In Your Face, Clog
Please excuse me if this post comes off as hyper or deranged or a little bit of both, but yesterday at exactly 5:41pm I told that drain who was boss and cleared the clog. Victory is mine! And yes I did have my hands up in the hallelujah pose for at least five minutes while I stared at the euphorically-empty-tub before breaking into a full body happy dance (think Elaine from Seinfeld). The funny thing is that I did it all by myself while John was on his way home from work (gotta love girl power) and without spending a dime or using a drop or Drain-o, Liquid Plumr, or anything else that could put hair on my chest (or singe any off of John’s). Woo to the hoo.
But before we get to the drain-clearing miracle that occurred less than 24 hours ago, we have to say THANK YOU to all of the amazing guys and gals who weighed in with tons of helpful suggestions on yesterday morning’s post about our clogged drain (all 175 of you!). If anyone reading this is having a drainage issue, definitely read through all of the amazingly helpful and diverse comments (at the end of this post) for more ideas than you’ll know what to do with! We even had some plumbers (and wives/daughters of plumbers) weigh in with direct advice from the experts themselves and for that we’re eternally grateful.
For anyone dealing with a backed up sink, let’s take a look back at the initial things we did to try to solve the clog that wouldn’t quit (seriously, not an inch of water would drain in a 24 hour period):
- Fishing around with our fingers (gross, we know) dislodged a decent-sized hairball (or what John affectionately called a Sherr-ball) but didn’t open the floodgates.
- Plunging released a few more items we’d rather not have seen again, but still no change in water level.
- Even our 25 foot-long drain snake (i.e. auger) was a waste of time (though we had low expectations for it anyways).
- So then we broke out the boiling water trick that had saved our kitchen sink last year. After five attempts we had only succeeded in adding more water to our tub.
- That’s when we turned to a natural remedy: a half-cup of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar. We did that, watched our little drain volcano fizz, let it sit for five minutes, then flushed it with a gallon of boiling water. Still no luck. Even our second attempt provided no relief, just more science project flashbacks.
- I also tried this $3 As Seen On TV quality Zip-It tool referred to us by a friend on Facebook. It didn’t yield anywhere close to the über disgusting results shown in this video about it, which we were half grateful for and half frustrated by.
So after sharing those attempts in our last post where we begged for help, many readers piped up with these additional ideas (and this is just a sampling so be sure to check out all of their comments for even more):
- Pour a bottle of Dawn dish detergent down the drain and let it sit to break up grease
- Use a wire hanger to fish around for the clog
- Shoot CLR Plumber right into the drain (it’s a can of pressurized air or gas that can blast out the clog)
- Try Drain-o, Thrift, Liquid Plumr, Paqua, or Instant Power Hair Relief products with varying levels of chemicals to dissolve it
- Dump Nair into the drain to eat up the hairball
- Pour a two-liter bottle of Coke down the drain so it erodes the clog
- Try the Kleer Drain from Home Depot to blast out the blockage
- Use a drain balloon along with a garden hose to get things moving again
- Remove the trap in the basement/crawl space to get rid of the clog & snake the drain from that angle
- Check the vent pipe on the roof to be sure it’s not clogged with debris (air flow helps water flow)
- Ensure that the stopper valve didn’t fall closed deep inside the pipe, thereby blocking the water from draining
- Remove the overflow cover (on the side of the tub under the faucet) and pull out the spring and clean it of any hair/junk
Obligatory warning: of course we’re not plumbers so we can’t vouch for all of the suggested remedies above, and you should always take the types of pipes that you have- and their conditions- into consideration when trying to clear them (we have galvanized metal ones but have heard that some of the harsher solvents and chemicals can melt newer PVC pipes and even rust metal ones, so we wouldn’t go crazy with ten of these remedies at once for example). And maybe try starting off with the milder options like the wire hanger, Dawn detergent, pressurized treatments, etc before breaking out the super crazy acid-based solutions).
Second obligatory warning: if you have tried one of the more chemical fixes above (like Drain-O, Nair, Liquid Plumbr, etc, and eventually do end up calling in a plumber, PLEASE tell the plumber which chemicals you’ve already tried to help them avoid nasty chemical burns!
