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best way to unclog a bathtub drain

V

vexingv

Golden Member
so i'm taking a shower this morning and notice that the water level keeps rising and even when i'm done the water remains there. there's no locking mechanism for the drain (i.e. i have to cork it w/ a plug to have it fill)...so theres got to be something clogging it.

should i go w/ a plunger? how well do those draino liquids work?
 
A plunger won't work on a shower drain. What you probably have is hardening of the arteries of the drainpipe. Years of accumulated soap scum and hair have reduced the drain opening to a minimum. The only option would be to sell the house at a 40% discount and start over in a new state.
 
Originally posted by: Carbo
A plunger won't work on a shower drain. What you probably have is hardening of the arteries of the drainpipe. Years of accumulated soap scum and hair have reduced the drain opening to a minimum. The only option would be to sell the house at a 40% discount and start over in a new state.
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lol...i just bought this coop 6 months ago!
 
Draino is probably the cheapest/easiest solution. Don't get cheap and buy an imitation brand though, they suck. Drano should eat up the hair that may be in there. I've had some good luck with the foaming pipe snake version as well. Don't run any water through for a while after applying the Drano either. It needs time to work. Good luck!
 
Any long haired people use that tub?

My best results with shower and tub drains is to take a wire coat hanger, straighten it out and make a small hook at the end. Then ram it in the drain as far as it will go and give it a good reaming. Usually, I'll come up with a clump of hair the size of a NY rat and the drain will flow like new again.
 
I used to have a similar issue with the tub at our old condo, every now and then, a shot of powdered Draino did the job.
 
we constantly have this problem... and Draino (and cheap stuff to an extent) is the only real solution. I don't know how true the "SAFE FOR DRAINS!" statement is... some people say it burns through them if you use it too much... thoughts ?
 
Originally posted by: Amused
Any long haired people use that tub?

My best results with shower and tub drains is to take a wire coat hanger, straighten it out and make a small hook at the end. Then ram it in the drain as far as it will go and give it a good reaming. Usually, I'll come up with a clump of hair the size of a NY rat and the drain will flow like new again.
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😀

Draino is only so effective against hair, since it's pretty thin. Maybe try that draino foaming stuff, or the gel ones...
 
Hook a garden hose up to hot water and put it as far in the drain as possible. Shove rags around it to seal things up using a screwdriver. Turn the water on and it will flush things out without any harsh chemicals.
 
Grab one of those small drain snakes @ Wal Mart for <$10 They're like a stiff tape measure, jam it into the trap &amp; pull up the nastiness or break it loose...
 
Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Amused
Any long haired people use that tub?

My best results with shower and tub drains is to take a wire coat hanger, straighten it out and make a small hook at the end. Then ram it in the drain as far as it will go and give it a good reaming. Usually, I'll come up with a clump of hair the size of a NY rat and the drain will flow like new again.
Click to expand...
😀

Draino is only so effective against hair, since it's pretty thin. Maybe try that draino foaming stuff, or the gel ones...
Click to expand...

Exactly. Draino may clean out the clumped goop that gets caught in the hair plug (and makes the plug more water tight), thuis making it seem marginally better... but it does nothing to clean out the hair itself. If you have a major hair clump, the best thing to do is ream it (AND HOOK IT then pull it out, do not push it deeper!) with a coat hanger. If the coat hanger can't get to it, you'll most likely have to rent a snake.
 
Originally posted by: rh71
we constantly have this problem... and Draino (and cheap stuff to an extent) is the only real solution. I don't know how true the "SAFE FOR DRAINS!" statement is... some people say it burns through them if you use it too much... thoughts ?
Click to expand...
I've heard this a lot too, but blew it off as nonsense....

The washing machine drain in the utility room doesen't drain very fast at all, so we thought there was a clog in there. Bought a bottle of drain-o, poured it down there.. no-go.

When we were done messing with the washer, we went to wash our hands and the kitchen sink backed up. We were like.. Huh?

Went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet. The toilet water started comming out of the bathtub drain. Wonderful.

Had to call the landlord and have them have a plumber come out. The main 8" drain pipe had given out about 20 feet from the house, right next to a giant willow tree.

Whether it was the fault of the Willow's roots and an incredible coincidence that it happened at that moment, or the drain-o... we'll probably never know.
 
Here's a nifty experiment:

Take a glass bowl. Put in a cup of water, and a huge clump of hair from your hair brush. Now, put in a cap-full of draino, the pour the solution out of the bowl leaving the hair clump there. See if it desolves the hair.
 
Originally posted by: Amused
Here's a nifty experiment:

Take a glass bowl. Put in a cup of water, and a huge clump of hair from your hair brush. Now, put in a cap-full of draino, the pour the solution out of the bowl leaving the hair clump there. See if it desolves the hair.
Click to expand...
I've actually found bleach to be just as effective as drain-o against hair. It might take a little more bleach since it's even thinner than drain-o, but it's also a lot cheaper.

But yeah, the coat hanger method is the best if it's a hair clog.
 
Originally posted by: Eli
I've actually found bleach to be just as effective as drain-o against hair. It might take a little more bleach since it's even thinner than drain-o, but it's also a lot cheaper.
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I use bleach as preventative maintainence. Every couple of weeks i pour about a half a cup down the drain when i know i won't be running water for awhile. Helps break up the soap &amp; whatnot.
 
Originally posted by: Spacehead
Originally posted by: Eli
I've actually found bleach to be just as effective as drain-o against hair. It might take a little more bleach since it's even thinner than drain-o, but it's also a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...


I use bleach as preventative maintainence. Every couple of weeks i pour about a half a cup down the drain when i know i won't be running water for awhile. Helps break up the soap &amp; whatnot.
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
yep, go at it with a plunger.
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I did that once in an old apt house I lived in. The house was probably around 25 years old. Well anyway I plunged the pipes so hard that I blew them out and started too flood the downstairs😉

Must of cost alot to fix but my landlord paid the bill.


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