Upstairs shower drain blocked/slow. How to clear?

Ransoman

Hi all,

I recently bought a small house which has an upstairs shower-room. Unfortunately the drain is partially blocked which causes to water to drain very slowly. This means if we are not quick enough in the shower it could overflow onto the floor.

I can take the drain cover off and see partially into a bottle trap but i can't see anything significant in there. Unfortunately there seems to be no access under the shower to remove the bottle trap. The bathroom floor is tiled and sealed. Access from belowwould be the kitchen but the celing is artex.

My guess is that it is probably filled with hair and soap residue. Is there anything i can do to clear it (tricks of the trade etc) or perhaps something i can use to "dissolve" the hair? I would like to avoid having to cut holes in the house just to empty a bottle trap.

Many thanks in advance.

tigeress289

Firstly, buy yourself a decent plunger. There are good corrosive acids which can be used, but you need to be very careful. So easy start, once you have the plunger. Fill the tray with a bucket of hot soapy water. Make sure you have a good amount of water in the tray whilst doing this. As this helps seal the trap and gives you a good supply of water. Plunge the waste, so that you start to see debris coming back into the tray. You will be surprised at what comes out. The idea is to plunge rapidly to break up the build up of waste in there. Even if you have to do this a couple of times, you should see an improvement. If you feel safe using a corrosive, send me a PM and I will let you know the best one to get for that type of problem. I do not name products in posts, as they can be very dangerous if used wrong.

alinwales

i do what miss tiger suggests with a cheap plunger! never needed to buy anything else yet. Good rapid repetitive plunging is key

Ransoman

Thanks for the suggestion. I will give the plunger a try and hopefully wont have to resort to the corrosives.

pinkteapot

Have you tried drain cleaner? (see cleaning section of your supermarket) We use either of the below and they work:

http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/P~129039~Mr-Muscle-Active-Dual-Foam-500ml (best if the pipe isn't completely blocked)

http://www.oneclickpharmacy.co.uk/muscle-sink-plug-unblocker-500ml-p-85653.html?currency=GBP (for blocked pipes)

We use the foamer every couple of months on our most commonly used plug-holes and they seem to keep it clear as we've never had a blockage (I have had them in the past).

Avoriaz

Tesco sell a flexible wire drain cleaner, about four feet in length, for about £1.20.

That or something similar might be worth trying before expensive corrosive liquids if the plunger doesn't work.

Edinburgh65

I've used "Mr Muscle Sink and Plughole Unblocker" a couple of times to unblock my shower, when it has been clogged with hair and soap residue. You can get it in supermarkets, comes in a big orange bottle and half a bottle usually does the trick.

Just slowly pour it down the plughole (you may see it building up to plughole level if the blockage is bad). I think you leave it for a couple of hours, although I have left it overnight before, then slowly pour some really hot water down the hole, which should loosen the gel plug which will have built up, then it will probably make a small popping noise and should whoosh away, taking all of the debris with it.

Good luck!

daveyjp

One shot drain cleaner.

SuzieSue

I use a plunger and I get black slimy rubbery gunk comming up. I've got no idea where it comes from.

southcoastrgi

Avoriaz wrote: »

Tesco sell a flexible wire drain cleaner, about four feet in length, for about £1.20.

That or something similar might be worth trying before expensive corrosive liquids if the plunger doesn't work.

that won't work on a bottle trap / shower waste as you can't get it around the trap into the pipe.

c_denise

Mr Muscle for me too. I have tried some others but I still prefer this.