But back to business. Let’s get to the exact method that did the job (paired with some pretty insane determination):
Step 1: Talk some smack to the drain, just so it knows you’re not messing around this time. I think I said something to the effect of “Ok, enough of the namby pamby stuff, I’m serious. Dead serious.”
Step 2: If there’s any standing water in the tub (which was always the case with ours since it wasn’t draining at all) use a bucket and a large sponge to empty the tub as much as possible (I dumped the water into the nearby toilet and it periodically flushed itself- fun).
Step 3: Use a screwdriver to remove the overflow cover on the side of the tub under the faucet and pull out the metal coil to inspect it for any hair or junk (if you don’t have an overflow valve skip to step 5).
Step 4: If the coil is completely clean (like ours- not one single hair to be found) do not be deterred. Shove a wet washcloth into the opening under the faucet where the overflow cover had been to keep any pressure that you’re about to apply to the drain from escaping.
Step 5: Plunge the drain like it’s your job. Every ten times in a row or so the washcloth would come loose and need to be shoved tightly back into the hole to keep the air from escaping with every plunge (a tight seal is everything). If you have a spare person around they can help by holding the washcloth in place to keep the seal nice and tight, although I’m thrilled to say that I didn’t even need John (but would’ve appreciated the eye candy).
Step 6: After about three or four ten-second attempts (a total of about forty plunges) if nothing is happening don’t give up. I almost did, but the idea of another shower spent standing in five inches of stagnant water was enough to spur me on. “No. More. Wrinkly. Feet.” I chanted (screamed?) as I plunged.
Step 7: Cue the beautiful music. No it won’t be Beyoncé’s Put A Ring On It, it’ll be the glorious sound of the drain gurgling and furiously draining right before your very eyes. At least that’s what happened in my case. And I may or may not have gotten misty-eyed at the sight of the swirling water.
Step 7: Screw the overflow cover back into place and call your husband/friend/parole officer to brag about your newfound plumbing skills. In my case I called John to gloat. I also debated greeting him at the door bent over with my butt crack out (we’re married, it’s ok) but decided against it.
Step 8. As a precautionary method, to clear things out even further, pour half a cup of baking soda and a cup of white vinegar down the drain (we actually used 50% rice wine vinegar and 50% apple cider vinegar because we had it on hand and it worked like a charm). Let it sit for five minutes and then flush everything down with a gallon of boiling hot water. This time everything should be whisked right down the drain like a flume ride at an amusement park. It might be the best moment of your life.
And that’s all it took. Zero dollars, zero chemicals, and zero manpower (lady power all the way). So that’s the story of me + 1 plunger +1 dishcloth + sheer desperation. Take that clog. Who’s your daddy? And it sure beat paying a pro to come work some magic in five minutes and bill me $80-$150 for his time. Which is not to say that we don’t highly encourage hiring a professional if you just can’t crack something on your own. For example, if this had been a clog in the main line or if exterior tree roots or pipe corrosion had been involved we definitely would have been happy to pay someone to swoop in and save the day.
And now I’ll enthusiastically end this drain discussion with even more bullets, in the form of what precautions we’ll be taking to make sure this never ever happens again (many of which were suggested by our lovely readers):
- We’ll be snagging a better drain trap with mesh that blocks a heckova lot more hair than our current metal plug (seen above)
- I’ll be brushing my hair before each shower so more comes out before I step into the tub
- We’ll be using our little baking soda and vinegar science project as maintenance every month from here on out
What about you guys? Any stories of home improvement triumph following a few frustrating attempts at something? Sometimes it takes a challenge to truly make you feel victorious!
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Comments
You are my hero!
I’m embarrassed to admit no wonderful home triumphs at our house unless you count removing four layers of wallpaper or turning a closet that was once a kitchen for renters back into a closet.
Go Sherry!! I LOVE that you guys managed to pull this off sans chemicals and on your own. I’m also thinking we should do some monthly baking soda maintenance on our drain. Thanks for all the tips!
Congrats on conquering your clog!
I used to have the same problem with my shower drain, and I came up with a simple but kinda gross way to avoid a foot-bath while showering. When I’m sudsing up or rinsing conditioner out and hair comes off on my finges, I put the hair on the shower wall. I let it collect there through my shower then I gather it all before I step out and throw it away. Not the prettiest solution, I’ll admit, but it’s worked for me.
