Blocked shower and bath drains cleared
Standing in ankle-deep water by the end of your shower isn't how anyone wants to start the day. When a shower or bath won't drain, it's almost always a mix of hair and soap, though in older homes the pipework itself can be part of the story. Our licensed plumbers work out of Matraville and look after homes throughout the southern Eastern Suburbs. You'll get a clear explanation, your options, and a fixed price before any work begins.
What a blocked shower or bath looks like
Water pooling at your feet
If the shower base fills while the water's running, the waste can't keep up. A partial blockage near the grate is the usual reason, and it rarely clears itself.
Bath takes ages to empty
A bath that drains in a slow spiral, or leaves a grey ring and grit behind, has a narrowing somewhere between the plug and the floor waste.
Musty or sewer smells
Rotting hair and soap give off a damp, stale odour. A true sewer smell can mean the trap has dried out or is damaged, so the seal against drain gases is gone.
Water coming up from below
Dirty water rising through the shower grate when you flush the toilet or run the washing machine is a warning sign. It usually means the main drain is blocked and the shower is the lowest outlet.
How we get the water flowing again
We start by lifting the grate or bath waste and checking the trap, which is where hair tends to wrap itself into a tight, slimy plug. Pulling that out by hand or with a drain tool often fixes a simple blockage in minutes. If the clog is further down, we use a drain machine sized for small bathroom waste pipes so the pipework isn't strained.
When water is coming back up through the shower rather than going down, the problem isn't in the bathroom at all. We'll trace it to the main line, which might be blocked by roots, a collapsed clay section or a build-up of waste, and clear it from the outside access point. A camera inspection can confirm the cause so the same thing doesn't happen next month.
Old or poorly installed traps sometimes need replacing. A cracked trap, a missing water seal or a pipe with too little fall will keep causing slow drainage and smells no matter how often it's cleaned. If that's what we find, we'll explain the repair and price it before going any further.
Shower drains in southern Eastern Suburbs bathrooms
Plenty of original bathrooms in Matraville, Malabar, Maroubra and Botany still have their first floor wastes and traps, often in cast iron, lead or galvanised steel. These metals corrode and roughen over decades, and every rough patch gives hair and soap scum something to cling to. Older shower bases were also sometimes laid with very little slope to the waste, so water lingers and debris settles.
Underneath many of these homes, clay sewer pipe runs through sandy soil. Joints can move and let tree roots in, which is a common cause of water backing up into a shower that otherwise seemed fine. Units and townhouses in Pagewood and Eastgardens tend to have PVC waste and smaller grates that clog quickly with long hair. We work on all of them.
Simple things you can check yourself
- Lift the shower grate and remove any hair you can see, wearing gloves.
- Fit a hair catcher over the grate or bath plughole and clear it regularly.
- Pour a kettle of hot (not boiling) water down weekly to soften soap residue.
- If a rarely used shower smells, run it for a minute to refill the trap's water seal.
- Check your outside gully. If it's overflowing, the main drain is blocked and you should call a plumber rather than keep using the bathroom.
Avoid wire coat hangers and strong chemical cleaners. Wire can scratch or puncture old traps, and caustic products can attack the seals around the waste, which leads to leaks under the tiles.
Blocked drain or leaking shower?
Sometimes the two go together. A shower that drains slowly holds water against the grout and waterproofing for longer, and over time that can find its way through. If you've noticed damp skirting boards, lifting tiles or a stain on the ceiling below, mention it when you call. We'll look at both, and you can read more about leaking shower repairs here.
Why locals call us
- Licensed plumbers and gasfitters (Lic. 398171C)
- Free on-site quotes for homeowners
- Your options and a fixed price before we start
- Lifetime labour warranty on our workmanship
- More than 100 five-star Google reviews
Common questions
Why does water come up through my shower drain when I flush the toilet?
The sewer line is likely blocked further down. Waste from the toilet can't get past the blockage, so it rises out of the lowest fixture, which is often the shower. Stop using water and call us so we can clear the main line.
What causes most shower blockages?
Hair bound together with soap and shampoo residue. Conditioner and body oils make it sticky, so it forms a mat in the trap that catches everything after it.
My shower smells but drains fine. What's wrong?
The trap may have lost its water seal, either because the shower isn't used often or because the trap is cracked or poorly vented. Running water through it is the first test. If the smell returns, we can check the trap and venting.
Can you unblock a bath without removing it?
Nearly always. We clear the waste through the plughole and overflow, or through an access point. Removing a bath is very rarely needed for a blockage.
Are old metal shower wastes worth replacing?
If the trap is badly corroded, cracked or keeps blocking, replacing it is usually the better long-term choice. If it's sound, a good clean is enough. We'll tell you which applies.
How can I stop my shower blocking again?
Use a hair catcher, clear the grate every week or two, and give the drain a hot-water flush now and then. If you have long hair in the household, those habits make the biggest difference.
Do you give a price before unblocking the drain?
Yes. Once we've seen the problem we explain what's needed and give you a fixed price, and the work only goes ahead when you're happy with it.
Find out more about our blocked drain services, CCTV drain inspection and leaking shower repairs, or see how we handle a blocked kitchen sink. We regularly work in Malabar, Maroubra, Eastgardens and Coogee.
Want to know more first? Read our free guide to blocked drains, written with local homes in mind.