Shower and tub drains are different
A stand-alone shower usually has a 2 inch drain with a screw-down or snap-in strainer, while a tub-shower has a 1½ inch waste and overflow with a lift-and-turn, toe-touch or trip-lever stopper. Trip levers hide a plunger inside the overflow pipe that collects hair just like the drain itself. Knowing which you have tells us where to start.
Our method
- Remove the strainer or stopper and pull the near-surface hair by hand or with a grabber.
- For tubs, pull the overflow plate and linkage and clean it.
- Run a drum auger through the trap; tubs have the trap right under the drain, showers sometimes have it under a finished ceiling.
- Flush with a full tub of water released at once, which tests the whole branch.
- Reseat the strainer and check its gasket so water is not sneaking around it into the subfloor.
When it is more than hair
If the shower drains fine but water appears on the basement ceiling, the issue is a leaking drain body or failed grout, not a clog. Linear drains in newer curbless showers have long channels that need cleaning along their length. In walk-in showers where the slope was set poorly, water can pond even with a clear drain, and that is a tiling question we will point out honestly.
Ceiling stains below a shower that appear only during use point at the drain gasket or the tile seal. Our leak detection page explains how we confirm it.
Prevention
A dome hair catcher costs little and saves most calls. Rinse it after each shower. Every few months, remove the strainer and wipe out what has passed. Conditioner-heavy households may need this monthly.
What we open up on this job
| Part | Where we find it | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Bath basin trap arm | 1¼ in. ABS or chromed brass | Pull the trap, hand-auger the arm, hair hook |
| Kitchen branch | 1½ in. ABS, older homes 1½ in. copper DWV | Small sectional cable, grease scrape, flush hot |
| Basement floor drain | 3 in. trap into the building drain | Clear the trap, check the trap primer or prime it |
| Main building drain | 4 in. under the slab to the cleanout | Sectional machine through the cleanout, then camera |
Signs it is time to call
- Water sits in the basin for a minute before it goes
- Gurgling in the tub when the toilet flushes
- A sour or sewer smell rising from a drain
- Puddle at the floor drain on laundry day
- Basin and tub both sluggish
On the truck for this one
- Cup and flange plungers
- ¼ in. hand auger
- Drum machine with ⅜ in. cable
- Sectional machine for 3–4 in. lines
- Drop cloths and a wet vac
Quick answers
Can you clear it without removing tile?
Almost always. We work from the drain opening and the overflow.
Why does it smell like sewage?
A trap that dries out or a loose drain body can let sewer gas in. We check both while we are there.