My bathtub drain is stopped up?
Question:what can I get to try and get it unstopped?
Answers:
9 out of 10 times it is stopped up because of HAIR. It is a known fact that most people lose about 100 hairs a day (for some of us men it's more) and if you have women in the house chances are your drain is pretty hairy.
It gets caught and collects and becomes as strong as rope.
Using over the counter drain openers such as draino or liquid plumber is an excersize in futility as these products are nothing more than glorified Alka-Seltza. They go in the drain and blow bubbles and do nothing to remove the blockage. (As I'm sure you already found out or you wouldn't be up here asking.)
Normally the best way to remove them is a 1/4 inch 25 foot snake that you can pick up at the Home Depot. They come hand crank or drill crank. The hand crank is much cheaper but you will wish you had the one for the drill.
Right above the drain in your tub you will see the handle for the stopper. This covers the overfill port.
Remove the two screws that hold it in place and lift the handle, stopper and all right out of the drain assembly. Work the snake into that hole keeping in mind you will need to give it a little persuading to get past the trap and any elbows you may have in the drain line.
Start by putting a few inches at a time into the pipe, tighten the set screw on the snake that holds it in place and push on the snake as you turn. You will feel it as it works it's way around the trap and fitting. Feed out a few more inches, tighen the set screw and keep going. Feeding out as much as the snake as possible to make it out of the 1 1/2 drain line into your main line which should be at least a 3 or 4 inch pipe.
Then, if you walk into your local plumbing supply house wearing a dirty T shirt and baseball cap on backwards, go up to the counter and ask for the trade name, you want to get a half a gallon of Clobber.
It is illegeal for them to sell you this product without a plumbers license (as in most states they aren't even allowed to sell you any gas appliances without a plumber's license anymore-you can't even buy your own gas water heater-idn't dat 'pecial?)
Home Depot sells their "dilluted" version of it called ''guaranteed hair and grease remover" for about the same price at $10.00 a bottle. But for the money you spend you may as well use the real McCoy. Just think about the minimum $125.00 It's going to cost you to have your plumber or drain cleaning service to come snake it out.
Clobber is pure undiluted BATTERY ACID which is Caustic and extremely dangerous. Follow the instruction carefully including wearing the gloves and eye protection if you are a newbie or cheese weinie to this. If it gets on your skin IT WILL BURN you. If it gets in your EYES IT WILL BLIND YOU!!
It will heat and liquify anything in the pipe that is ORGANIC. Meaning hair, food, feces, etc. and make it so that it simply washes down the drain.
It will not work on plastic toothpaste caps, disposable razors, your kids plastic toys, or tampons or kotex.
If you treat your drains at least twice a year this will not only help stop the build up and accumulation of what caused the problem to begin with, but also helps to keep the offensive odors down.
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try a plunger than some drain-o and see if that works
pour some drain-o down the drain and that should work or you could use a wire hanger,just unfold the tip and shove it down the drain to get the hairs out scraping the sides
if you can get to the bend unscrew it it will be chocked with hair
Buy a snake from the hardware store.
Cheap snake:
A coat hanger with the end bent into a tight hook.
Stick it in the drain and give it a few turns then pull it out.
You will probably have to repeat this a few times.
You will have to call a plumber - shower/tub drains are always plugged with hair & nothing will dissolve hair - if it does, then it will dissolve the pipe too.
Make sure that it is only the secondary line (the tub line) & not the main - flush the toilet & see if the water in the tub is disturbed. If more water comes into the tub, it is the main. If flushing the toilet has no effect on the standing water in the tub, it is only a secondary line.
When calling around for a plumber, ask about hourly rate & the minimum. Don't get anyone on commission or you will get taken to the cleaners.
With out reading any of the answerer's so I may be repeating someones answer there are a couple ways you can get it unplugged. Most of the time it is hair or threads from a wash cloth or a rag combined with slimy shampoo/ soap scum. Sorry but that is what it is happens to the best of us.
If you have a mechanical trip waste meaning you have a lever that lifts the plug up and down. If you can pull the plug out by taking out the 2 screws at the over flow most of the time there will be a glob of hair and I hate this term what not attached to the bracket the plug is attached to.
If you can pull the plug with out any trouble you will see the trouble most of the time caught on the cross hair looking thing inside the drain.
If you find you need to use a plunger remember that you will have to block the air from going in and out through the overfloww.
If you find you need to use a sink snake to get the drain to run free you will want to go through the overflo part of your tub because it will be less turns to get to the trap and then down the drain to the blockage.
Good luck.
The tub need to be snaked or rootered, you need to rent a small power snake from your local tool rental store. The snake cant be wider than 1/4 inch, it should be like a drill with a small drum on front . On the front of the tub there should be a faceplate, where you stop the water for the bath. Its usually right below the tub spout. Remove the faceplate and linkage assembly. Make sure you wear proper leather work gloves, plug in your snake. Put the snake ith the hole push it in manually till it wont go anymore. While holding the snake firmly, turn on the snake, make sure its in the forward setting, the snake should go clockwise. Push the snake firmly so to go through the p trap. Once you feel it go through keep feeding it in, don't go too far. Try to pull back manually, otherwise you'll have a huge mess. The main cause for tub clogs is hair and soap grease, do not use any type of drain cleaners, 1- they don't work and 2-the acid in the cleaners damage your pipes, its a waste of money. Its not a easy task, so you should get a plumber if your not confident. I charge a flat rate of $125, sometimes it takes 15 min. But other times it can get crazy. Every house is different...
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