Figuratively and literally. And we need your help.
Last week the drain in our bathtub started to act up a bit. Nothing too alarming since growing up with three sisters taught me that shower drains periodically get a little hairy and need some cleaning to keep going with the flow. Well, then our plumbing world came to a halt. The drain went from slowly letting water through to a no-drop-shall-pass policy in the course of one post-basement-painting shower.
Annoyed, but mostly unphased, we broke out some tried and true de-clogging techniques:
- Fishing around with our fingers (gross, we know) dislodged a decent-sized Sherr-ball, but didn’t open the floodgates as we expected.
- 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 technique suggested by some of you, a half-cup of baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar. We did that, watched our little drain volcano fizz, let it sit for five minutes, then flushed with hot water. Still no luck. Even our second attempt provided no relief, just more science project flashbacks.
- Sherry even tried the $3 As Seen On TV quality Zip-It tool that someone suggested online. It didn’t yield anywhere close to the über disgusting results shown in the video that we found below (THIS IS NOT ME, AND THAT IS NOT OUR HAIRBALL- in fact our Zip-It came out totally clean)- which we’re half grateful for and half frustrated by.
We had renewed hope this weekend after detailing our issue to an expert at the hardware store. He weighed a couple of options for us, and ended up recommending an 100% biodegradable enzyme product called Roebic Laboratories Bacterial Drain Cleaner. It involved mixing two tiny capfulls into 12oz of warm water then dumping it down the drain to sit overnight. The next morning we were pleased to see the twelve ounces of water solution was completely gone (as in, some water had slowly drained!). But our smiles disappeared as soon as the tub started filling up again when we turned on the faucet.
So after two nights of trying the Roebic solution and more showers-turned-baths than we’d like to admit (each followed by manually emptying the water that collected in the tub with a bucket, sigh) – we’re just about ready to call in professional help….
… unless, of course, you guys have any genius solutions for us! Seriously, we’ll try anything (well, anything within reason). Please shower us with suggestions – wait, scratch that water metaphor. Please inundate us with any drain unclogging tips that have worked for you (which we hope will end up solving this case and thereby serving as a great resource for anyone else with drainage issues). You know we’d love to DIY this bugger and declare victory over our clog-that-won’t-quit and we’re not ones to give up without a fight. Fingers crossed we’ll get ’em in round six!
Update: Oh no we di’innnnnt! We just unclogged the dastardly drain. Woo to the hoo. Here are the details…
Kiley says
DRAINO! I know you want to be chemical free, but you also want to be able to use your shower without standing in ankle deep water… It really does work every time!
sarah says
It looks like you have a plunger style stopper. Scroll down to the “plunger tub drains” how-to on this link:
http://lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/RepTubDrn.html#7
You might have to really pull to get the plunger and linkage out, clean them up, then do SEVERAL rounds of baking soda/vinegar with a 1:2 ratio (more vinegar), followed by a kettle-full of boiling water. That should do the trick, especially since you pulled that gnarly gunk out already.
Emily says
My reply probably isn’t the greatest thing to hear. We had a very similar problem (our house is about 50 yrs old too). We tried everything! Nothing worked, so my husband actually had to redo all the plumbing underneath. Not very fun! But, it works GREAT now!
Nancy says
OMG!OMG! I was saying it with you at the same time but I would look away. lol Everytime I would peek, you were still showing that. lol OMG!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for all the tips and ideas guys! To clarify, that is NOT John in the video and that is NOT our giant hairball! It’s just a you tube video of one of the many methods that we tried to no avail (we didn’t pull anything out- not one little hair). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Alexa says
We had some horrible draining issues in our studio when we first moved in. I came up with trying to use our WetDry ShopVac and it worked amazingly!
We took the drain cover out of the bathtub, created a seal on the plumbing system (a person at every drain in the house, compressing with a washcloth) and set the ShopVac to blow out. The entire system was cleared out within a few seconds.
Our bathtub has finally started getting clogged again (blame my thick curly hair), so we’re going to do this soon.
If you don’t know anyone with a WetDry ShopVac, I think they’re also available to rent at some stores.
michelle in the rocky mountains says
Good to know that wasn’t your hairball Sherry. That was a nasty video.
