Advice requested to unclog a shower stall (75 or 100 foot snake?)

[Danny D]

Any suggestions for unclogging a shower drain elsewhere?

A friend called just now with a plumbing problem saying her shower is backing up into the bedroom, so I pulled my old BrassCraft Cable Drum Machine BC-400 out of storage - but it is in sad shape (long story):

The current cable is apparently 3/8" x 75 feet with an aircraft wire core running through the center.

Even my hand snake is in bad shape (probably left outside):

So, it looks like I'm in need of a snake to unclog a shower stall.

For the BC400, I'm wondering if a 100 foot cable replacement would be better than a 75 foot cable; but I don't even know if it will fit.

I called BrassCraft at 877-272-7755 who said to call Cobra at

800-835-2200 and I left a couple of messages earlier today, but they haven't responded.

It's not a big deal, but, if you have experience with either unclogging a shower or with fitting replacing 75 foot or 100 foot cable snakes, I'd appreciate the advice.

[trader4]

Good grief dude! You have a unique knack of making one hell of a project ot of what is usually a simple thing. A 100 ft snake to unclog a shower drain? Even in the largest house, if the shower is the only problem, it's probably in the trap which is almost always within a few feet away, or maybe even before the trap....

I have visions of a long thread with 100 posts, as Danny tries to figure out how to take apart 100 ft of plumbing to get the snake out that is now stuck in the ladies pipes....

[Retired]

"shower is backing up into the bedroom" ?? Is water coming up thru the bedroom floor (leak), or is water overflowing the shower pan (clog)??

If leak , good luck.

If clog, go to hardware and get the "Drain-O" type kit that has the red plastic "snake" . It is thin enough to fit without needing to remove drain plug cover.

[Ken]

And I would add: That it is almost certainly hair that is doing the clogging. Get something that will dissolve the hair if you choose not to put a snake through it.

[Paul Drahn]

Hair in the trap, for sure! Simply use a sink plunger to loosen the plug and flush it on down. Have to do it with our shower every 2-3 years.

Paul

[Moe DeLoughan]

Or use a Zip-It tool. A package of two can be picked up for about $2.50 and they can be reused several times. Just push it down the drain into the trap, then pull it out. The hair and gunk clogging the trap get caught on the tool's reverse teeth and are pulled out with the tool. Quick and easy.

[jamesgang]

just now with a plumbing problem saying her shower is backing up into the b edroom, so I pulled my old BrassCraft Cable Drum Machine BC-400 out of stor age - but it is in sad shape (long story):

The current cable is apparently 3/8" x 75 fee t with an aircraft wire core running through the center. Even my hand snake is in bad sh ape (probably left outside): mg/13138195.jpg So, it looks like I'm in need of a snake to unclog a shower stall. For the BC400, I'm wondering if a 100 foot cable replacement would be better than a 75 foot cable; but I don't even know if it will fit. I cal led BrassCraft at 877-272-7755 who said to call Cobra at 800-835-2200 and I left a couple of messages earlier today, but they haven't responded. It's not a big deal, but, if you have experience with either unclogging a shower or with fitting replacing 75 foot or 100 foot cable snakes, I'd appreciate the advice.

Find someone that know's what they are doing.

[ChairMan]

In news:knlllp$fmh$ [e-mail], Danny D belched:

Dude, you have more issues than Carter has liver pills. WTF? Get a closet snake. take the drain cover off and snake to the main drain, which a 6' closet snake will do

[DD_BobK]

+10 :)

[DD_BobK]

[Danny D]

Since my friend needed it yesterday, I bought a new 25 foot 1/4" and 50 foot 3/8" snakes from Ace Hardware:

I have very little experience with snakes, but how do you prevent the cable from rusting?

Also, the 50 foot 3/8" cable I bought yesterday did not come with any wire inside - but the original 75 foot snake did have a thick wire inside.

Does it matter if the cable doesn't have that thick wire?

[Danny D]

That would have been a wonderful idea had I thought of it.

In hindsight, do you think I perhaps could have used my

65 foot steel electrical-wire fishtape?

[chaniarts]

no. they're smooth by design. you want something with hooks on it.

[Danny D]

The water was overflowing the shower pan.

[Danny D]

As you surmised, it was a clump of long brunette hair!

I plunged for a half hour, to no effect (other than to bring up some horrid black goop from God knows where)...

[Danny D]

Well, I learned that both snakes I bought fail for different reasons, so now I know two things I had not known before.

The 25 foot 1/4 inch snake wouldn't go more than about

10 feet, which, I think, was because it was too thin.

The 50 foot 3/8 inch snake wouldn't go more than about

3 feet, which, I think, was because it was too thick.

BTW, how do you *coil up* those 50 feet snakes when you're all done with them?

[Danny D]

Luckily there was no "plunger assembly" in the shower stall.

However, I did clean out the sink plunger, by unscrewing the cap and removing clumps of brown hair with a screwdriver.

[Danny D]

Ken, you were exactly on the money!

She's a brunette with very long hair:

[Danny D]

I'm not sure where or what a closet snake is.

Do you mean this type (with the drill attachment)?

The problem with that 25 foot 1/4 inch snake was that it wouldn't go past the length you see there (about 10 feet) into the drain.

I don't know what stopped it, but even after trying for 15 minutes, I couldn't get it to go any deeper than 10 feet.

Would someone with more experience than I kindly explain *why* that thin snake wouldn't go more than 10 feet down a shower drain pipe?

[Danny D]

Luckily the drain cover popped out with a twist of a screwdriver.

Now that I have my first experience with a shower stall, I must ask how you're *supposed* to twist the darn 3/8" snake by hand?

They give you a handle which I used like this to get the hair out:

But, every time I tried to twist that almost-straight handle, *this* twisting mess is what happened to the cable:

May I ask: How are you supposed to spin that 3/8" cable with that handle without twisting the rest of the cable into a gory mess?