To clean a shower drain, remove the drain cover, pull out the hair below it by hand or with a plastic drain stick, scrub the cover, and flush the drain with hot tap water. Do it every two to four weeks in a house with long hair, before the water starts pooling. Mechanical removal beats chemicals for hair.
Hair is the main problem, but not on its own. Oatey, which makes drain products, lists hair, soap scum, bath product residue, and mineral buildup as the things that collect in shower drains. Hair catches on the crossbars under the cover, soap and conditioner glue it into a mat, and the mat catches more hair.
How often to clean a shower drain#
| Situation |
Clear the drain |
| Hair catcher in place |
Empty it after every shower or two |
| Long hair, several people |
Every 2 weeks |
| Short hair, one or two people |
Monthly |
| Water starts pooling around your feet |
Now, before it becomes a full clog |
How to get the drain cover off#
Most shower drain covers come off in one of these ways:
- Snap-in or lift-out: pry gently at the edge with a flat screwdriver or butter knife wrapped in a cloth.
- Screw-down: one screw in the center or two near the edges. Keep the screws in a cup, not on the shower floor.
- Tub drains: lift-and-turn and toe-touch stoppers usually unscrew. Hold the body of the stopper and twist the cap counterclockwise, or unscrew the whole stopper.
- Linear drains: lift the long grate and the hair trap underneath. Take a photo first, because some inserts only go back one way.
How to clean a shower drain, step by step#
- Put on rubber gloves. What comes out of a shower drain is unpleasant and slimy, and it smells.
- Remove the cover and pull out any hair you can see. Drop it straight into a bag or the bin.
- Feed a barbed plastic drain stick a few inches into the drain, twist it, and pull it out slowly. Repeat until it comes back clean. These cost a couple of dollars and reach the hair mats that fingers can't.
- Scrub the cover and the drain opening with an old toothbrush and a bathroom cleaner. The black ring under the lip is soap and biofilm, and it's a big part of the smell.
- Run hot tap water for a minute or two to flush loosened gunk.
- Refit the cover and check that it sits flat. A cover that rocks is a trip hazard and lets hair slip past.
If you can't reach the blockage with a drain stick, a small hand auger (drain snake) is the next step. Don't push a straightened wire coat hanger down the drain; Oatey specifically warns against coat hangers and other household objects, which it says can damage the drain.
Does baking soda and vinegar unclog a shower drain?#
Not much. The fizz looks busy, but it doesn't dissolve hair. Oatey says a mix of baking soda, vinegar, or hot water may only partly open a blockage. It can help freshen a drain after you've pulled the hair out, and it won't hurt anything, but the drain stick is what does the work.
Rules for chemical drain cleaners#
If you use a chemical drain opener, read the whole label first, and wear gloves and eye protection. A few more rules matter just as much:
- Never mix drain cleaners with bleach, and never use two different drain cleaners one after the other. The New Jersey Department of Health's hazard alert warns that bleach with drain openers can release toxic chlorine gas, and that different brands of drain cleaners can react dangerously when combined. It describes a plumber hospitalized after pouring a sulfuric acid drain opener into a drain that already had bleach in it.
- Don't plunge or snake a drain that has chemical opener sitting in it. The chemical can splash onto your skin or into your eyes.
- If the product didn't work and water is still standing, don't add more. Tell whoever comes to fix it exactly what you poured in.
When to call a plumber#
A shower drain that stays slow after you've cleared the hair from the top few inches has a clog farther down, or a problem that isn't hair at all. Call a plumber if:
- Several drains in the house are slow at the same time.
- The toilet gurgles or bubbles when the shower runs.
- Water backs up into the shower or tub when you flush the toilet or run the washing machine.
- The drain smells like sewage even after cleaning, which can mean a dry or damaged trap.
The first three usually mean a blockage in a shared or main drain line, which a hand tool from the shower won't reach.
How to keep the drain from clogging#
A hair catcher is the best few dollars you'll spend on a bathroom. Silicone dome catchers sit over the drain; stainless mesh ones sit inside it. Empty them after each shower so they don't become a mat themselves. Brushing long hair before you shower also leaves less of it in the drain.
When you clean the bathtub, watch how fast the rinse water goes down; it's the easiest early warning. Kitchen sinks clog with grease and food scraps instead, which the kitchen sink drain guide covers. Shower grout near the drain stays wet longest, so it's worth a scrub on the same day; see the grout cleaning schedule. A recurring ChoreLists.com task every two weeks keeps the drain from getting to the standing-water stage.