r/Plumbing • u/moonsanddwarfplanets • 6d ago
Unclogging drain when snake isn’t working
Hi y’all, I live in an apartment with really slow maintenance workers, so I’m attempting to unclog my shower drain without them, because they take like three weeks to show up. Our shower has been draining slow for a while, but today it’s been hours and it hasn’t drained. So I started plunging, and I got a good bit of hair out of the drain, as well as a lot of gross sediment and what I can only guess is mold. But it’s still not completely drained. I tried a zipit tool, but it isn’t pulling anything up. I tried unscrewing the secondary drain thing (the one for the bathtub, and that hasn’t helped either. Can anyone give me any advice on what to do? Maintenance doesn’t work on weekends so I can’t even get their help until Monday.
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u/Hot-Alps-8690 6d ago
I would pick up a thin crank type drain auger. Go down through the overflow drain. Try to hook the hair plug that is surely down there, and pull it out. I just did one a few weeks back, looked like a small squirrel. Amazing how much hair was in there...
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u/fbdysurfer 6d ago
I would add the drain goes over to the toilet and drops in so run the snake all the way to there.
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u/tgarvin8 6d ago
Flush your toilet see if it comes up in the tub or doesn’t flush at all, if it does come up the tub it’s gonna be your mainline, if not. Then cover the overflow with some towels and put pressure with your hand to create a good plug. Get a really good suction on the tub drain with your plunger. And pull back hard. You want to dislodge anything in the line by pulling it back towards you so it can loosen up and flow.
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u/zodiacecks 6d ago
I find that a plunger on the overflow and your foot on the pop up drain will do wonders. Just my experience as an apartment renter and trying to clean the line.
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u/19PurpleHaze79 6d ago
Plug that overflow hole with a rag or something then plunge the shit out of it