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We recently paid a plumber $95 to clean a clogged bathtub drain. All our home remedy tips did not free the clog. In fact, we even had to have them get the "snake" that we had used out of the drain because it was lodged in and we couldn't get it to move. He shared a tip that will help keep drains clear.
The problem we had was that hair had clogged it up. He said to pour a half gallon of Clorox in there once a month to keep it flushed. He also said never to use those liquid drain cleaners in a situation like this because they would just stop at the blocked up place and make the situation worse.By Sandy from Elon, NC
If drain cleaners are not working in a shower or bathtub drain, the problem might be higher up.
The shower drain in my long-haired teenage daughter's bathroom was plugged so badly she ended up standing in water up to her ankles when she took a shower. I tried all kinds of drain cleaners, to no avail. Then one day, I took the grate off the top of the drain so that I could look down with a flashlight and possibly see something. What a surprise: I could only see a couple of inches down! The crossbars in the pipe, like a plus sign about two inches down, were completely covered with hair!
For slow drains in old houses, pour a bottle of bleach down the tub drain once a month in the evening (every 5 weeks for the bathroom sink). In the morning, heat up a tea kettle and pour one gallon of water down the drain. Aim for the drain (or use a funnel), so as not to crack porcelain. This works only on slow drains.
Source: Frugal Village
By Monica from Cortez, CO
I was so happy to find these handy tools at Lowe's. No more using wire to unclog the bathroom sink, and the cute little bathtub plunger, was so colorful to pass up!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a clogged shower and my toilet drains into the shower. I ran a snake down into the shower and it felt like it was coming out the vent. I ran a hose into the vent and the water came into the shower. Can someone please help?
By Ernster
I would try pouring about 1/4 cup of dawn dish detergent down the drain and let it sit for 15 minutes then follow it with a kettle of hot water and then do a little plunging.
I had a similar problem, finally called the plumber. There were tree roots getting into the sewer line, he cleared them out.
When we recently found that the water in my bathtub was not draining. I discovered that the lever from the overflow cover was broken. I replaced the bathtub overflow cover unit with a new one.
When I completed the replacement, I tested the water in the tub for drainage and the bathtub drained just fine. When I pressed the lever one direction, it drained and when pushed the other direction, it blocked. Two days later the tub will not drain. I removed the newly installed cap and pulled the whole unit that's connected to it out of the overflow pipe, which had a metal cylinder-like tube at the end.
By Joe
I have had to plunge the bathtub also from time to time. You have to cover any other openings when you plunge the bathtub or the plunger wont work very well. I wish I had more to advise than this!
Blessings and good luck on the bathtub!
We had that problem too. We snaked the bathroom tub, sink, & stool so many times. The answer came to us when we had to replace the stool. We found a plumber in the yellow pages. Got some good recommendations. They came and snaked the stack! You have to go on the roof for that.
If you can access the stack, rent as big a plumber's snake as possible and to the job yourself. Be sure to ask the rental agency lots of questions, they want their equipment back in good shape too. Be sure to clean the snaket off too. That is just plain common courtesy. You will save lots of little tub snaking jobs in the future.
I need to know if my problem is a pipe clog or a septic problem. The tub fills only to flow from under the toilet and therefore floods the bathroom.
By Amy
Since no one has answered yet, I'll take a guess. You might have a leak somewhere under the tub, or even a hairline crack if your tub is fiberglass.
Hopefully, you have called a plumber on this. There are many reasons for such situations, but it is not something one fixes oneself. You are always better to report the symptoms to the professional, and let them figure out how to fix the problem.
You want to know whether it's a drain clog or a septic problem. If some of your drains are working it's not a septic problem, it's a blockage where the drain from the tub joins the drain from the toilet, or just below that. In that case, water from the tub can back up toward the toilet. There's a wax seal between the toilet and the floor, and if that seal is not perfect, then water backing up to the toilet will leak onto the floor.
Pipe clog (unless all your drains are stopped). The clog is below where the drain from the tub joins the drain from the toilet. The wax seal under the toilet is leaking, and water from the tub backs up to the toilet and leaks through the seal onto the floor.
In my bathroom the face basin and toilet drains properly, but the bathtub does not, it drains outside of my house. I ran a snake in the pipe and that did not help, what can I do?
By lovell from Houston, TX
Did you try 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup vinegar close the drain tightly, let stand for 30 minutes, and pour one gallon hot bubbling water.
Try putting 1 cup baking soda in drain. Follow with either 1 cup salt OR 1 cup vinegar. Finish with 1 cup boiling water. If you run out of liquid before all the soda and/or salt is down, you can push it along with a little extra vinegar or boiling water. Wait at least 1 hour before using drain.
What is the best way to clean a tub drain?
By Barbara Leviton from FL
My plumber told me to use a half cup of bleach in each drain. Let it sit overnight and then in the morning run hot water, especially good on the kitchen (grease). It also is good removing soap gunk in the bath drain. But if you have a clog from roots or even hair, you need to snake the drain.
A tub drain often has hair stuck in it. Pry off the cover and reach in with something like an old toothbrush to snag out the hair and accumulated soap gunk. Hopefully, this glob of hair and whatnot is all that is causing your drain to be sluggish.
I have found that Drano crystals are very effective for dissolving accumulated hair and soap scum.
I don't put any faith in the baking soda and vinegar treatment, as all that does is create air bubbles in the drain. Pouring coke down the drain would also put bubbles in the drain. Why would that work? I know people swear by it, but I just don't believe it! I suspect that baking soda and hot water would help in a kitchen drain, as it would react chemically with grease build up. Drain cleaners are strong bases; baking soda is a mild base -- the chemical reaction would be the same, only not as strong.
