Why should you not resort to using bleach to unclog your bathtub drain? How To Unclog A Shower Drain When Drano Doesn’t Work, How To Get Rid Of A Smelly Shower Drain! Next time you have a bathroom sink, shower, or bathtub draining slow try pouring a cup of liquid bleach into the drain. Can I unclog a shower drain with bleach? If plain boiling water doesn’t do the trick, then there’s a few other things you can try. Don't leave the bleach much longer than that, or it may corrode your pipes. The corrosive qualities of bleach can easily discolor your sink or the drain. #How to Unclog a Shower Drain With Bleach, Baking Soda And White Vinegar If only a little bit of water is coming out then I suggest you get yourself a plunger from the local hardware store mix up some dish washing liquid and boiling water and pour that down as that works pretty well as a lubricant. Do you clean all the corners of your bathroom adequately? Turn your sink on and let water rush into the drain. If you know how to unclog a shower drain with bleach, the entire work will be quite easy to you. Tip. Let it set and after it sets, flow hot water down your pipes. If you notice an improvement, but a part of the clog is still there, pour another cup of bleach. The reason is that lengthy hair wraps around the drain making it difficult to shift. If you want to try something with a little more cleansing power behind it, then try a mix of baking soda and vinegar. Make sure that the water is as hot as possible and as strong or rapid as possible. Since mineral build-up, scum, soap, hair and other debris are unavoidable realities in your bathroom; you need to know how to unclog a shower drain whenever it seems clogged. Moreover, it’s environmental impact is larger, so other methods are preferred. To achieve this, you can use a pair of pliers. Some of the links on our website are affiliate links. If the bleach or the baking soda and vinegar haven’t done the trick, try to resist bringing out the plunger. Carefully pour some bleach into a cup and dump it down your bathtub or shower drain. In older homes, where lead pipes have been repaired with brass fittings and copper pipe, due to a reaction between the two metals. Also, pouring bleach can harm the integrity of your drains and pipes. At least not until you completely flush it completely down with another liquid like water. We do not suggest pouring bleach down your drain as it will kill both good and bad bacteria. The first thing that you need to do in order to unclog your bathtub drain with bleach is to prepare the tub. Keep repeating the process until you can no longer remove any hair. And you don’t have to use any chemicals at all. First, you have to remove the shower stopper. give it some time. Pour 1 cup of bleach down the drain, trying to pour it around all edges of the drain so it touches the sides. Bleach can dissolve any fiber that has acidic properties. Are you still asking yourself how to unclog a shower drain with standing water? One of the things you may not realize is that not everything you pour down the sink drain actually goes away. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases after clicking on those links, at no additional cost to you. You will use the hook to remove hair and other debris from inside the shower drain. And a small amount of bleach will remain in that p-trap unless flushed away with water. Can you pour bleach down the drain? Even if you don’t have an uncovered drain hole, you may want to replace your current drain cover with this device because it easily prevents hair clog problems in the long term. But, the problem occurs when the clog is so huge so the water can’t go down the drain. The most common clogs in kitchen drains are from fat, oil, and grease. The first thing to do is pour the boiling water into the drain to soften the pipes a bit. So you want to know how to unclog a drain without drano? But, if you were pour bleach down the drain and forget to flush it with water afterwards, and then unknowingly add another chemical, you could put yourself in real danger. Using bleach to clear clogged drains. But the other question you should ask yourself is, “Should you pour bleach down the drain.”. However, if you suspect that your drain is clogged with grease, which might be the case if you’ve been pouring grease down your kitchen sink, then I highly recommend you use a commercial cleaning product to unclog the drain. Pour 1 cup (250 ml) of undiluted bleach directly down the sink drain. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. In readiness to use this method, ensure that there is no soapy water around the drain area. You probably only think of using a plunger for toilet clogs. It is not a great drain clog remover. Just because you can, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Look for more natural based drain cleaners to fix your clogs. In this case, you might not need to remove the drain stopper. And here’s why. Turning off the water you look down and see the tray overflowing onto the bathroom floor. Wait for the smell to dissipate. Pour bleach in the drain and let it sit for 10 minutes. Follow this up with another liter of boiling water poured into the drain. Bleach combined with other chemicals such as acid and vinegar can create serious problems, not only for your health, but also for the plumbing in your house. As you know, acids are in many different household products, such as toilet bowl cleaners, some glass and window cleaners, drain cleaners, and rust removers. If you know how to unclog a shower drain with bleach, the entire work will be quite easy to you. