We have dozens of shower trays, screens, wet room panels and enclosures to choose from, and each configuration will require, at some stage, addressing the fact that your shower drain may become blocked and will need clearing. Here’s how to keep your shower drain flowing freely…
1 – Our Trays
Our Shower Trays, available in two colours, White and Slate Grey, and in many shapes and sizes, are designed to allow your shower to flow freely, with minimum and uncomplicated maintenance. One of the important considerations in how to unblock your shower drain is to keep it clean, rinsing the tray down after a particularly soapy shower sessions, and regularly checking the waste trap for soap and hair debris. Remember, there could also be fragments of paper from product labels, remnants of bars of soap, the odd Lego figure from the kids, as well as tangles of hair. Keeping it simple, a good back to basic piece of advice is to ask anyone with long hair to comb it through before hair-washing in the shower, and to always rinse out the shower after use with hot water to ensure debris and soap residue gets flushed through properly.
2 – Sliding Shower Door
A spacious showering space has the advantage of enough room to get in there to clean the tray and drain properly. Remember, the chrome (or brushed brass or black) ‘dome’ can be removed from the shower waste to enable you to check that the draining system is running freely. Take the dome off and give the trap and surround a good clean with a bottle brush or old washing up brush. If the shower isn’t used every day, there can sometimes be a build-up of scum or mould, in which case a spray with a bathroom cleaner containing bleach is a sensible move. This is our fabulous London Pivot Shower Door with Chrome frame, with Galway overhead shower rose.
3 – Wet Rooms
A wet room with a fully tiled floor is often installed for the super-simple, streamlined appearance it presents. This type of room design will have a shower drain recessed into the floor, which may have been slightly raised to accommodate the recessed drain. The cleaning process is much the same, there will still be a trap or a grate that can be lifted for cleaning and inspection. This is our Copenhagen Easy Clean Wet Room Glass Panel, looking stunning in a very in a very contemporary bathroom. Easy Clean glass allows shower spray to ‘bed’ and roll off the glass quickly, leaving no marks or residue.
4 – A Hand-Shower
Using a hand-shower extension makes it very easy to keep on top of keeping your shower all clean and sparkling! If you don’t like getting in the shower to clean in, then a hand held shower is the answer. Use it to spritz the whole area, tiles and panels included, and pay special attention to the drain area. if it isn’t running as freely as it should, a mixture of white vinegar and baking soda can help. Run hot water through the drain , turn off the shower and then pour down a cup of baking soda. Second step: pour down a cup of white vinegar. Let it fizz and and settle for up to 45 minutes, then flush through with hot water again. PS… don’t use oiling water, it could damage plastic pipes. Normal ‘shower hot’ water is fine.
5 – A Sliding Door Enclosure
You may need to adjust your shower drain cleaning technique if you have an overhead shower rose and no hand-shower! We suggest a quick 30 second blitz after you step out of your morning shower. Just let the water run on for a few seconds, then take your shower squeegee and swoop the water towards the drain. If you spot it’s not draining as freely as you would like, check there’s no hair or soap debris blockages. If daily maintenance hasn’t worked and it does need a thorough unblocking with propriety products, we’ve tried Mr Muscle Max Gel Unblocker and Kilrock (Which has both bathroom and kitchen options) and found they absolutely do the job. Most importantly, use protective gloves and rinse everything down very well after using these types of products.
6 – A Bi-Fold Shower Enclosure
A neat and compact bi-fold shower enclosure is very accessible and easy to keep clean – you don’t have to get inside it to tackle the shower drain and tray! As always, a quick check after every soapy shower is a good idea. Check that all the shampoo and shower bubbles have actually gone down the shower drain. Sometimes a quick run of fresh water is enough to get things flowing again – and don’t forget, an excessive use of foaming products can slow things down. Flushing with cold water will tamp down the foam and bubbles… but it may be good practice to use less ‘product’ if soap and foam scum is becoming an issue.
7 – A Closer Look
Here’s a close look at our London Chrome Standard Shower tray waste fitting. The chrome cap can be lifted off to allow the plastic piping below to be cleared out. So, that’s where you can scoop out any debris, hair, soap scum etc. You may want to get the rubber gloves out at this stage! If the blockage doesn’t budge easily, then it’s time to go for the products we’ve mentioned, such as Mr Muscle or Kilrock. A spray cleaner containing bleach, such as Domestos Multipurpose Bleach Spray will keep things hygienic and fresh. Allocate a washing up brush or bottle specifically for bathroom cleaning use. If the blockage won’t shift at first go, you may need to try a drain auger – there are various designs available online.
8 – Check the Bath Plug Holes Too
Of course, all the cleaning issues we have talked about here with regard to how to unblock your shower drain also applies to the bath drain too. Regular check and thorough cleaning will always help you keep on top of things, and as with lots of cleaning projects, little and often is generally the best idea. So swish the bath out with fresh water after a foamy bath or shower, and check for hair clogs. After all, your new bathroom is beautiful and should stay that way! Here’s our Zurich Brushed Brass Framed Bath Screen, paired beautifully with our Galloway Square Brushed Bras Thermostatic Bath Filler Shower Set for inspiration.
There you have our guide on how to unblock your shower drain, and more importantly, how to keep it clean. Be sure to tag us in pictures of your sparkling bathrooms over on Instagram, @Bathroommountainuk, we love seeing our products in your homes, and you may get featured on our website!
