Hi there. We just purchased a house with older pipes. The shower drain on the second floor is incredibly slow: when you remove the plug from the bath it does not move at all. I've read all of the "snaking" suggestions but am concerned I will injure the pipes, having no idea what kind of shape they are in. Do you have any "home remedy" ideas that would not have a possibility of hurting the pipes and might start me off in a good direction?
Thanks!

Most shower, tub and lavatory clogs are caused by a build up of rotting hair matted with grease from the soap.
Try this. Remove the two screws holding the strainer. (TIP; put the screws in the soap dish before they get lost down the drain.) Shine a light down there and with a bent coathanger fish out any hair that may be hiding down there. Then pour a 1/2 gal. of bleach down into the trap and let it set over night. Next morning flush the mess down with 2 latge pans of boiling water, (this is important). The bleach will desolve the hair and make it slippery and the boiling water will melt the grease and get the mess out of your drain. If that don't help it's time to snake the drain line. Cheers TOM