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. We discuss how to unclog a shower a drain by including useful DIY tips as well as the cost of hiring a professional. Yes, bleach can help you too to clean your shower drain. For bathroom drains, hair and scum from personal products most often form the clogs. Ensure that the entire drain opening is entirely covered by the plunger’s head. After some moments of turning the crank, pull out the snake and you will realize that it has trapped a lot of clogs, which might include hair, scum, and other mineral build-ups. For those of us with septic tanks, bleach can kill the beneficial bacteria and other micro organisms that we need in our septic tanks to break down the sewage into sludge. For the first method, you're going to boil 1 liter of water and pour it in the drain. Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a naturally-occurring mineral compound. Run hot water through your bathtub to see your bathtub drain to see if it’s unclogged (do it for 5 minutes) Make sure you clean the residue of the bleach of the metal surfaces. A slightly alkaline powder, it can dissolve mineral deposits and organic materials such as grease, which is slightly acidic i… The next step is adding a mixture of vinegar and hot water (a cup of each). Baking soda is a kitchen staple that can work wonders on smelly and clogged drains. Remove the rubber stopper on your shower drain opening. Meanwhile, boil plenty of water. You’ll need to carefully pour some bleach into a cup and then dump it down your shower drain. How to Unclog a Shower Drain – 5 Easy Ways, Best Stainless Steel Farmhouse Sink (Updated Guide), Best Bathroom Faucets Brand: An Incredible Guide, How to unclog a shower drain with a snake, How to unclog a shower drain with baking soda, How to unclog a shower drain with standing water, Home Improvement Listicle Tools for the Pro, Kitchen Lighting Ideas – How to Light Your Kitchen. You are in the shower cubicle enjoying your morning shower, when you hear shouts from downstairs. Bleach dissolves hair and it takes a bit of time. One of the proven chemicals for dissolving shower drains is talon drain cleaner. Unfortunately, not really! The method works faster if you apply adequate pressure. Start by removing the rubber stopper; next, insert the plumber’s snake down the shower drain. Clogs will always build up so long as you use the bathroom. After about a half hour any hair the bleach is in contact with will dissolve. Place stopper in drain. It works using the same principle as the plumber’s snake even though the working is a bit different. There are several ways you can attempt to unclog a drain on your own before calling a plumber for help, though bleach should not be one of them. Does Shower Water Drain Into The Septic Tank? In severe cases, water won’t flow down the shower drain, but you don’t need to wait until this moment. To unclog a drain with the power of chemistry, follow these steps: Remove any visible debris from the drain opening; Pour ¾ cup dry baking soda down the drain; Pour ½ cup vinegar down the drain and cover immediately with a rag or plug; Leave it in there for 30 minutes, and prepare boiling water; Remove the plug and slowly pour the hot water down the drain ; It’s that simple. Another most effective means of unclogging a shower drain is the use of snake. Do you clean your bathroom regularly? If water is still flowing too slowly, repeat the same procedure until the drain is clear. It was moving slower than a turtle napping. Dispose of the dirt in your bin and keep repeating the process until the shower drain is cleared. Learn how your comment data is processed. The most important thing to know is how to unclog a shower drain. You can easily notice when your shower drain gets clogged since water will go down more slowly without the standard speed. In summary, you don’t need to worry about how to unclog a shower drain since I have provided you with plenty of alternatives. If you are connected to a public sewer system and not to a well or septic tank, you can use bleach to both clean and deodorize a clogged sink. Then dump half a cup of baking soda and let it work for several minutes. Bleach is a great disinfectant. You are only seeking how to dissolve hair in shower drain without facing interference of the soapy water solution. Also, you need to realize that it is not possible to rely on bleach alone to dissolve the hair down your shower drain; this method works best when combined with other methods such as hot water, baking soda, and vinegar. However, they can help you with shower clogs as well. once this is resolved, make it a habit to put a cup of bleach down all your drains and toilets once a month. In these cases, technically yes, you can pour bleach down the drain. If your home is on a septic system, then no, you should not pour bleach down the drain. You’re not alone. Anyone of these methods should be effective to clear the clog in your shower drain. Step 3 Pour another cup of bleach down the drain if the odor persists. Sorry, I did not tell you that you will require white distilled vinegar! You shouldn’t leave the bleach much longer than 15 min, or it may corrode your pipes. If you have an open drain hole without any kind of cover (the kind you plug a stopper in), you may