Slow Shower/Tub Drain

[JTejas]

I have a shower that is draining very, very slow. I have tried using a plunger, but the water just goes up the drain of the garden tub next to the shower. I am unable to remove the drain cover in the shower. Could I run a snake through the overflow valve in the tub? (The water drains from the tub, to the shower, and then outside.)

My other idea was putting the shop-vac hose down the clean out towards the house, blocking off the tub drain/overflow, and using the plunger in the shower.

Any thought/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[bigblock440]

Yes, they are connected, or you could use the sink that the water is coming out of.  Chemical drain unblockers work well too, if they can reach the clog, though they often can't.  A drain bladder/blow bag could work, but you'd have to read up on using one and you'd have to make sure it's past where the sink joins the line. 

[thd7t]

Do you have someone who can hold wet rags in/over the tub drains?  Then you should be able to plunge.

[Boofinator]

In my experience, this has always been caused by a buildup of hair in the drain. Remove the drain if you can, and start pulling out the hair with your hand or a tool. Shouldn't take but ten minutes to have it as good as new.

[Sibley]

Agreed that it's probably hair. You can get small snakes of various types to clear them. If you get the plastic one, just be careful not to break it off in the drain.

[lthenderson]

My preferred method is gel type liquid plummer that has set for the recommended amount of time followed by a large pot of boiling water to flush it.

[SunnyDays]

When my bathroom sink clogged, I tried Liquid Plummer 3 times, with only limited success.  Tried Draino after that and it cleared it completely.  Don't know if the latter is better than the former, or if the 4th time was the charm.

[BudgetSlasher]

I'm onboard with the thought that it is likely hair; every time I have had a shower or tub issue that has been what it was (sinks seem to have been more a crud build up from soap/toothpaste/shaving trimmings/whatever else get washed down.

I tend to use a barbed plastic piece about 2 feet long and it always pulls up something akin to a dead squirrel.

Can you explain why you are unable to remove the drain cover? That seems very odd for a shower.

You say the shower drains from the shower to the tub to outside; do you mean outside as in out of the house (to city sewer or septic) and just venting to daylight outside? If the later you could probably run a snake backwards from outside (though that is also an odd situation).

To answer your question, you should be able to snake via the tub overflow (if everything is installed correctly).