There are many drains in your home but, no other room has as many as the bathroom does. Between the bathroom sinks, toilet, shower, and tub – your bathroom is full of places where a nasty clog could form.
The bathtub is no exception to this rule either, when hair, dirt, and soap residue rinse down the bathtub drain, they all meet up in the pipes and solidify into a major clog-cause ball.
In addition to these types of clogs, the bathroom drains are notorious for developing build-up on the inside walls of the pipes. This causes the opening in the pipe to be narrower, which limits the amount of water that can get through.
Luckily, there are several things that you can do if you suspect that your bathtub has developed a clog. The first sign is water draining very slowly when you release the drain stopper, the second is water that just won’t drain at all. Make sure to do one or all of these suggestions at the first sign of water moving slowly down the drain:
- Use a sink plunger. These plungers are much smaller than those that are used for the toilet. They are built to create a seal over the drain and to be more manageable in the smaller spaces. Use a piece of tape to cover the overflow drain of your bathtub and then use a drain plunger to try and dislodge the clog. This process uses air to push and pull the clog, and hopefully, move it from its current location.
- Use your finger or a crochet hook to try and scoop as much hair out of the drain as you can reach. Hair is the number one cause of bathtub drain clogs, but luckily it doesn’t usually go too far down the drain before causing problems.
- Use a snake or drain auger to try and push clogs that are further down the pipe out into the sewer line. These tools can be found in most household sections of stores and are pretty easy to use.
The bathroom is the most common place in the home for clogs. While it is not as common this time of year, during the holiday season a clogged toilet is the number one call for plumbers nationwide. Keep your bathtub running smoothly by installing a drain cover to trap hair before it goes down the drain.