want to consider buying a shower drain hair catcher ($13; amazon.com). So here are some alternatives to bleach that you can use to pour down the drain if you’ve got a clogged drain. In case there are some hair particles that did not dissolve, the last method that I will recommend here will be the most effective. Often times I hear that people pour bleach down the drain in order to unclog a clogged drain pipe. You will use the plunger to create a huge pressure that will drive the debris down the shower drain. Boiling Water Simply pouring boiling, or very hot water down the drain can fix a clogged sink or shower in no time. Well, a clogged drain line can clear itself, given enough height of standing effluent.If the toilet's trap itself is clogged, sometimes, if you fill the water to near the top of the bowl it will unclog, but that would be more of a case of the water softening the stool until the flush can finish. Learn how to unclog a shower drain with these easy methods using items from your kitchen! Just start with an almost full cup of bleach, pour it down the drain and then follow the rest of the procedure with the baking soda solution we have discussed above. And you’re ultimately going to create more harm than good by doing so. Pour a cup of bleach into your shower drain and wait for some about thirty minutes for the bleach to melt the clogs. Pouring bleach down your pipes is also bad for the piping and wears them down making them weaker and reducing their long life spans. Bleach can corrode your drain so it’s not as safe as vinegar and baking soda. One important thing you need to know about how to unclog a shower drain with bleach is that this method deodorizes the shower drain. Follow this with a full cup of baking soda in the drain area. This will help loosen up the clogged drain. it'll bubble up and eat through the clog. If you care about the budget, then you should know bleach is not as expensive as bottled drain cleaners, while it is much more efficient. Cover the drain opening with a stopper or drain cover and allow the concentrated blend of baking soda and vinegar work on the inside of the pipes for about 15 minutes. Use a Plunger To Unclog The Shower Drain. While ensuring that the drain area does not have any soapy water, boil some water and pour it down the drain when it has boiled. Pour the baking soda down the drain, followed by vinegar. Bleach has no effect in dissolving the common culprits of household drain clogs, like hair, food scraps, and grease. That is how to unclog shower drain with baking soda. 2. The use of plunger can still be applicable when the shower drain has some standing water. Again, although hair is one of the main reasons shower drains get clogged up, the type of hair that makes it way to the drain has a lot to do with it as well. And as an Amazon Associate, we earn a commission on qualifying purchases after clicking on those links, at no additional cost to you. Perhaps, the use of baking soda solution can be effective to you; if not, you can make the use of a plunger, snake, wire hanger, or bleach. So you can see how easy it would be to accidently mix the two. Can I use Coke to unclog a shower drain? Unfortunately, bleach isn’t going to do the trick. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and then flush the drain with hot water. Then wash away with hot water. You can use ethanol or plenty of water to rinse your bathtub. In the use of this method, you need to find a wire hanger and loosen it until it looks a modified version of what you want to use. At that moment, start turning the crank in either clockwise or anticlockwise direction; any will work well. For example, if you were to pour a drain cleaner/de-clogger down the drain and it mixed with bleach, the heat from that chemical reaction can damage plumbing, and in some cases even cause the pipes to burst or crack. A: Bleach and boiling water will help dissolve some kinds of clogs and keep drains clear, but Mr. Handyperson feels this technique is a tad extreme. When unclogging a bathtub with bleach, first get all of the water out of the tub by either waiting until it has drained or by removing the water with a cup or bowl. Today, I will present you some five actionable ways that can help you know how to unclog a shower drain quite easily. At this moment, you should be able to clear the clog. A single ounce of straight bleach requires dissolution in 312,000 ounces of water to be safe for fish, so protect the environment by limiting your bleach use when possible. Use the same cup and measure half white distilled vinegar; pour it down the same shower drain. If the smell is still there, you need to take other measures, like calling a professional. Here we get started! Construct a small hook at the one end of the straightened wire hanger. When you are using a septic tank, it is not recommended to use bleach to unclog your bathtub drain. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Wait for the smell of the bleach to dissipate. The Clever Homeowner is reader-supported. Before you start, don’t forget to remove the drain stopper. Free contractor quotes included. This blend has an excellent scouring benefit due to the chemical reaction of the two products. Sip a cup of liquid bleach into the drain, and it would take about a half hour for bleach to dissolve the clog. A long time ago our bathroom drain was in need of some major help. 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