Victory!!! Glad that you got it! My husband swears by flushes of super hot water. Fill a bucket and spontaneous dump, as we too hate the chemical thing. Most of the time it works after several attempts.
ROCK ON SISTER! That’s awesome! I have a dumb question: does it matter what kind of vinegar you use with the baking soda?
Yay, I see my advice is on the list of preventative measures! Trust me, brushing your hair BEFORE the shower will make a world of difference. Not only will your drain be less hairy, but it helps break up all of the products that may be in your hair, allowing your shampoo to work better (cue the music: “so fresh and so clean, clean”). In case you need a good brush recommendation: Google “Spornette 21″, I’ve used this brush style for the last 12 years and will never use another kind of brush again.
Carrie- I love the wall of hair idea. Totally adding it to my list of things to do to avoid the dreaded clog resurgence.
Christin- Good question! The answer is probably not since we didn’t have white vinegar on hand (which is suggested) so we used 50% rice wine vinegar and 50% apple cider vinegar. It still fizzed like a champ and got right to work. As long as it’s not red vinegar you’re probably ok (just for stain reasons you might want to avoid that). Hope it helps!
Megan- Thanks for the brush recommendation! I’ll definitely be checking it out…
A Southern Accent- You’re so right. All I needed was a little boom boom pow. And man did it feel good.
xo,
s
Your comments and writing style crack me up!! I love it. Good Job Sherry! I am also lovin’ Burgers Bachelor comments on his ladies.
Aw thanks Tara. I can’t take any credit for Burger’s comments over on Hamburger’s House (that’s all his thing, we promised not to interfere) but as for this post I must admit I did try to keep things fun, because let’s face is, a post about a clogged drain isn’t usually very entertaining stuff. Glad you’re amused!
xo,
s
Just one more comment. As an owner of rental property I know that not all plungers are created equal. My renter called and said that her toilet was clogged despite her efforts with 2 different plungers to open the drain. After buying many different plungers, the best one we have found is the old fashioned heavy duty plunger (not the cheapest one at the hardware store) It this case it pays to spend more to get results. We have tried new and improved models (one that looks like an accordian)but the old fashioned one works best.
Whenever it is time to change the baking soda in the fridge and freezer, I use the old boxes in all of my drains (with the vinegar and boiling water). Not only am I recycling, but it reminds me to clean my drains.
AWESOME!! I know that happy dance…we do it around here a LOT being new homeowners saying “I didn’t think we could do that!!”
Rockin’ job, Sherry! FYI: Oxo has a new drain cover that would fit over yours now and do the job catching any future hair. It is removable, which may be handy for cleaning and any future plunging. Check it out at oxo.com. Hope this helps!
Patricia- Great tip about snagging a quality plunger. We have had one of the heavy duty thick black ones for the past few years and really love what it has accomplished!
Teresa- We love that idea! It’s a great way to “recycle” old baking soda from the fridge and the freezer!
Cathryn- Thanks so much for the Oxo drain cover recommendation. We’ll definitely be checking it out asap.
You guys are all so smart and sweet to chime in with even more ideas. Smooches to every last one of ya!
xo,
s
this is my favorite post. I know others have said it already but your writing is so hilarious.
You’re completely my hero! It was good to have the info about how to do it and all…but I LOVED your ability to be fueled by pure stubbornness. That’s what makes a project really kick into gear, people!
SCHWEEEEET! You go girl! Glad you took care of things and saved the moola not needing the plumber.
Woo to the hoo, indeed!!!
Probably the biggest reason I keep coming back here is to read the funny spins and honest reactions that you share. I love them! And it makes me so happy to see that you don’t take yourselves too seriously (though you do take your work seriously), and are cool enough to take a funny “take that!” picture in the shower with your pup. We all do those sorts of nerdy things in the privacy of our homes, but I wish more and more people would lead the way and, gosh darnit, just be real!!!
P.S. By the way, I am very proud of you for taking the higher road and NOT bending over and showing off your crack to your hubby as he walked through the door as your victory dance. Ha ha ha.
So happy to read your clog is gone….I know how AWFUL standing in that water can be :(
As I told you we tried everything even the plunging (big strong hubby) so it was DrainO for us and it did work….
I like the baking soda tip….I use that in so many ways…tried and true product huh ???
