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Clogged Bathtub Drain

  
  
  

clogged bathtub drainMany the homeowner has encountered the slow bathtub drain. Not that it is totally clogged, but it has just enough debris in the drain to make the water drain very slowly. Most of the time, the obstruction is not deep in the drain pipe, but rather just beyond the strainer where you can reach it with a tool.

Drains that drain slowly typically smell. This is because the hair and soap mixture that is clogging the drain is decaying and really lets off a pungent odor. So be forewarned, clearing a slow or clogged drain is nasty business.

You need to get access to the drain pipe. Typically you can remove the drain cover by unscrewing it. Because you will have to wrestle around the support for the drain stopper, you must use something long and reasonably thin. Needle nose pliers work great if the clog is fairly close to the surface.

You can use a coat hanger. Straighten out the hanger and bend a little hook in the end of it. Then you can fish it down the drain and hopefully lock on to the hairball. You can also buy a product called a "zip it" that works in the same manner. It is a plastic stick with little barbs all over it. When you push it into the drain the hairball gets caught on the barbs allowing you to pull it out.

Get creative. I've used a shopvac to suck out clogs. I've even taped a PVC pipe to the end of a shopvac to reach a deep area. Finally, you can use a snake. Here is some information on using a snake to clear a drain clog.

Whatever method you use, just be prepared to get the foul smelling clog out of your house quickly.

Comments

Indeed! Cleaning a clogged bath tub can get very nasty especially for the first timers. I can still remember the first time that I did that when I was just a teen. Oh, what a foul smell. Anyway make sure you know when to contact a pro because sometimes clogged bath tub is not just caused by some hairball. Plumbers down here in Cambridge does state of the art job on removing clogs.
Posted @ Wednesday, May 19, 2010 3:01 AM by Cambridge plumber
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