I need to unclog a tub drain that has sheet rock pieces in it. The tub is stopped up.
By Linda
Would love answer because I have been having tub clogged 3 days.Liquid plumber and can drano crystals. Help!
My bathtub has a self close stopper. I took off the little thing connected to a chain that went down in the pipe to open and close the drain. When I did the tub got slower and slower to drain. Is there something dropped down in the pipe that is keeping water from draining out of the bathtub?
By Shelia
I use a product called Thrift (this product is recommended by plumbers) to unclog drains. After standing in water in the bathtub, I used the product with no results. Any suggestions will be appreciated. I need to avoid plumber cost.
By CAROLYN
A natural solution for clearing a drain is using vinegar, baking soda, and boiling water. While effective on moderate drain clogs, you must make sure all of the baking soda is flushed from your drain or it can create an even worse clog when it dries and becomes hard.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I have a slow kitchen drain. Anyone have any tips for unclogging it? I know I've seen answers to this in the newsletters but I can't find where I filed them.
- Linne Dodds
Mix 1 c. salt and 1 c. baking soda, pour down drain followed by 1 c. vinegar. It will boil and bubble, cleaning out the drain. When all the bubbling stops follow up with a lot of hot water. Hope this helps. (05/10/2001)
By Connie
The best kitchen drain cleaner I've ever used is: 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup baking soda sprinkled into the drain; pour 1/2 cup vinegar over it and let sit for about 15 minutes. Pour boiling water (I usually just use hot tap water) over it for several minutes. This flushes the drain nicely, removes grease and/or hair buildup, and keeps the drain open for a long, long time. Even my husband was impressed with how effective it is! (05/10/2001)
By Jennifer
Using a septic tank treatment in the drain every month will keep it cleared out. If you have a disposer use the rubber plug that came with it to stop up the non disposer side, then fill the disposer side with water. Hold the plug in the non disposer side down firmly and turn the disposer on. The disposer will turn into a water pump and force the clog out. (07/05/2005)
By Jeff
Baking soda and hot water, or simply boiling water are often enough to clean the sink.
When you use baking soda and vinegar together, they bubble and create CO2, but they don't react with the grease in the clog. Products such as Drano are a strong base, and they react with the grease in the clog and dissolve it (base+grease=soap). Baking soda is a milder base, and so will work in the same way. (01/05/2009)
By Louise B.
I need to unstop bath tub drain. It is loaded with hair.
By beffy from Dayton, OH
I've used tweezers to get most of mine out. After that I use the white vinegar and baking soda remedy. I also bought those screen plug drain things for all my drains. I found mine at my local flea market. (10/11/2010)
By Keeper
"Nair" will do it very fast if the problem is hair. It is made to dissolve hair on your body and it will do the same thing in your sink. (10/12/2010)
By Lilac
On the Mr. Fix-It show on WGN radio, Saturday morning, Lou Manfordeni suggested using a 'Drain Claw' to remove hair from drains. It costs about $5.00, and is sold at most ACE or True Value Hardware stores. He also suggests some drain cleaner with the word CAT in the name. (Can't remember complete name, maybe something like Black Cat.) Give the drain claw a try. (10/12/2010)
By Wisgal
I think the ladies who have thought to use Nair (or any other product such as that) are brilliant. I would try just fishing out the hair with a wire or pliers or part of a coat hanger bent into a loop. I also use an old toothbrush. If that doesn't do the trick, use Nair.
I don't see how vinegar and baking soda will do anything, but bubble. Do they dissolve your hair if your put the solution on your head? Of course not! What they do is react together to make salt water and carbon dioxide, hence, the bubbles. (10/12/2010)
By Louise B.
Do you have an afghan crochet hook, can you borrow one? It is a crochet hook that is long and straight like a knitting needle. Hopefully you can reach into the drain with it and pull out the hair. (10/12/2010)
Use Clorox (about 2 cups) and boiling water. Alternate between the two. Give the Clorox time to "eat" up the hair. Trust me this works every time. You may have to use a whole bottle of Clorox and keep redoing it, but it will clear out any drain. (10/13/2010)
By Jennifer
Use a wet/dry vac, just don't turn it on till you have the nozzle firmly over the drain opening. Works like a charm and no chemicals. (10/21/2010)
By Tina
My tub drains slowly (the only one in the house that does). I am sure there isn't a clog. I have an enamel tub, so I removed the plate, and when I gently pulled it out there wasn't a chain. I don't know if it a plunger type or a ball. Do I have to remove the tub, or is there a way to take out the drain plate from the tub so I can see into the drain?
By George from Berlin, MD
By Scotty
10/29/2010
Sometimes when a bath tub drain is slow, there is an accumulation of hair and crud in the drain between the tub and the trap. Trap cleaners rarely clear these obstructions. There is a tool available at most home stores that is just right for this job and it only costs a couple of dollars. Find a Zip It, they work great!
Good luck. Rygobus
What is a good way to open a slow drain without taking everything apart?
How can I clean out my bath tub drain? I've pulled out a clog of hair, but it still doesn't drain properly. I don't want to have to hire a plumber.
What can I use besides commercial drain cleaner to clear a clogged kitchen drain?
These ideas may or may not work for a really badly clogged drain, depending on what's clogging it, but it's worth a try.
Our kitchen sink is draining slowly. Can anyone help me with this problem?
I need to know how to remove hair from the bathtub drain. The water cannot go down well, because the drain is clogged up with hair. Please also advise me how to avoid the same problem in the future?
Tips for clearing a stubborn or clogged drain. Post your ideas.
