film, and a plunger or drain strip does the actual work. If hot water changes nothing, the clog is hair and needs removing.

Why is my shower and my sink both clogged?

When two fixtures slow together, the blockage is past the point where they join. That is a branch or main line problem, and a plumber with a longer cable or a camera is the right call. Do not keep adding cleaner, because it pools in the fixtures above the clog and can splash on whoever works on the line.