Kathy :)
Hilarious Post!!! Not that the issue was funny but the story telling was great hahaha
Great job! I was going to ask why your water is brown but after reading the comments I realized you used cider vinegar rather than white vinegar in one of the pics above. I was sitting here thinking you had bigger issues than your clogged drain if your water was that brownish color!
Hey Heather S,
Oh yeah! The scary brownish color was totally the apple cider vinegar! Pretty gross but it did the trick…
xo,
s
This drain saga has been awesome! We live in an older house, and every couple of months our drain slows or stops all together. Our solution has been Drain-O and lots of other chemicals, but I hate using them and they are so expensive! It’s like throwing $$ down our drain! (literally, haha) I’m going to try all your tips and see if I can’t rid us of our Drain-O dependency! :)
We have to pour muratic acid in our toilets a couple of times a year to keep deposits from causing backups. Have a septic tank so we then have to pour bacteria in to recharge what was killed by the acid.
Wow. I loved all your plumber references throughout the post…some subtle, some not so much! Glad you opened a can of WA on that drain.
Also, the whole baking soda and vinegar thing…other than valcanoes, never heard of that technique, but I am so glad that you guys have given me a reason to create a science experiment in my drains! Now I can tell my wife that I’m doing home maintenance and she won’t roll her eyes at me thinking her husband is so childish! Woo to the hoo indeed!
Had to comment on Stephanie’s comment. My aunt does the same thing with her hair. So one day her daughter comes out of the bathroom and says to her mom, “I need to complain to housekeeping” (she was 9)…she flashes her mom and has a huge glob of hair on her stomach! She had thrown her towel over the top of the shower and ended up with the ginormous hairball on her. So just remember to throw the hair away!! :)
Great job S!!! I wish I had something wrong here so I could conquer it and feel the same rush of adrenaline. Girl Power!
Hey, I’ve got that same shower curtain in my guest bathroom. Target, right? Congrats on the clog and thanks for posting a solution should/when we ever face that problem.
I got a little misty-eyed myself while reading this. But I cry at everything- including the preview I saw last night for the movie the Blind Side. Oh, man. Anyway, I bet your shower this morning was especially blissful :)
Katie- I totally get all teary when I see the trailers for the Blind Side! My aunt’s a teacher in a pretty rough part of NJ and actually took in a homeless student of hers who went on to play in the NFL… so it really hits close to home for me!
Chloe and Company- Yup, it’s from Target but since it’s an extra long curtain (95″- all the way to the ceiling) we snagged in on amazon.com because for some reason they didn’t have the extra long version on target.com. It definitely arrived in a Target box though. Strange, huh?
xo,
s
Laughed about the plumber’s crack comment. Yes, it’s totally okay to greet your spouse that way after a plumbing triumph! And calling to gloat is way okay, too!
I’ve learned so much about drain maintenance after reading these threads. I especially love blogs that foster a collective wisdom among their readers by discussing problems and seeking solutions. Have you thought of making this into a regular feature?
Hey Annapolitan,
Yup, we definitely have decided to make the “let’s solve it together” idea into a regular feature. We have too many smart and helpful readers not to! Stay tuned for that…
xo,
s
Sherry, I love your writing… you are so entertaining! Our new home but very old house has a major toilet clogging problem… We have to plunge a few times a week and it takes forever to unclog.I feel like it just needs one good strong cleaning out and it won’t clog as often. Does anyone know if all these tricks mentioned will work for clearing out a toilet clog too?
Hey Sierra,
Good question! Other than plunging and snaking the toilet, we’re not sure what other methods would work in that scenario. Great question! Anyone have any ideas?
xo,
s
Yay, Sherry! But I am a bit confused. What was the point of the washcloth? You had determined there was nothing behind the overflow cover, so if you were trying to prevent pressure from escaping from there when you plunged, wouldn’t screwing the cover back on have been more effective? Was taking the cover off part of your solution? It didn’t seem to be. This seemed to be more of an ode to the power of the good old plunger.
I do a hair blob on the wall too, to keep it out of the drain, but had never thought of a previous poster’s tip to brush first–great idea!
Also, I think the baking soda & vinegar trick is very helpful, but my understanding is that it’s more of a maintenance thing (as you’re planning) or maybe for very slight clogs–I don’t think it has the power to dislodge a big clog.
