Drains clog, that’s just a fact of life, as any local plumber here in Atlanta will tell you. For kitchen drains, it’s grease and food that cause the clogs but shower drains are usually clogged by hair, soap and shampoo residue. Put these three things together and you can create a pretty tough shower drain clog. We humans seem to shed lots of hair. But those of us with longer hair, particularly women, seem to lose a handful of hair each week, if my shower drain is any indication of what goes on in other households. Honestly, I wonder how it is that women can lose so much hair and not be bald? Fortunately, our drain cover is one that seems to capture a lot of the hair on the drain grate itself and I’m able to gather it and throw it in the waste basket without allowing most of it to go down into the pipe. Or so I thought. About twice a year, the shower drain gets clogged to the point that we get standing water in the shower pan as the drain very slowly does its job. Normally, I just pop off the drain cover, put on some rubber gloves, reach a finger or two down the pipe and pull out a big wad of hair. Sometimes, I’ll reach down with a pair of needle-nose pliers and grab even more. Occasionally, a plunger helps bring more to the surface and the problem goes away for another six months. After many years in the same house, we’ve so far avoided the need to have the shower drain professionally cleaned but one of these days, I think a professional cleaning may be necessary to beat a super clog. I know it’s coming, I just don’t know when. If your shower drain has clogged to the point where you can no longer beat the clog on your own, call Roto-Rooter of Atlanta and we’ll send over a skilled Atlanta plumbing professional to clean the drainpipe good as new. 404-209-0001.

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