How To Unclog A Bathtub Drain? Easy And Simple Steps

December 25, 2020
 | By 
Queen Plumbing Charlotte

Imagine how devastating it can get if your bathtub drain is clogged. Soap water will get accumulated on the floor, and suddenly, your washroom will get slippery and wet. Bathtub drains always require some maintenance.

The best way to clear a tub drain clog is to use a cup plunger or a drain cleaner to remove the blockage forcefully. First, take off the strainer and stopper before filling the tub with water and repeatedly plunging the drain to dislodge a clogged drain.

A bathtub drain clog can be removed in various ways that are both quick and effective. You may only need to clean the tub's filter and stopper for small clogged drains. We recommend using a cup plunger or chemical drain cleaners for more severe and widespread clogs.

The Most Common Causes Of A Tub Drain Being Clogged

  • Hair
    There's a good chance that hair is clogging up your bathtub. You have to flush it down the toilet to get rid of it. Over time, it can build up on the edges of the pipes and stick to things like dead skin or scum that have been flushed down the drain. This makes it harder for water to drain.
  • A common Clog Is Soap Scum
    Soap scum is another common thing that can block a bathtub drain. Does your bathroom shower have a white spot on the wall? You can see soap scum there. In the same way, it builds up in your drain over time. As the soap scum goes down the drain, it gets harder and causes a blockage.
  • Hard Water
    Hard water, which has a lot of minerals, might not seem like a big deal in a bathtub. These minerals, which can't be seen with the naked eye, can significantly affect your drain.

Like hair and soap scum, it builds upon the inside of pipes. Once a clog has formed, even the smallest piece of trash could add to the drain cap. This condition gets worse when the pH level is higher. Most clogs are caused by sand, dirt, and other things.

Sand and dirt can quickly build up in your drain if you've just been to the beach or if your kids play outside a lot. This is very true if your shower doesn't have a lot of water overflow plates.

How Will You Unclog A Bathtub Drain?

You can unclog your clogged bathtub by the following methods:

By Using A Pot Of Boiling Water

Shampoo and soap can leave behind a sticky residue that can clog the drain in your bathtub. Bring a pot of water to a boil on the stove and carefully pour hot water down the drain to fix the problem. It is a very efficient way to unclog drains.

Water Being Boiled To Pour Into a Clogged Tub

Even though this trick might not work for all kinds of clogs, like matted hair, the hot water should be able to dissolve most soaps in a reasonable amount of time. You can also push the needle nose pliers here to eradicate hard debris.

Remember that to do this step, you will need to know the basics of plumbing, get your hands dirty, and risk not putting the P-trap back together correctly.

If you notice something that doesn't seem right with your drain clogs, you should talk to a plumber in your area for advice. A reliable plumbing company should be able to help you over the phone or come out to see what's wrong.

You can't clear a clogged drain with boiling water. Even if the clog is small, most sinks can be fixed with hot water and a few other steps.

How To Use A Plunger To Clear A Clogged Bathtub Drain?

A plunger is one of the most common tools to keep bathtub drains from getting clogged. Your success in unclogging the drain will depend not only on what is blocking it but also on how the drain is set up and how big it is.

A Plunger Being Used For Removing The Clog From Bath Tub

Tear off a piece or two of ordinary duct tape and put it all over the overflow hole to eradicate the tub drain stopper. Make sure that the edges of the tape stick tightly to the tub, and you prevent the overflow drain.

Pull the plug out of the tub's main drain at the bottom. You might find that you need to unscrew it or turn it back and forth as you pull it up.

The tub should have about 1 to 2 inches of warm water (not cold). Using hot water can help break up the soap stuck in a shower drain. A piece of duct tape was used to cover the overflow hole from the wire coat hanger to get the tub ready.

Put the cup Plunger over the drain stick and set it up so that the lip of the cup completely seals against the surface of the tub. It is also essential to have a good seal on the cup since this is what creates suction and makes it easier for the Plunger to break up the clog.

Push the Plunger down with quick, firm strokes, pull it back up, and do this anywhere five to six times. Keep the cup closed for the first five or six strokes. On the last stroke, bring the cup up and away from the drain so that it is no longer submerged.

When you pump the Plunger, water is forced down into the pipe and sucked back up. This makes the clog move up and down with the water in the drain, which eventually breaks it up.

Repeat the process as many times as you need to until the drain starts to flow freely again. Take the duct tape off the overflow, and then put the drain stopper back in place.

Implementation Of Baking Soda And Vinegar

A mixture of vinegar and baking soda works as a fantastic cleaning solution. If you don't like using harsh chemicals to solve problems, this natural chemical drain cleaner could help you clear out a drain cover. Pour one cup of baking soda down the drain and wait for it to settle for at least five to ten minutes. The first step is this.

After that, pour one cup of white vinegar and a quarter cup of baking soda down the drain. If pouring hot water down the drain didn't clear the blockage, you could get rid of the remaining sludge with baking soda and vinegar.

Baking soda and vinegar work together to break up gross buildup, so this method should work if your drain is only slightly clogged. But you might need to pour boiling water down the drain to finish.

Manual Solution For A Clogged Tub

The best way to learn how to fix a bathtub drain that is clogged is to take out the blockage by hand. This is a more robust way to do things. Before starting the process, you should put on latex or rubber gloves.

Take the drain's cover off (check to see if there are any screws) and look inside to see if you can find where the clog is coming from. If you can reach hair or other things that could get stuck in the drain, use your fingers to pull out as much as possible.

A plumber's snake is a valuable tool for clearing clogged drains. You can buy one at almost any hardware store. Carefully move the snake down the drain until you think you've reached the blockage.

To get the snake out of the drain, spin the tool's handle until the snake comes back up and out of the drain. After you're done, pour some water down the drain to ensure the clog is gone for good.

If you follow these steps, even the most stubborn clogs should be easy to get rid of. If plunging doesn't work, try vinegar and baking soda. If that doesn't work, try the snake or claw tool on a plunger if that doesn't work. If you don't, you might have a bigger problem.

So, don't worry if you try everything and your tub drain still doesn't work. You can contact QUEEN CHARLOTTE PLUMBING at 8424 Old Statesville Rd Charlotte, NC 28269. Once we figure out what's wrong with your drain trap, we'll fix it to work well again.

Call us at 704-707-3339.

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