How To Clear A Clogged Tub Drain Easily
From time to time, the water just stops flowing down your drain. You know the situation: you are suddenly standing in an inch of water every time you take a shower, and it takes half an hour after you’re done before the tub is dry again. When you have a clogged tub drain, all you want is for it to flow again.
Make sure that your drain is free of hair. This might seem simple, but don’t just use your eyes to do this. Put your finger or a pair of tweezers (careful not to drop them) into the drain, and feel around for globs of hair. Sometimes these get stuck just inside the mouth of the drain, where they aren’t visible. A big gross wad of hair means you are in luck, though you might not feel like it while you’re holding it.
If there’s no visible or reachable wad of hair in the drain, it’s time to deal with clogs further down the line. The first thing to try is lots of hot water. Use the tap first, and if this shows no improvement, graduate to boiling water from your stove-top, microwave or teakettle. Sometimes this will sufficiently loosen the clog to allow it to wash away.
A natural method that’s worth trying is pouring baking soda and vinegar down the drain. The mixture reacts and bubbles fiercely, and this agitation might be enough to loosen clogs stuck in the pipe. To do this, pour the baking soda down the drain first, then pour in lots of vinegar. Let it bubble itself out, then wash it down with hot water. Repeat if necessary.
If you are to the point where none of these simple remedies seem to be working, you have a choice to make. There is, of course, the option of using traditional, caustic drain cleaners. But these are bad for the environment, and potentially dangerous for pets and children. So, you could consider buying a drain snake.
A drain snake is a metal device that is flexible enough to insert into a pipe. You work it into the pipe by turning a handle, and the bulbous end of the snake clears or grabs and removes any clogs in the drain. It can be purchased at most home supply stores.
If your tub has what looks like a permanent hair trap set into the drain, check and make sure that there’s no way to remove it. Sometimes the pieces that look permanent really aren’t. If yours is truly built in, you’ll have to thread the snake into the pipes by removing the plate that covers the overflow drain, and putting it down that opening.
If none of these things work, you might need a plumber. Unfortunately, some clogs are just too big, too stubborn, or too far down there for people to deal with on their own. Plumbers have special equipment that enables them to deal with even the most stubborn clogged tub drain when other people can’t.
Sometimes you just need to fix a clogged tub drain for expert drain cleaning in San Francisco
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