Slow Bathroom Sink or Shower Drain? How to Clear It

A bathroom sink that takes forever to drain, or standing water around your feet in the shower, is almost always caused by the same two things: hair and soap scum. Most of the time you can clear it in a few minutes without chemicals. Here's how.

Why Bathroom Drains Clog

Hair catches on the stopper and the drain parts just below it. Soap scum and toothpaste coat the hair and the pipe walls, and the clump grows until water barely gets through. Tampa Bay's hard water adds mineral scale that helps everything stick.

Clearing a Bathroom Sink

1. Pull the stopper. Many pop-up stoppers lift straight out or twist out. Others are held by a rod under the sink: loosen the nut on the back of the drain pipe, slide the rod out, and the stopper comes free.
2. Clean it. Remove the hair and gunk. You'll probably be surprised how much there is.
3. Clear the drain below. A plastic drain-cleaning strip with barbs, sold at hardware stores, pulls out hair that's further down.
4. Flush with hot water and put the stopper back.
5. Clean the overflow, the small hole near the top of the sink, with a small brush. It collects buildup and can smell.

If that doesn't do it, the clog is in the P-trap, the curved pipe under the sink. Put a bucket underneath, unscrew the slip nuts by hand, empty and clean the trap, and reconnect it hand-tight.

Clearing a Shower Drain

1. Remove the drain cover. Some lift off. Others have a screw in the middle.
2. Pull out hair with gloves, needle-nose pliers or a drain-cleaning strip.
3. Run hot water to flush the rest.
4. Add a hair catcher to keep it from happening again.

Skip the Chemical Drain Cleaners

Liquid drain cleaners rarely clear hair clogs completely. They tend to burn a small channel through the middle, and the clog comes back. They're also hard on older pipes and on whoever has to work on the drain next.

When It's a Bigger Problem

• Several drains are slow at once, or the tub fills when you flush: the main line is likely blocked. See repeat clogs and the main line.
• Gurgling from the drain can point to a venting problem.
• The drain smells like sewage even when it's clear. See sewer smell causes.
• The clog keeps coming back within weeks after cleaning.

Drain Still Slow?

Believe Plumbing clears bathroom, kitchen and main line drains across Tampa Bay. See our drain cleaning services, including Tampa, Westchase and Brandon, or contact us.