Hey Nancy,
Good question! The cover has a hole under it to suck up the water in the event of the tub overflowing (which thereby would let a lot of pressure escape), so I just found it easier to plug the entire hole with a washcloth than try to hold up a cloth to cover the underside of the cover to keep the pressure from escaping since I needed both hands to plunge. Hope that makes sense!
xo,
s
Main line plugs are horrible! When we bought our fixer 3 years ago not one full week had gone by before we had a massive backup in our (unfinished) basement. My husband is still the hero for his dedication to snaking that pipe on his own while standing on joint compound buckets. I wish I’d taken pictures, but I was so grossed out by sewer water in our new house that I didn’t think of it at the time. He beat that clog and we’ve been resigned to yearly snaking jobs to keep the water going into the sewer and not our basement. Old cast iron pipes and large old trees don’t mix well. Every spring for the last two years we get a teaser backup and Dave beats those roots back. I’m sure his diligence has saved us a ton of money in plumber fees.
Thanks for the explanation, Sherry. Now I get it. :-)
And so fast. We’re practically talking in real time. Woo hoo!
Not only does this blog give tips for solving a blocked drain, but it also has marriage advice.
I might try the “greet him at the door with your butt-crack out” just to spice things up.
LOL! You crack me up!! I admire how you can keep a positive attitude and a semi-level head through a “sticky” situation :o)
Greet him with you butt-crack out….ROFLOL!! I like it that all your comments are so open and honest.
I have the exact same drain problem at home. We are going to try the snake thing first and after that I may be back to check the comments for some more advice!
I have long curly hair (same as when I was little) and I didn’t realize that it was a really really BAD idea to let my hair go down the drain. So…finally the standing water had reached ankle length…and it always felt a bit, well, slimy. So I asked me dad for help (I’m about ten years old at this point). He takes off the top of the drain for me, hands me a hanger, and tells me to dig. I look at him, raise me eyebrow, and go for it. I pull up the nastiest grossest hugest thing of hair…that is colored with chunks of green. See, it was also my job to clean the tub with Comet every. weekend. Which I did religiously because I had a gross younger brother that shared my shower and ew cooties. So—this comet had been sticking to this massive hairball and getting into the standing water and I had been comet-ing my feet with caustic nastiness for weeks. Gross. GROSS.
I nearly threw up. But then I threw it away, my dad cracked up at my grossed-outed-ness, and I never got hair in the drain ever again. (I’m a hair blob-on-the wall girl now. Might seem gross, but I guarantee it’s a heckuva lot less grosser than that slimy nasty green thing.)
I knew the plunger could do it!! I’d read that y’all had tried it, and I’m happy you reverted back to ole faithful. That’s what we used growing up. No money for fancy-shmancy draino…lol…Congrats groovy chick :)
So glad that you got the drain cleared!
I talked to the husband Justin last night, and he was going to suggest something similar as a fix to try! He also recommends that if a house has original plumbing from the 50′s or so, to regularly pour either bleach, or a mixture of vinegar and baking soda down the drain, because the pipes will eventually corode on themselves, and either concoction helps prevent that.
Also, after reading the suggestions from your readers, he requested that I request that you guys give a PSA to your readers–specifically that if they have tried some of the suggested fixes such as Drain-O, Nair, Liquid Plumber, etc, and eventually end up having to call a plumber, PLEASE tell the plumber what chemicals you’ve already tried, especially if you’ve tried more than one thing! I can’t tell you how many times he’s ended up with a nasty chemical burn because someone used a harsh chemical, didn’t tell them, and he opened up the pea-trap and ended up coated in chemicals.
Thanks so much for the tip Meredith! We’ll definitely alter the post to add that tip. Save the plumbers!
xo,
s
I have long, curly hair too, and I just take the hair that comes out when I shower and stick it on the wall of the shower. Then when I’m done, I can throw it away and it doesn’t end up in the drain. My roommate in college used to leave it up there (yuck), but I don’t personally recommend that…
congrats! I love the plunger idea, the next time we have a stubborn drain I will definitley try it if the baking soda/vinegar and snake don’t work!
For future use, I highly recommend buying a big gallon bottle of distilled white vinegar. It’s much cheaper by volume than rice wine or apple cider vinegars, and it’s awesome for tons of cleaning uses, as you know. For example, my husband periodically gets our stainless steel chef’s pan looking literally brand-new using baking soda and vinegar, and it’s also great at cleaning that metal area around your drain (as you might have noticed while you were unclogging). We actually buy 3 gallons at a time of the stuff whenever we’re getting low (we have about 1.5 left right now).
