What to Do When Your Bathtub Is Clogged

Clogged Bathtubs

Is your bathtub not draining, or draining slowly? It’s likely that you have a clogged drain. This might seem like a small issue at first, but if the issue isn’t fixed, a clogged bathtub can cause problems to both your health and the structural elements of your home.

Oftentimes clogs will happen further along the pipes, meaning they won’t be found unless you call out a professional plumber with CCTV equipment, or have the right tools and experience to unclog the bathtub yourself. 

What Causes Clogged Bathtubs?

Your bathtub can become clogged for a number of reasons. It’s important to figure out what is clogging your drain before the issue becomes more severe, as knowing what the issue is helps determine how it will be fixed. If you find yourself wondering, ‘why is my bathtub clogged?’, it’s likely caused by one of these reasons:

Hair

The most common cause of clogged bathtubs is hair. Stray hair will often get caught in the strainer cover or stuck further down the pipe, sticking to the edges of pipes and forming a clog over time.

Soap

Another cause for a blocked bath drain is soap residue, which builds up over time as oils make their way down the drain and become solid, sticking to the pipes. Often a blockage will be a combination of oil from soaps and hair sticking together. 

Sand and Dirt

Families with young children who play outside may find dirt to be the cause of a blocked drain. Alternatively, if you spend a lot of time at the beach and wash off at home, the sand you bring with you may be causing the issue, especially when combined with soap or hair.

What Can I Do About It?

Fortunately, a fully blocked bath drain can be prevented if the issue is dealt with early. The key to preventing problems caused by your blocked bath drain is to get the clog cleared as soon as possible, either by hiring an experienced plumber or tackling the issue yourself. 

A couple of techniques that you can try at home include:

Plunging

If you find your bathtub drain clogged, you can try to fix the problem with a plunger. Plunging a drain is as simple as putting the plunger over it, then pushing up and down as hard as you can.

It is generally easy to tell if this method is working because you should quickly find the blockage rising to the plunger because of its suction. After several attempts, if nothing has changed, it’s time to move on to another method.

Baking Soda and Vinegar

For this method, you’ll need boiling water, half a cup of baking soda and a full cup of vinegar. This mixture can help to break down blockages, freeing up the drain.

First, carefully pour the boiling water down the drain. Next, pour the baking soda and vinegar, allowing the mixture to react for twenty minutes. Once this time has passed, pour more boiling water. You can repeat this process, but if it still doesn’t work, it’s time to call for professional help.

Call the Professionals

For those who have the right tools, it is possible to unclog the drain yourself. However, depending on what is clogging your bathtub, doing it yourself may not be safe or the best solution to your problem. That’s why Drainpro is here to help. 

At Drainpro, we offer complete drain cleaning in the Melbourne area, meaning that you don’t have to spend hours trying to clear the blockage, getting frustrated as each attempt fails. Our team of highly skilled plumbers have over twenty-five years of experience fixing bathtub blockages and can safely and effectively unclog your blocked bath drain. 

Give us a call on 1300 620 273 or complete our contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.