Bath and shower-tray wastes block with a very particular kind of debris: hair, soap scum, conditioner residue, and the limescale that grows on the inside of the trap in hard-water postcodes. Hair binds together into a matted plug that catches on the overflow tee just below the bath rim, and the soap film around it slowly cements that plug to the trap walls. Plunger work pushes the plug deeper into the run rather than out, which is why amateur attempts often turn a 20-minute job into a 60-minute one.
We approach bath and shower-tray unblocks from above and below. The pop-up or flip-waste mechanism is lifted out, the visible hair plug recovered by hand and tools, and a 6mm or 8mm spring rod fed through the trap connection and worked along the 40mm waste to the soil stack. Where the trap is buried under a bath panel or a tiled-in shower tray we open access cleanly, replace any perished seals while we have the trap apart, and reseat the panel with a fresh silicone weather-bead so the next service does not require cutting through new sealant. Stubborn limescale plugs on long horizontal runs are cleared with a small-bore drain jet rather than aggressive chemicals. If water is escaping around or beneath the tray rather than simply draining slowly, see our shower tray leak detection service.
Where this service applies
- Bath draining slowly after every use, hair and soap build-up on the overflow tee and trap
- Shower tray pooling water around the feet during use, partial blockage in the trap or run
- Bath fully blocked, water held to the overflow level and refusing to drain overnight
- Foul smell from the plughole when the bath or shower is not in use, dried trap or organic decay
- Pop-up or flip-waste mechanism seized, leaking, or no longer holding water in the bath
- Long horizontal shower-tray run with poor fall, limescale building up on the inside of the 40mm pipe
- Leak under the bath panel, often caused by a back-pressure split at a perished trap seal
- Shower-tray drains where a low-profile trap (under 50mm) limits access for standard rodding kit
How we deliver
No surprises, no upselling. The exact path every job follows.
- 1
Symptom check and panel access
We confirm the blockage is local to the bath or tray (rather than a deeper stack issue) by running adjacent fixtures, then open the bath panel or access trap to reach the run. - 2
Bail and contain standing water
Standing water bailed into a 25-litre bucket, towels laid under the trap, and any electrical fittings adjacent (shaver point, under-bath light) isolated for the duration of the work. - 3
Hair plug recovery from above
Pop-up or flip-waste lifted out, hair plug at the overflow tee recovered with a hooked tool, and the immediate inlet cleared. On many jobs this alone restores flow within the first 20 minutes. - 4
Trap strip and rod
Low-profile or P-trap removed, washed out, and a 6mm or 8mm spring rod fed through the trap connection along the 40mm waste run to the soil stack tee, recovering the bulk on retraction. - 5
Limescale clear if required
Where a hard-water limescale ring has narrowed the trap or the horizontal run, a small-bore jet lance is used to scour the pipe wall without resorting to chemical attack on the seals. - 6
Trap rebuild with fresh seals
Trap reassembled with new sealing washers, pop-up mechanism cleaned and lubricated or replaced where the linkage is worn, and the bath or tray re-tested under a full fill-and-release cycle. - 7
Panel reseated and prevention dose
Bath panel refitted with a fresh low-modulus neutral-cure silicone bead at the floor and wall, and the trap dosed with an enzymatic treatment to break down the hair and soap film that builds up between services.