I have another amazing home-cleaning-without-harsh-chemicals trick that I’ve used recently with amazing results. Be prepared, this sound like magic and you won’t believe it until you see it for yourself, it’s that amazing:
I inherited 8 silver-plated goblets and one pitcher from my grandfather, and they were pretty tarnished. This was my husband’s idea, and I don’t know where he got it from, but it works like magic.
1. Boil a pot of water big enough to completely submerge whatever piece of silver you need to polish
2. Once it’s boiling, turn it off and add a few tablespoons (maybe 1/4 cup total) of baking soda & stir to dissolve. (The boiling is just to get it as hot as possible; hot water from the sink will work, but the process will take longer and be less amazingly instantaneous)
3. Rip off a smallish sheet of aluminum foil and submerge it in the water.
4. Add your tarnished silver, making sure it is touching the aluminum foil and is covered by the water.
5. Wait a few minutes (longer if you didn’t boil the water), then carefully remove your silver with tongs so you don’t burn yourself.
6. Oogle in amazement at how shiny and amazing your silver looks, all with no polishing on your part, and no money spent on silver polish!
I found this page that explains what’s going on, for those interested.
I never thought I would be so happy for someone who unclogged a drain! Congrats guys!
I agree with Bridget! I have a wide tooth comb in the shower and comb conditioner thru my hair and put the hair on the side of the tub. While it does sound gross (and looks gross if you forget to put it in the trash and hubby sees it!), it beats the heck out of pulling no-telling-how-old-hair out of the drain numerous times a year. YUCK. I even do it in hotels it’s become such a habit!
Sa-weeet! Awesome job, Sherry! Way to kick butt. Also great job celebrating. :) I got a huge laugh out of this post.
I’ve come to find that the best approach to a particularly maddening project is a combination of sweet talk and smack talk. Sometimes you have to coax something to do what you want, but you also have to let it know you’re prepared to lay down the law if it doesn’t cooperate.
Yay!
Though you never did find out exactly what was causing the clog?
You can get little hair-trap screens for tub drains. They catch things like hair while you shower, and you just dump it into your compost after the shower.
I don’t have a screen, but we have a new drain that basically does the same thing on its own. After I turn off the shower and squeegee the glass, I pick up the soggy little ball of hair (It’s my own hair! It’s not gross – after the first time!) and toss it.
@Meredith K A – Interesting tip!
Youngsters, you should try it out and make a post about it! I might forget about it otherwise! :/
Haaaa-Laaay-Luuuuu-Yah. You go girl. “Petersik Plumbing” has a nice ring to it.
Ha ha. This blog entry really entertained me! John, you better be proud of her – what a lady. Congrats!
Like Meredith above, I too learned my lesson about carelessly letting hair flow down the drain. I was forced to remove my own hair ball, and the smell and nastiness was enough to make me be MUCH more careful with my hair. Luckily now I have boy-short hair so it’s not really an issue :-)
If you have galvanized plumbing -start saving your pennies. Our plumber told us that most houses that have that have to be repiped at some point. Ours is galvanized under our cabinets and then copper throughout the house.
This was a funny post. Way to go, Sherry!
If you have a wet/dry shop vac, it is very handy to empty clogged sinks/tubs, etc. Just vacuum up the water, super easy.
Yay Sherry!!! Hilarious post and I’m SO feeling your excitement with you. Way to conquer that drain!
I swear I shed hair worse than my dog so I’ve always had to be careful about it going down the drain. For about 10 yrs I’ve used these smaller screens for the tub without fail. For some tubs you do have to take the “innards” for the stopper out so it can sit down in the drain, but I just use a flat stopper for baths (which I never take anyway!). http://www.kitchensupplydirect.com/THU-SLSN002W.html
I even keep one in my travel bag and if I can’t use it when we’re visiting somewhere I do the stick it to the wall trick and HOPE that I don’t forget and leave it for the next person to find. LOL
I will say for a hair clogged drain the Zip-it works amazingly well. I’ll also add how much I love my husband for doing that for me after we first moved here. I think I would have tossed my cookies if I had to do it myself.
