Excuse my excitement, but yesterday at exactly 5:41 pm I told our clogged bathtub drain who was boss. I did it all by myself while John was at work (gotta love girl power) and without spending a dime, calling a plumber, OR using chemical drain cleaners like Drain-o or Liquid Plumr. Victory is mine! So we’re gonna share every trick we tried, and what eventually worked best.
We received nearly 200 crowd-sourced techniques on yesterday morning’s post (FYI – this post was originally published when we lived in our first home)! We even had some plumbers weigh in with expert advice!
Unclogging Techniques We Tried
Before we turned to our readers for help, we tried several tricks that didn’t dislodge our clog. These techniques are still great things to try and they may be enough to clear less stubborn clogs than ours. They can also work for clogs in kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, and shower drains. But for us, they didn’t make much of a difference.
- Fishing around with our fingers 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 (sometimes also called an auger or plumber’s snake) was a waste of time (though we had low expectations for it anyway).
- So then we tried a pot of boiling hot water, which was the trick that had saved our kitchen sink last year. After five attempts we had only succeeded in adding more water to our tub.
- Natural clog removing solution: a half-cup of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar. We did that, watched our little drain volcano foam and 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 disgusting results shown in this video about it, which we were half grateful for and half frustrated by.
How We Unclogged Our Bathtub
Here are the steps we took that finally clear our bathtub drain. We’re sure some of the obstructions removed above helped, but this was the process that finally got our water draining quickly again!
Step 1: Remove standing water
If there’s any standing water in the tub, use a bucket, towels, or 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 2: Unscrew the overflow cover
Use a screwdriver to remove the overflow cover under the faucet and pull out the metal coil to inspect it for any hair or junk. Remove any debris. If the coil is clean, like ours, don’t fret. If you don’t have an overflow valve skip to step 4.
Step 3: Plug the overflow
Shove a wet washcloth into the overflow drain opening under the faucet. This will keep any pressure that you’re about to apply to the drain from escaping.
Step 4: Plunge the drain
Use a toilet plunger over the drain and plunge the drain like it’s your job. If your washcloth comes loose, shove it tightly back into the hole to keep the air from escaping. A tight seal is key. If you have a spare person around they can help by holding the washcloth in place to keep the seal nice and tight.
Step 5: Keep Plunging!
After about 40 plunges without progress almost made me give up. But I let the idea of showering in 5″ of stagnant water motivate me to keep going. After a dozen or so more strong plunges, I heard the glorious sound of the drain gurgling. I may or may not have gotten misty-eyed at the sight of the swirling water.
Step 6: Replace the overflow cover
Screw the overflow cover back into place and call all of your friends to brag about your newfound plumbing skills.
Bonus Step: Baking soda + vinegar
This may be overkill, but as a precautionary method to clear any remaining gunk, we repeated the baking soda trick. We poured half a cup of baking soda and a cup of white vinegar down the drain (we only had apple cider vinegar and it worked like a charm). Let it sit for five minutes and then flush everything down with a gallon of boiling 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). We hope you have similar success with these methods. But of course, we still recommend hiring an expert. We had a more complicated bathtub drain issue in one of our other houses and we couldn’t have solved it without a plumber’s help.
How To Prevent Clogs
As accomplished as this process made me feel, I’m in no rush to do ita gain. Here are some precautions we’ll be taking to prevent future bathtub clogs:
- We’ll be adding a mesh drain trap that blocks a lot more hair than our current metal plug
- 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
Additional Clog Removal Ideas
Here are some of the many additional ideas our readers suggested that you can try if none of the tricks above work for you. We didn’t try these ourselves, so we can’t vouch for how well they work.
- 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. Be sure to always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- 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 or along with a garden hose to get things moving again
- Use a drain claw to grab and dislodge debris
- 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
Warnings: We’re not plumbers. These techniques may warrant additional research or professional input before trying. You should also consider the age and condition of your plumbing system before processing. We’ve heard harsh chemicals and solvents can damage newer PVC pipes. Also, 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 professional, PLEASE tell the plumber which chemicals you’ve already tried to help them avoid nasty chemical burns!
Originally posted: October 29, 2009
Update – Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint colors we used? Just click on this button:
Vanessa says
Yay Sherry! Whoo to the Hoo!!!
Amy says
LOL!
Ann says
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.
YoungHouseLove says
That totally counts Ann!
xo,
s
Cindy says
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!
Stephanie says
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.
Carrie says
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.
candace says
ROCK ON, girl! *high fives*
Christin says
ROCK ON SISTER! That’s awesome! I have a dumb question: does it matter what kind of vinegar you use with the baking soda?
YoungHouseLove says
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
Megan says
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.
A Southern Accent says
You go girl! Just needed a little boom boom pow! ;-)
Nicole B. says
Nice work!!!
Glad it wasn’t a root!!!
Tara says
Your comments and writing style crack me up!! I love it. Good Job Sherry! I am also lovin’ Burgers Bachelor comments on his ladies.
YoungHouseLove says
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
patricia says
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.
YoungHouseLove says
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
teresa says
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.
Julianne Hendrickson says
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!!”
Cathryn says
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!
Alicia S says
Yay! Go Sherry!!!
Lauryn says
this is my favorite post. I know others have said it already but your writing is so hilarious.
Kim says
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!
Jill Stigs says
SCHWEEEEET! You go girl! Glad you took care of things and saved the moola not needing the plumber.
susan says
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.
Kathy :) says
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 :)
Mariel says
Hilarious Post!!! Not that the issue was funny but the story telling was great hahaha
heather s. says
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!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Heather S,
Oh yeah! The scary brownish color was totally the apple cider vinegar! Pretty gross but it did the trick…
xo,
s
Kara says
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! :)
Carmen (Country Mouse) says
Yay for girl power! Love it that you took care of this yourself!
Jackie W. says
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.
Travis says
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!
Renae says
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!
Chloe and Company says
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.
Katie says
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 :)
YoungHouseLove says
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
Annapolitan says
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?
YoungHouseLove says
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
Sierra Nething says
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?
YoungHouseLove says
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
jen says
Yay! It’s gone!
And, I totally have that sciencey measuring cup and love it!
NancyV908 says
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.
YoungHouseLove says
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
Amber says
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.
NancyV908 says
Thanks for the explanation, Sherry. Now I get it. :-)
And so fast. We’re practically talking in real time. Woo hoo!
Colette says
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.
YoungHouseLove says
Ok, I just spewed water onto the keyboard Colette. Hysterical.
xo,
s
Alicia M says
LOL! You crack me up!! I admire how you can keep a positive attitude and a semi-level head through a “sticky” situation :o)
Laura says
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!
Bridget says
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.)
Briel K. says
You go girl!
Spurs says
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 :)
Meredth says
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.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip Meredith! We’ll definitely alter the post to add that tip. Save the plumbers!
xo,
s
elizabeth says
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…
Meredith K A says
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.
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh thanks for the tips Meredith K A!
xo,
s
tiffany says
I never thought I would be so happy for someone who unclogged a drain! Congrats guys!
Vonda says
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!
Jenifer says
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.
Caitlin says
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! :/