How to Clear a Clogged Shower Drain With a Drain Snake

How to Snake a Shower Drain

1. Remove the Shower Grate

   The metal or plastic grate or drain stopper that covers the drain opening in the shower is usually secured with simple screws or may be held in by a catch, so pry it up.

   • Remove the screws or pry up the shower grate from the drain opening.
   • Clean off any hair or debris that may be clinging to the grate.

   Tip

   Always remove the shower grate from the drain before sending the snake cable down the drain. A drain snake usually pulls up hair, gunk, and debris, and those materials are nearly impossible to remove through the small openings of the shower grate.
   

2. Insert the Drain Snake

   • Put on rubber gloves.
   • Run the cable on a small drain snake into the drain opening until it meets resistance.
   • Tighten the cable clamp, then rotate the handle slowly to spin the cable in the drain opening.
   • The cable should begin to auger itself down further into the drain. Do not force it too vigorously, or the cable may double back on itself.

3. Auger With the Drain Snake

   In most cases, the clog will be found relatively close to the drain opening or in the drain trap immediately below the drain. Occasionally, it may be in the branch drain line running horizontally to the main drain stack.

   • Loosen the handle to extend more cable into the drain opening.
   • Retighten the cable and repeat the augering motion to force the cable further into the drain line no more than a few feet.
   • Keep an eye on nearby drains as you extend the cable. If there is another shower or tub on the other side of the plumbing wall, the end of the snake cable may come up through that drain as you feed it.
   • You may be able to feel the cable when it encounters the clog; rotate the cable to penetrate the blockage and break it up.
   • Once you have broken through the clog, run a thin stream of water for a minute to see if it runs past the snake cable.
   • If the water quickly backs up again, try running the snake cable further down the line.

4. Extract the Drain Snake

   • When you feel the cable move past the clog, reverse the direction of the cable rotation and slowly extract the cable from the drain opening. Hair and debris will likely be entangled at the end of the cable.
   • Clean off this debris from the tip of the drain snake.
   • Wipe down the drain snake with a rag to dry it and prevent rust.

5. Flush the Drain

   • Run water for a minute or two to test the drain before putting the shower grate back on.
   • Flush out debris that was loosened but not extracted by the drain snake.
   • Run water for a few minutes to flush any remaining hair and debris.

When to Call a Professional

If the stoppage is further down the line and not in the trap, using a manual hand snake may not solve the problem. You can buy or rent an electric snake, but it requires detailed guidance or expertise. Instead of renting or buying this device, consider hiring a better-equipped plumber to clear the home's drainage system.

If other parts of the home are experiencing clogs simultaneously, it can indicate you may be dealing with a branch drain clog or a main sewer line clog. These severe clogs require a larger drain snake inserted from a main clean-out fitting; only an expert should attempt this clean-out.