This is totally plumbing unrelated, but I just thought I’d point out that I never knew Burger was so tiny until I saw the picture of Sherry holding him! I guess it’s all the manly talk over on his blog that leads me to believe he’s an enormous chihuahua?
He does look crazy tiny in that photo doesn’t he? The funny thing is that at 8 pounds he’s a pretty beefy chihuahua (most are around 6) but we always argue that it’s because he’s tall and long and leggy (not because he’s hitting the nachos too hard).
xo,
s
Well done Sherry the plumber! One question: what does the coil that’s attached to the cover do? It is just a weight?
Hey Tran,
We think the coil somehow connects to the drain cover at the base of the tub so when you move the lever on the overflow valve it seals off the tub drainage so you can take a bath. Of course ours was disconnected when we moved in so we just use a rubber drain stopper to turn the tub into a bath whenever the urge arises (which is basically never, we’re shower people). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
You go girl! I hate having a shower in a tub that is filling up with water and then it’s all sloshy around your feet. I didn’t know most of these drain cleaning tricks so next time hopefully I can try some before the calling the plumber. Your blog is amazing–I’m learning so much.
ha! you’re hilarious. I can’t believe I was that entertained by a post about a clogged drain.
Will you please share what drain trap you purchase. I’ve only been able to find ones that sit over the top of the drain, and the new house we are in now has a huge drain and the old cover just won’t work. I have long curly hair and I too have to do the whole “Chewbaca on the wall” routine to keep my hair out of the drain. I know I can’t keep it all from going down the drain, but when I have a ton it goes up on the wall and later into the trash. Eww that sounds gross but it works.
Sure thing! We got a hot tip that there’s a nice Oxo one that should work for our tub so we’ll keep you posted. We might actually update this post and the comments on this post with that info (instead of writing up a whole post about our new drain trap- hehe) so feel free to check back in a week or two to see where we land.
xo,
s
Thanks for adding that PSA!
I bet it feels awesome to be able to take a shower as normal!
Huzzah! Nice work!
An el-cheapo drain trap from the drug store probably saved my marriage as well as my plumbing…
That was such an entertaining post! Kicked of my Friday morning well. You could really appreciate the enthusiasm and sense of achievement all the way!
My boyfriend and I moved into our house about 5 months ago and one of the first things we had to do was unclog a bathroom sink, (I say “we” meaning “he”, maybe if it had been our mess clogging the sink, I would’ve considered helping…maybe).
But I like the idea of a monthly vinegar/baking soda maintenance session, thanks!
Way to go! Unfortunately, we have to call the plumber out twice a year (every June and November–he was just out this week, actually) thanks to a large tree and subsequent roots getting in our main line. It’s a pain, but the tree is worth it. Oh, and it’s a city tree so it’s probably not going anywhere.
I am definately coming here for the entertainment, as well as the home improvement. This stuff is just plain laugh-out-loud funny. I will continue to be back each day. It’s better than television.
I also have a 50′s house with original plumbing. Tried the baking soda and vinegar concoction and it worked, but I still having some plunging and snaking to do. I boiled the water in my teapot to make it easier to pour directly down the drain.
That is genius! I am definitely burying this little diy into my arsenal of home repair! :)
I don’t think you’re giving enough credit to the smack talk. I think that really greased the wheel for the extreme-plunging! Way to go!
I’m so grateful for all the vinegar and baking soda suggestions. We have 50 year-old pipes with lots of rust and I’m going to start paying more attention to them.
(But I have to admit that the whole hair-on-the-wall thing is making me throw up in my mouth a little)
This really works! I’ve tried everything for a similar bathtub clog . . . natural remedies, chemicals, you name it and we’ve tried it. Just yesterday I tried it and was overjoyed when it worked. Who knew plumbing could be so much fun!
Hey Sarah,
Wahoo! So glad it worked for you too. Power to the plumbers!
xo,
s
That’s how my husband unclogs drains! It works like a charm every time. And doesn’t cost any $$$$. Well, unless you don’t have a plunger, you’d have to pick one up. But who doesn’t have one of those? Glad you got rid of that clog and your drain is back to normal. :)
We (and by “we,” I mean my husband) used your method in our shower drain in our 1948 Near West End house, and it totally worked! Thanks for this. No more nasty Drano!
