You roll out of bed and make your way into the bathroom. You’re ready for a refreshing shower to start your day off right. But as you lather up your hair, you realize the water is creeping up around your ankles. Before your next shower, you need to unclog that bathtub drain!
Thankfully, fixing a clogged bathtub drain is a task that any homeowner can do. We’ll show you how to unclog a tub drain and answer a few of your most frequently asked questions.
Tips on How to Unclog a Bathtub
When you first notice your tub drain is clogged, a chemical drain cleaner may come to mind as an easy solution, but this is a harmful way to unclog drains. Repeated use of harsh chemicals can damage your pipes and lead to trouble in the future. Pouring these toxic substances down the drain can also pollute the municipal water supply.
Using natural methods and home remedies to unclog a bathtub drain is much better. Here are the top suggestions from the professionals at Mr. Rooter Plumbing®. Below, we list five ways to try clearing that tub drain:
1. Manually Remove Easy-to-Reach Gunk
To do this, start by putting on gloves and removing the stopper. If your tub has a pop-up drain plug, insert a screwdriver under the cover, loosen the screw, and remove the plug by pulling up on it. As you lift it out, you may find that hair and other debris have accumulated there. If you don’t want to remove this gunk by hand, bend a wire coat hanger into a hook using needle-nose pliers and fish out any foreign material from the drain with this handy tool.
Sometimes, simply removing and cleaning these parts will get things moving. Send a blast of hot water down the drain to finish the job. If the tub still backs up, you still have a clogged tub drain, which means the blockage is located further down, and you’ll need to try other home remedies to unclog it.
2. Pour Baking Soda and Vinegar Down the Drain
Pouring a cup of baking soda followed by one cup of vinegar can loosen things up in your drain. The foaming action of the baking soda and vinegar creates pressure to force the clog down while also cleaning the inside of the drain. This simple solution might be all it takes to clear your bathtub drain clog!
3. Use Boiling Water
When you want to learn how to drain a clogged bathtub without needing any fancy ingredients or equipment, you’re in luck! You can try boiling a large pot of water and pouring it slowly down the tub drain. The goal is to dissolve the soap scum and dislodge the buildup.
4. Use a Plunger
With the stopper removed, you can try to clear a clogged bathtub drain using a plunger. To do this, you need to plug the overflow drain to create a vacuum by removing the cover plate below the bathtub faucet and inserting a washcloth or hand towel into the hole so air can’t escape.
Next, set the plunger over the drain and fill the tub with a few inches of hot water. Apply several thrusting motions to attempt to get things moving.
5. Use a Plumber’s Snake
If the clog remains despite your efforts with a plunger, it’s time to break out the heavy artillery. An auger, or plumber’s snake, features a long, flexible cable with a coiled spring at one end and a hand crank on the other. You can purchase or rent one for the job.
Insert the cable into the drain and turn the crank until you reach the blockage. If you haven’t already removed your tub stopper, do so before using the auger. Push and pull the cable to help it become embedded in the clog. Then, turn the crank in the opposite direction to pull the cable back out. If the coiled spring comes up empty, insert it into the overflow drain to clear blockages beyond the drain trap. The clogged drain pipe in your bathtub could be a thing of the past!
Contact Mr. Rooter Plumbing® for Help Clearing Clogged Drains
Is your bathtub drain clogged? It won’t be for long! While you should be able to unclog the bathtub yourself, you may not have the time, patience, or capability to do the job. Fortunately, Mr. Rooter Plumbing® is here to help. We offer quick, efficient drain clearing to get your tub flowing smoothly again.
To schedule services with one of our courteous plumbers, call us or set up a service online.
