How do I unclog a shower drain?

Figure out what kind of drain you have. Most showers have a flat strainer or cover held by a screw or set in the opening. Tub-and-shower combinations may have a stopper, either a lift-and-turn or push-and-pull cap, or a lever on the overflow plate. Delta's guide notes that a shower may have a plug or a strainer. Either way, the hair is usually at or just below the opening. Have a bucket or trash bag, gloves, a flashlight and a screwdriver on hand. If the cover is held by a screw, keep the screw somewhere it cannot roll into the drain, such as a cup on the tub edge. That one habit saves a lot of grief.

Take off the drain cover. Delta Faucet's guide for showers starts exactly there: remove the strainer with a screwdriver and clean it thoroughly, because it often accumulates "hair and soap scum as well" and may be the whole problem. Shine a flashlight into the drain. If you can see hair, lift it out with gloves or needle-nose pliers.

If the hair is a little farther down, Delta describes a simple tool. Straighten a wire coat hanger, keep the hook on the end, bend the other end into a small handle, and push the hook into the drain, rotating it as you go. "Jiggle the hanger to lift, or fish out, any hair and gunk." The warning that follows matters: be careful "not to push any debris back down the shower drain, which will likely cause a bigger clog." Repeat until the hanger comes out clean. It is not a pretty job, but it is usually the whole job.

Reach deeper with a tool made for hair. A plastic barbed strip, often sold as a Zip-It, has a 25-inch flexible design with barbed hooks that latch onto hair and debris, according to its manufacturer, and it is made for sinks, tubs and showers. The maker's instructions are three steps: insert it into the drain opening, push it further in, and gently pull it out. Our drain zip tool page covers how it works and where it stops working.

Then try a plunger. AAA notes that if the clog is a buildup of hair or soap scum, "a plunger may be all you need." Put a few inches of water in the shower so the cup has something to push, cover the overflow opening if your tub has one, and plunge firmly with steady strokes. Finish by running warm water for a minute. A reasonable test is to run the shower for a full minute afterward. If the water rises around your feet within that time, the clog is still there, or something deeper is partly blocked.

Two quick tips make each of these steps work better. First, work in short passes. Push, twist, pull, clear the tool, and repeat, so you are removing the clog and not just poking a channel through it. Second, keep a bag handy. Hair pulled from a drain is best wrapped and put in the trash, not rinsed back toward the pipe.

If you would like a gentler bath-time option, AAA also lists baking soda and vinegar. It can help with a light film, but not with a real hair clog, and our baking soda and vinegar page explains why.

No, and here is why it makes the job harder. A shower full of standing water is the worst place to add one. Poison Control explains that non-enzymatic drain cleaners contain acidic or alkaline chemicals, such as sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide, and that skin contact can cause pain, irritation and burns. If the cleaner does not work, you are left with a basin of corrosive water and a clog that is still there.

MedlinePlus says drain cleaners contain "very dangerous chemicals" that can harm you "if you swallow them, breathe them in (inhale), or if they come in contact with your skin and eyes." If any splashes on you, flush the area with water for at least 15 minutes and call the national Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. Our is Drano bad for pipes page covers what these products do to the pipes.

Hair is the usual cause, but not the only one. Stop and call a plumber if you see any of these:

• Water backs up into the tub or shower when you flush or run another fixture. The clog is in a line shared with other fixtures. See water backs up in the shower when I flush and main line vs branch clog.
• Other drains are slow too. The blockage is farther down, not in this shower's own branch.
• The drain smells like sewage even after cleaning. Read bathroom drain sewer smell.
• The hair is gone, but the tub still will not drain. See bathtub won't drain.
• Gurgling. Gurgling can mean a vent problem, not a clog. See why is my toilet gurgling.

Hair is easier to catch than to clear. Put a strainer or hair catcher over the drain, and empty it into the trash after each shower. Do not rinse it down the drain. The habits that help most are these:

• Brush or comb hair before you step in, so loose strands end up in the brush.
• Lift out the strainer and clear it every couple of weeks, or more often with long hair or pets bathed in the tub.
• Run hot tap water down the drain for a minute after the last shower of the day, which helps carry soap film along. Use hot tap water, not boiling water, if your pipes are plastic.
• Keep an eye on how quickly the water drains. A shower that takes a little longer each week is telling you buildup is growing, and that is the best time to clean it, before it becomes a full clog.

Pulling the drain cover and lifting out hair every few weeks takes two minutes and keeps buildup from forming in the first place.

When the do-it-yourself steps do not work, a plumber clears the same kind of clog with tools that reach much farther, such as a power drain cable, and can use a camera to see what is happening in the line. That matters most when a clog keeps returning. Hair is a common cause, but a partly collapsed pipe, roots in an older line, or a poorly sloped drain can make a shower back up over and over. A camera tells you which.

If the shower head is also weak, that is a separate problem. See how to clean a clogged showerhead.

HQ Plumbing & Air is licensed and insured, gives free estimates and upfront pricing, and takes calls around the clock if your shower drain will not clear.

To keep it from coming back, read how to keep a bathroom drain clog-free.