Inland, a clogged shower is almost always hair and soap. In La Jolla, especially within a few blocks of the beach, there’s a third ingredient that makes things much worse: sand.
After a day at the Shores, Windansea or Marine Street, sand comes home in hair, on feet, in swimsuit linings and on wetsuits. A surprising amount of it goes down the shower. Unlike hair and soap, sand doesn’t float. It sinks to the lowest point it can find, which is the trap under your shower, and stays there.
Here’s how to clear a shower drain clogged with sand and hair, step by step, and how to stop it coming back.
Why sand and hair make such a stubborn clog
On its own, a little sand washes through. On its own, hair forms a loose mat that a plunger or a plastic drain strip can usually pull out. Together, they form something much denser.
Hair catches at the strainer or the top of the trap. Sand settles under and through the hair mat. Soap scum binds the two together into a heavy, almost cement-like plug. Pushing it with a plunger moves water, but the sand stays put. Pushing it with a cable just shoves the whole mass further down the pipe, where the sand settles again in the branch line.
That’s why the order of steps below matters: remove the hair first, then flush the sand.
What you’ll need
- A screwdriver (for the strainer screws, if it has any)
- Rubber gloves
- A plastic drain-cleaning strip (the barbed kind sold at hardware stores, a few dollars)
- A flashlight
- A wet/dry shop vacuum, if you have one
- A bucket of very hot tap water (not boiling)
- A flat cup plunger
Step 1: Remove the strainer
Most shower strainers are held by one or two screws in the centre or at the edges. Some just pop out, and some twist out. Older La Jolla homes sometimes have a strainer that has corroded in place. If it won’t move, don’t force it with a screwdriver, as you can crack the drain body. Work through the strainer openings instead.
Step 2: Pull out the hair, don’t push it down
Feed the plastic drain strip down the drain, twist it a few times and pull it straight up. You’ll get a lot of hair, usually with sand stuck in it. Repeat until the strip comes up clean.
Use a flashlight to look down the drain. If you can see a dark, solid layer a few inches down, that’s the sand and soap layer in the trap.
Step 3: Get the sand out
This is the step most people skip, and it’s why the clog comes back.
- With a wet/dry vacuum: set it to wet mode, seal the hose against the drain opening with a wet rag, and run it for 20 to 30 seconds. It will pull sand and water up out of the trap. This is the single most effective thing you can do.
- Without a vacuum: pour hot tap water down the drain in a steady stream, a few litres at a time. You’re trying to lift and carry the sand through the trap rather than letting it settle. Give it a few minutes between pours.
Step 4: Plunge gently
With some water standing in the shower pan, use a flat cup plunger over the drain. Use short, firm strokes. On a shower with an overflow, as some combination tubs have, block the overflow with a wet cloth first so you build pressure.
Step 5: Test with real volume
Run the shower at full flow for two or three minutes. A drain that seems fine with a trickle can still pool at full volume. If it’s draining freely, put the strainer back and you’re done.
What not to do
- Don’t use chemical drain cleaners. They can’t dissolve sand, and they often fail on hair too. Then you’ve got a pan of caustic water sitting on top of the clog.
- Don’t use a long metal cable yourself unless you’ve pulled the hair out first. It will compact the sand and push the whole mass further into the line.
- Don’t pour boiling water into a fibreglass or acrylic shower pan, or into PVC drain pipe. Very hot tap water does the job safely.
- Don’t ignore an outdoor shower. If you have an outdoor rinse station, check where it drains. Some older ones were plumbed into the house drain or a dry well that is now full of sand.
When it’s time to call a plumber
Call if:
- the drain is still slow after you’ve pulled the hair and flushed the trap,
- the tub or another drain is slow at the same time,
- water comes up in the shower when you flush a toilet (that’s a main-line warning sign, not a shower clog),
- or the shower clogs again within a few weeks.
That last point is common in La Jolla Shores. If the sand isn’t coming from your shower, it may be coming from outside the pipe. Much of the Shores sits on low ground with a high water table, and an old lateral with a cracked joint can let groundwater and fine sand seep in. A camera inspection will show whether that’s happening.
How we clear sand-and-hair clogs
We follow the same order, with better tools.
- Pull the hair at the strainer and trap with a retrieving tool, not a cutting head.
- Flush the branch line with a small-diameter jetting nozzle, which lifts sand and carries it out to the main rather than pushing it.
- Run the shower at full volume to confirm the flow holds.
- Check the main line if the sand load suggests it’s built up further down. Beach homes often have sand settled at the point where the lateral meets the main, and hydro jetting from the exterior cleanout clears it.
A shower or bathtub drain is $180 to $225 to clear. Booking online takes $49 off, and it’s covered by our 90-Day Clog-Free Guarantee. See our clogged drain repair page for full prices.
How to stop sand clogging your shower
- Rinse off outside first. An outdoor shower or even a hose by the gate removes most sand before it reaches the house.
- Shake out towels, swimsuits and wetsuits outdoors. Rinse wetsuits outside, not in the shower.
- Fit a fine-mesh hair catcher. It traps hair before it forms a mat, which means there’s nothing for the sand to bind to.
- Flush the drain monthly in summer with a bucket of hot tap water to keep sand moving.
- Don’t wash beach toys or boogie boards in the tub. Use the hose.
- Clean the hair catcher after every beach day. It takes ten seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my shower drain smell after a beach day?
Organic material from the sand and ocean water, such as tiny bits of seaweed, sits in the trap with soap and hair and starts to decompose. Flushing the trap with hot water usually clears the smell.
Can sand damage my pipes?
Sand doesn’t damage the pipe itself. But it narrows the line from the bottom up, which slows the flow and gives other debris something to catch on. In the main line, a sand layer can lead to recurring backups.
Does my shower or my main line have the sand problem?
If only the shower is slow, it’s the shower. If the tub, sinks or toilets are slow too, or water rises in the shower when you flush, the sand has built up in the main line.
Shower still slow? Call (858) 363-8328, or book online and save $49.