I’ll tell you what always clears our drains… in fact, my husband and I do it as a preventative measure twice a year.
We use a drain cleaning bladder. You get the right size for your drain, hook it to your hose, and clear out the drain. FYI.. be sure the entire rubber bladder is in the drain before turning the water on. My husband tried it once with part of the rubber sticking out and it had “explosive” results.
Here is a link to one on amazon.com but they are cheaper at home depot. We’ve never purchased one online. They are reusable too, no hurting the environment, etc. Give it a try.
http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-332-Cleaning-Attachment/dp/B000KKOZ6A/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_text_b
Heather says
We always use a type of drain cleaner that comes in a black bottle, sealed in a plastic bag. It practically has a skull and crossbones on it.
Use that and it will be gone. Doesn’t matter if you have an entire body stuffed in those pipes, the black bottle will dissolve it.
sarah says
We just rented a snake, the industrial kind, from Home Depot. For $25.00, we snaked two slow shower drains, and a sink. Then we leant it to a neighbor. Cheap and effective.
Nerd Girl says
Bleach. Not environmentally friendly I know, but a gallon down the drain every 6 months has kept our tub blissfully clog-free.
Amanda Katherine says
This may not help because you have tried all of these things separately but we have old plumbing in our house and two girls with very long hair so we need to try these tricks once a month. What we do:
1: Baking soda / vinegar trick
2. After 30 seconds poor BOILING not hot water down the drain
3. Plunge, plunge, plunge
This always works and the two times it didn’t we used drano crystals. They are not nice for the environment so we avoid them but in two years of living here we needed to use them twice.
Hope this helps!
Kaci says
Yuck…this sort of situation definitely makes a person love their house just a little less!!
Unfortunately, this same situation happened to us, but in our kitchen sink! ew.
We tried a bunch of things also and finally ended up calling in a professional (make sure you shop around for quotes! I originally called the guy that had his card taped to our garbage disposal – 2x the price of another guy I called!). Turned out that the clog was all the way back to the street level – no wonder our snake wouldn’t work!
Good luck YHL!
Kevin M says
Go in the basement or crawlspace and see if you can take the trap off. There might be a clog in there or at least you might be able to get the snake farther in than through the tub drain. Or you can see where the tub drain meets the toilet (should be close) and maybe figure out something from there.
I would guess it has to be in the tub line if the toilet and sink nearby are OK. Unless the lower volume of water from those 2 are just sitting in the pipes and you can’t tell they’re clogged.
Ann says
I saw something recently on flylady.net called the Hey Tom Clog Cannon that gets clogs out with forced air-no chemicals! They also have a YouTube video!
Janet says
You could try the “Hey Tom Clog Cannon”…haven’t personally tried it but it looks interesting anyway. :)
http://www.flylady.net/pages/flyshop_cc.asp
Amanda says
I think the baking soda thing only works as a preventative measure- you have to do it every month or so to keep the drains clean.
If you do call a professional, remember to not seem desperate. A lot of companies make a LOT of money off of people who are desperate and need it fixed yesterday.
YoungHouseLove says
Update: Oh no we di’innnnnnnnt! We just unclogged the dastardly drain in the bathroom that had us baffled for days. Woo to the hoo. Stay tuned for details…
xo,
s (<— who is doing the happy dance as she types this)
Kelly says
We had a similar situation and used an entire bottle of liquid plumber, Problem solved. I’m actually a little surprised you didn’t try that already. (I hope that doesn’t sound snarky…I don’t mean for it to!)
Madelaine says
I have been on the road and am just getting caught up on the blog. I know you fixed the problem at this point, but wanted to add my two cents. I had a similar problem and did just what Jessica’s dad suggested and the problem was fixed! Not my hair on the spring as I had only been in the house a couple of months at that point. At least I, and you too, know what to do to fix it now. Easy also!
Elizabeth says
Yah – I can’t wait for the details. I have a bathroom sink that is doing the exact same thing and I am stumped. Cant afford a plumber right now, so spill the beans :-)
Kristy says
I know it’s been fixed already…..however…
Drano Max Gel Clog Remover. Pour it down, leave for 15 minutes…. I live in an older home, I use this stuff once every 60 days to keep things draining quickly. Cheapest at Target. It’s the red bottle.
http://www.drano.com/
Brittany says
So glad you all figured out a way to unclog your drain. My boyfriend and I used the zip-it and it worked- similar to the guys experience in the video only our hair ball wasn’t as long. However it was still disgusting and very smelly.
