Blocked bath or shower drain — Oldham & Manchester
A shower tray that takes longer and longer to clear, or a bath that leaves an inch of water behind every time, is almost always hair and soap residue building up in the waste. I clear blocked baths and showers across Oldham and Manchester, and I'll check the trap and overflow properly rather than just running a plunger over the plughole and hoping.
How a blocked bath or shower shows up
These tend to get worse gradually rather than block outright overnight:
- Water pooling around your feet in the shower tray before it slowly drains away
- The bath taking noticeably longer to empty than it used to
- A bad smell rising from the shower or bath plughole
- Gurgling from the plughole once the water finally goes
- The overflow dripping or the bath filling faster than it drains during a fill
- A shower tray that's completely stopped draining and holds standing water
- Water coming up through the bath plughole when the toilet is flushed nearby
Clear quote before any work starts. A call-out fee may apply — always confirmed on the phone before we travel.
How I clear it
Baths and showers usually block in the trap or the first stretch of waste pipe, so that's where I start.
- 01
Clear the visible trap
The plughole and trap are checked and cleared first — hair wrapped around the strainer or sitting in the trap accounts for a large share of shower and bath blockages on its own. - 02
Rod or auger the waste pipe
If the trap's clear but drainage is still slow, I run a flexible rod or auger through the waste pipe to break up compacted soap scum and hair further along the run. - 03
Check the overflow and shower tray connection
On baths, a blocked or disconnected overflow can make drainage look worse than it is. On shower trays, I check the trap depth and the fall of the pipe underneath, since low-profile trays are more prone to blocking if they weren't installed with enough fall. - 04
Trace to the stack if it's more than the trap
Where the blockage sits beyond the trap in the shared soil stack, I trace it through to the external chamber and clear it from there, rather than repeatedly clearing the same short section. - 05
Test with a full fill and drain
I run a full bath or shower and time how quickly it clears before I finish, so we both know it's actually sorted rather than just partially freed.
Why shower trays block more often than baths
Shower trays see water running continuously for several minutes at a time, which carries a steady stream of hair, skin cells and soap residue straight into a trap that's often shallower and narrower than a bath's. Over weeks that builds into a solid mass that a jet of water on its own can't push through.
Low-profile and level-access shower trays, which are common in newer bathrooms and adapted wet rooms across Greater Manchester, are particularly prone to this because there's less depth in the trap and less fall in the pipe run underneath — a small amount of debris has a much bigger effect than in a standard bath waste.
Where a shower has blocked repeatedly despite regular clearing, it's often worth having the trap and pipe fall checked properly rather than clearing it again and again — sometimes the tray was fitted without quite enough gradient to keep itself clear.
Is this an emergency, or can it be booked in?
Both are fine — but it helps us prioritise if you know which one you're describing.
- The shower or bath has completely stopped draining
- Water is backing up from the bath or shower when another fixture is used
- Standing water in a shower tray is the household's only shower
- A strong sewage smell has developed suddenly around the drain
- Drainage has slowed gradually over a few weeks but hasn't stopped
- There's occasional gurgling with no standing water yet
- You want a shower tray's fall checked after repeated minor blockages
- It's a second bathroom and not urgent
Emergency? Here's what to send us
A photo or short video helps too. The more we know before setting off, the less time is wasted when we get there.
Your postcode
So we can tell you straight away whether you're inside the radius we cover.
What the problem is
In your own words — where the water is coming from and how long it's been going on.
A phone number
The best number to reach you on when we're close, so nobody is left waiting at the wrong door.
House or flat
Flats, shared risers and upstairs neighbours change how a leak has to be isolated.
Blocked Bath & Shower — common questions
Is it safe to use a hair-catching drain cover to prevent this?
Yes, a simple mesh strainer over the plughole catches most hair before it reaches the trap and is one of the cheapest ways to cut down how often a shower blocks.
My bath drains fine but the shower over it doesn't — how does that work?
If they share the same waste and trap, that usually points to the blockage being close to the shower end of the run — often hair caught right at the plughole or grille rather than further down.
Can a blocked bath overflow cause a leak?
If the overflow itself is blocked or disconnected, water can end up running down behind the bath panel instead of away safely, so it's worth checking if you've noticed damp near the bath panel.
Do you need to lift floor tiles to get to a shower trap?
Not usually — most shower traps are accessible from an inspection panel or from underneath via a nearby cupboard or ceiling void. Lifting tiles is a last resort and I'd always tell you first if it looked necessary.
How is a blocked bath or shower call priced?
You'll get a clear quote before any work starts, and a call-out fee may apply — always confirmed on the phone before I travel out to you.
More answers on our plumbing FAQ page and in how it works.
Related jobs we take on
Areas we cover for this
Plumbing emergency right now?
Call and speak to the plumber who will be doing the job — not a call centre. Lines are open 24 hours a day, every day.
You get a clear quote before work starts. A call-out fee may apply — confirmed on the phone before we travel.