Hey everyone, this is my first post. I looked for an intro section, but I didn't see one. I might have over looked it. My question is about the shower drain in our travel trailer. Its a 29 foot Starcraft. The shower drain doesn't drain very well. It backs up and takes a while to drain. So we went to a local RV supply store and bought told them about the drain. They recommended a solution to run down the shower drain. Its a disc that you drop down the drain, and we did this process 6 times. It seemed to help slightly at first, but its back to not draining very well. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to unclog the drain safely? We were wondering if a small amount of household drain cleaner would hurt the shower? I don't see a way to take the shower drain off. Is it supposed to come off, or not be reomved? Thank you, glad to be a member.

Sounds like a wad of hair is stuck in drainGet a 'ZipIt' It is a plastic stick with barbs that you shove down drain, twist and then pull back out.........with waded up hair stuck to barbsDrain cleaners can damage seals/gaskets so best to stay away from themCover on drain hole should pop off to allow better access instead of just thru slots/holes in coverIf underbelly of trailer is NOT enclosed you could easily remove shower drain trap and clean it loutIf underbelly is enclosed then you MIGHT have access to shower drain trap via a panel (maybe)

After you get it clear get the Tubshroom on amazon..Its 10 bucks and keeps all the hair out of the drain..Worked awesome for us

Beginning Rving is our intro section.

Just take a paperclip and unbend it and then make a very close bend at the end. Stick in the drain and remove the hair and soap scum.

Pour about 1/2 bottle of Dawn liquid dish soap down the drain before you shower, we had poor draining situation in our shower and the Dawn soap sure opened things up. We also put some Dawn down the toilet to kep things loosened up and it helps keep the black tank sensors clean.

Shower Drain Not Draining Much | Good Sam Community

mr__ed
Explorer
Nov 03, 2017
Old-Biscuit wrote:
ZipIt..Home Depot, Lowes, ACE, Bed/Bath/Beyond, Target, Walmart etc

Roughly $3

X2. Hair was the main culprit for me and this little tool pulls it out nicely. I've also had some success using the exhaust hose of a canister vacuum cleaner to blow a clog into the holding tank, although there's also a possibility that all you'll do is blow the clog further down the pipe, depending on the power of your vacuum's exhaust.
JoeH
Explorer III
Nov 01, 2017
mikefos wrote:
JoeH wrote:
Be careful when using a mechanical tool to unplug RV shower drains. Some RVs use a waterless membrane trap due to the tight clearances. Using a zipit or similar tool will ruin the trap then you have a big repair job on your hands.

And how does one tell if they have a waterless membrane?

They will usually be found in showers that have no or very little underside access. So, if you don't see where there would be room for several inches of P trap, it may have a waterless membrane trap.
Here's a link to a manufacturer giving some more info.
mikefos
Explorer
Oct 31, 2017
JoeH wrote:
Be careful when using a mechanical tool to unplug RV shower drains. Some RVs use a waterless membrane trap due to the tight clearances. Using a zipit or similar tool will ruin the trap then you have a big repair job on your hands.

And how does one tell if they have a waterless membrane?
JoeH
Explorer III
Oct 31, 2017
Be careful when using a mechanical tool to unplug RV shower drains. Some RVs use a waterless membrane trap due to the tight clearances. Using a zipit or similar tool will ruin the trap then you have a big repair job on your hands.
richardcoxid
Explorer
Oct 30, 2017
My HItchhiker II has removable “P” traps on the KItchen, Bath hand sinks and the Shower Drain!
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Oct 30, 2017
I have never used chemicals and don't ever plan to. That's just me.
Turbolag11
Explorer
Oct 29, 2017
Hey everyone. Thank you so much for all the input. We bought a zipit today and pulled the drain cover off. Sure enough it was full of hair. the shower works great now.

I was thinking about still getting some Drainbo to run throuh just to help clean it more.

I'm also going to look for the tubshroom.

I'd like to hang around the forum. There is a bunch of useful information for RVing.

Thank you all again.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Oct 29, 2017
Old-Biscuit wrote:
If you have this type of shower drain the cover pops off for full access to drain opening

Thanks, yes that's true! The POS that DRV installed was a joke with it's thin stamped steel hair screen that would not stay put and would flop over leaving the clips pointed up, yES I did step on it a couple times.....GRRRRR.

Here is what I replaced. You can see the shower was designed to accept the larger drain I installed. Sad for a 130K RV!!!
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Oct 29, 2017
If you have this type of shower drain the cover pops off for full access to drain opening
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Oct 29, 2017
Open the basement door and this is what I see. I did change my drain out to a proper shower drain from the tiny thing DRV installed.