Hey Katherine,
That’s awesome! It’s so good to hear that it also worked for you guys. We’re beaming over here.
xo,
s
Just wanted to let you know we had the same problem over the weekend (it was BAD!) and your methods really helped us! We had the same euphoric feeling when the water finally shot down the drain w/no problem. Best feeling ever!! :)
Hey Kelly,
That’s so great to hear! I’m doing a victory dance in your honor!
xo,
s
oh man, I had the exact same problem you did and did the exact same thing!!
Dude it’s crazy, it’s like I shed like my dog and I have a mesh/strainer thing for my bathtub too LOL
Just make sure you brush your hair thoroughly before the shower because even if you do brush it, there’s still enough that fall out during the shower to clog a drain x]
Way to go girl :)
For under $5.00, you can get a “hair catcher” for your tub so that you can catch about 90% of the hairs that could potentially fall down the drain.
We use the mesh strainer in our tub when we take showers, and pop the regular drain plug in if taking baths. It’s a little bit of work, but there have been no bathtub clogs since!
Thanks for the tip. I’ve tried everything and your tip finally solved my problem. Too bad I didn’t read your blog before buying a drain snake and getting it caught on the overflow coil. Both are damaged, but at least my shower drain is clog free.
Hey Paul,
So glad to hear that it worked. We know how great it feels when you finally get to tell that clog who’s boss!
xo,
s
I had such high hopes for our clogged bathtub drain after reading your entry, Sherry, but all the smack talk, hard core plunging, baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water did not do the trick!!! I even tried duck-taping the cloth over the overflow. Products like draino have never really worked and this was a natural fix that I was counting on…. Though the fact that when I stuck a hanger down the drain and it would not go any deeper than 1 inch, has me a bit perplexed…and wondering how water is even going down the drain at all! Yeesh. Thanks for letting me vent! BTW I love the new tile in your bathroom remodel!
Oh man so sorry it didn’t work out for ya, but good for you for giving it the ol’ college try! We’re sending lots of drain unplugging vibes your way. Good luck!
xo,
s
Thank you so much for the post! You gave me confidence that I could unclog the bathtub without my husband’s assistance, and without the use of harsh chemicals. I’m about to finish (waiting for the water to boil), and I’m already proud as a peacock about my work. :)
Holy Sherry, Mother of Awesome! It worked! We live in a rental house with “new”, but wonky bathroom plumbing. The shower drain has always been slow, but it was worse than normal yesterday, so I poured in a bottle of our go-to drain unclogger with no results. After it took 3 hours to drain from my hub’s am shower, I plunged in frustration, then I looked up your fix-it suggestions. The baking soda & vinegar must have done the trick because it works better than ever now. Thank you SO much.
Wahoo! So glad it worked. We’re doing the victory dance in your honor.
xo,
s
This was a dream come true!!!! I have put this off for several weeks now, trying every other option under the sun….short of calling the plumber. Today, after my workout in which I was feeling quite tough, I went in and yelled at that drain! Then, I went and got all the necessary tools. I plunged. And plunged. And plunged. And thought, “This doesn’t work.” Lo and behold, if you stick with it, IT REALLY WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously thought I was a total bad ass!
I love your blog, but I love it oh so much more today! You guys rock! xo
Sweet. It never gets old to hear that this method worked for someone else- probably because it brings back the memory of my own sweet victory. Congrats!
xo,
s
i am 13 and i was babysitting my sisters…the tub was clogged so i went on the internet i came acrossurs and it actually worked thanx =]
i think theres a baby wash cloth. any suggestions? already tried snake….no help. co2 blast?
Hmm, you’ll want something to retrieve the washcloth instead of pushing it deeper, so a snake or a blast of air might be bad since they apply pressure to move the cloth deeper into the pipe. The plunger would suck it back out if you could get it to work, but since that has been unsuccessful you might want to try using a wire coat hanger (unbent to create a hook) to try to fish it out. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
ive tried plunging, snake, coat hanger wires, hot water. grr lol this is fustrating. i asked my hubby about co2 blast and yeah i think it might just bust our pipes so im thinking we’ll call a plumber. :sigh: it has to get done! :) i think it might be to far for us to get it back. ill try one more time with the plunging and coat hanger but if it doesnt work plumber your on speed dial! keep you posted.
Yay Sherry! Whoo to the Hoo!!!