Shower not draining

[DancingHippos]

DH used high level acidic unblocker- that he had to put his name down for when buying as its so strong. He puts this down the shower plug hole but within days, it's not draining properly.
Any suggestions please? I hate standing in a few inches of undrained shower water.

You need to pull all the revolting hair out of the shower drain trap, simple as that really

Get one of those devices that you poke down the plughole and fish about with it to dredge up all the nasty gunk that's down there. Has your shower always drained freely before? I live in a house with a downstairs bathroom and, because it's a very old house, there's hardly any 'fall' on the drains so water can drain slowly particularly if I've got the washing machine going at the same time.

But it's probably just gunk.

Tesco. Pound section.. Drain snake. Bloody therapeutic!!

My shower drainage pipe was covered in a clump weird slimy seaweed type mass outside where it entered the drain. It was a huge clump clogging the hole in the pipe. Sort of algae, hair, detritus. I removed it and the slow drainage improved. Look out for a drain unblocker that dissolves hair, as pp said, that's one of the main culprits and you should check the trap.

My daughter has really long thick hair which clogs up our shower. I bought a set of drain unblocker things from my local DIY shop for a couple of £. They are like thick plastic covered wire with a thin flexible brush on each end. Stick it down the plug hole, wiggle it around, pull out unspeakable amounts of hair and goo. Lovely.

Yes it's a downstairs showerroom too. What's this device you mention? Have you got a link or a name ?

You can pick them up from any DIY shop, eBay etc, usually under £1.
Essentially they are a 12-18 inch strip of flexible plastic which you push down the plughole. The multiple teeth or barbs snag on hair when you pull it backwards.

Ensure all the chemicals have washed away, use the drain snake mentioned above, get a typical plunger and give it a good plunge then invest in one of these to trap the hair.

There's a brand name one called "The Drain Weasel" which is more expensive, or even fancy ones you attach to a drill, but anything like that is the idea. Sink snake, drain unblocking tool, have a google!

You’ve got a plug rat Op. easily cleared with the above mentioned tool.

Plug rat. My worst domestic task by miles. <Vom>

Cheapo drain wire thingy, pair of scissors you don't really like and a strong constitution. Good luck.

I once used the jet wash down the shower drain when all else failed - I guess you need to be careful you’re not just pushing the problem further along the pipework but we were ok.

What sort of shower outlet is it?
Is it one that can be removed for cleaning or is it like a standard plug hole?

The pound one in Tesco has a little handle.. Post the wire bit down... Turn the handle fast. Pull it out. And wo and behold. Half your hair op!!
Best quid you'll spend this month....

I've looked up the Drain weasel so can get that.
What is a plug rat?

Also it's one of those drains which has a silver cap and a cup in the plug bit. I feel this is a problem but not 100% sure as am most non DIY person ever. It just seems to come standard with shower trays/ sinks/ floors/ whatever they are called.

You can take the mushroom bit apart for cleaning using a Phillips screwdriver. Is it the actual piping you think is blocked?

Usually it’s just gunk in the bottom of the silver cap of the thing that you’ve described. You have to poke around and clear it and then the water drains.

It stinks though!

You can detach the silver cap from the cylinder using a Phillips screwdriver. I have a dedicated bathroom screwdriver for this job!

I had a great result with this last weekend in my slow-draining shower

Have you actually tried plunging it?

As soon as you pull up the monstrous glob of hair, skin and soap you'll know exactly what we mean by plug rat op.

You have been warned 😲

I moved house and from day day one, the inherited en-suite shower drained very slowly - I thought the tray would fill and overflow.
I put a plunger over the shower plug hole and plunged away.
Several plunges later there was big gurgle and a huge hairball came up 🤢
It's drained fine ever since.

Make sure you do not burn yourself if residual drain cleaner around.

OP if it's a downstairs bathroom and an old house like mine with very little 'fall' on the drain, it might be that it always drains fairly slowly but there's something blocking it just now that's making it worse. Check the outside as well (you might need to lift a manhole cover), because if you've got fat or anything from a shared pipe blocking the water's way out then you might need to rod it from outside.

I bought drain rods because my toilet (different pipes but same principle) keeps blocking because of the lack of gravity helping everything through! One of the problems with these old houses where a bathroom was put in downstairs as an afterthought, but slightly better than having to go down the garden at night...