Fun stuff!
Alaina says
Glad you got your problem solved…we had a similar problem and a plumber friend of ours suggested that we not waste money by buying Liquid Plumr and the like but instead pour plain bleach down the drain (probably not healthy for the environment, I guess), followed after about 10 minutes by hot water. It worked after nothing else did.
Rachel says
We live in a rental built in 1950 and have this drain problem from time to time in the shower. My husband works for a Hardware store, so he brought home Floweasy Drain opener. I will warn you, poor it down the drain and you guys take Burger out for the day. Its powerful.
greta says
I have REALLLY long hair, its down to my hips. I have to clean the drain 3-4 times while showering to keep water flowing. I have lots of back up issues, my trick…SALT. wait 5-10 minutes the flush with boiling water. i haven’t tried it in standing water over an inch so not sure that it would have helped with a ton of water.
maggie says
that video makes me want to throw up….ewww
Katie C says
Thank GOD That wasn’t your hairball!!! That was by far the most disgusting video ever!! He said “it smells like death”, hahah Oh my, I love your blog to death. That had me laughing out loud.
Jenna says
‘Oh no we di’innnt’ hahaha I laughed for 5 min after reading that! You have to hurry up and tell us what worked because I have water standing in my extra bath room but AS I TYPE!! Help!
Meredith says
spill the beans, youngsters! the bathroom sink is at a dead standstill as I type…
Sharon says
In 24 years in the same house (built 43 years ago) we have had our share of plumbing issues. We’ve tried it all. Over time, a ‘film’ builds up inside the pipes. When there is a back up, the lowest points fill up first – the tub, then the shower (really bad the first time – backed up to the kitchen sink too).
The best fix has been something called the “Drain King”. It’s about $10 and connects to the end of your hose. You open the nearest clean out (yes, you have to go under the house usually), insert the Drain King and have your ‘assistant’ turn on the water. It has a bladder that expands and occludes the pipe. Then it pulses and blasts the blockage out with water. You just let it run for about 10 minutes and voila!
Only once we had to call a plumber as the blockage was due to tree roots. They cleaned the line out clear to the sewer line.
Only once I had to this myself…after dear husband poured countless bottles down throughout the week as he didn’t want to go under the house. He came out to the back yard just as I was coming out from under the house. A new piece of jewelry now adorns my finger! ;)
April says
I just have to say… our bathroom sink was at a standstill like this, been snaked, drano’d, enzymed, etc… and I broke down and bought the clog cannon from FlyLady’s website, not really expecting too much, but eternally hopeful… I pulled it out of the box, went to the bathroom, and with my husband watching while covering up the overflow hole, pumped it up and pulled the trigger. It took 4 shots, and all of a sudden our oh-so-slow draining sink went WHOOSH! and the water was gone! It is the best investment I have ever made!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey April,
That’s awesome! So glad it worked for ya. Doesn’t it feel like you’re the king of the world?!
xo,
s
Adam says
We had to use this tip last night and it freed the mother of all clogs. We were getting worried that we would have to get a plumber with a snake. So glad we didn’t have to :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoooo! So happy for you!
xo,
s
keata Vanlandingham says
Sulfuric Acid will clear anything, safe for PVC, but not other pipes, be careful of fumes and contact, dangerous.
jen says
Soooooo…how did you unclog your drain? I, also, in a 1940’s clogged bathtub drain situation. PLEASE SHARE!!!
Thanks mucho, Jen
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s that link for you Jen! https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/10/in-your-face-clog/
xo
s
Cathy Jackman says
Thank you!!! I read your drain dilemma solution and tried it in my guest bathroom shower stall. My son did the yucky part with the coat hanger and I used the baking soda and vinegar and the plunger. It worked. Thank you for the advice. BTW I love love your book. I gave it to two young newlyweds who just bought their first house. They are enjoying the book and have found many helpful ideas.