What to Do When Your Bathtub Is Clogged

Your bathtub is draining slowly, or the water is sitting there and barely moving. Nine times out of ten it is hair, soap scum, or a mix of the two caught partway down the pipe. Start with a plunger, try a baking soda and vinegar flush if that does not shift it, and if the water still will not drain, call a plumber who can put a camera down the pipe and find the real blockage. Most bath clogs clear in under an hour when they are dealt with early. Leave it and the problem only gets worse.

Why is my bathtub draining slowly?

A slow or blocked bath drain usually comes down to one of three things.

Hair

Hair is the most common cause by a long way. Strands wash down, catch on the strainer or on rough spots inside the pipe, and tangle into a mat over weeks or months. Once that mat forms, soap and other gunk stick to it and the blockage keeps growing.

Soap and body oils

Soap residue builds up over time. Oils and fats go down the drain warm and liquid, then cool and harden against the pipe walls. Most bath blockages are hair and soap working together, not one or the other.

Sand and dirt

Kids who play outside, or beach trips where you rinse off at home, send sand down the drain. Sand settles in the low points of the pipe and mixes with the soap and hair already building up there.

How to clear a clogged bathtub drain

Try a plunger first

Plunging is cheap and works on a lot of bath clogs. Fill the tub with a few centimetres of water so the plunger cup is covered, then push the cup over the drain and work it up and down firmly. If your tub has an overflow outlet, block it with a wet cloth first, otherwise the pressure just escapes there instead of pushing at the blockage.

Keep at it for a couple of minutes. If water starts draining, run the tap to flush the loosened gunk through. If nothing changes, move on to the next method.

Baking soda and vinegar

This mix breaks down soft buildup near the drain, so it is worth trying before you call anyone out.

1. Pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain carefully.
2. Add half a cup of baking soda, then a full cup of vinegar.
3. Let the mixture fizz and work for about 20 minutes.
4. Follow with another kettle of boiling water.

You can repeat this once or twice. If it does not clear the drain, the blockage is deeper in the pipe and no kitchen remedy is going to reach it.

When to call a plumber

Call a plumber if plunging and the baking soda flush do not clear it, if more than one fixture is draining slowly at the same time, or if the drain gurgles or smells. Those are signs the blockage is further down the pipe, past where any DIY method can reach.

A blocked bath drain further down needs a camera to find, not guesswork. Drainpro carries CCTV inspection equipment on every van, so we can show you exactly what is stuck and where before we quote you a fixed price to clear it. We have been clearing Melbourne drains since 1999, and we do not do bandaid fixes. If tree roots or a cracked pipe are behind the problem, we tell you straight and sort it properly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my bathtub keep blocking?

If the same drain blocks again a few months after clearing, something is helping it along. It could be a hair mat that was never fully removed, soap building up faster than you think, or a deeper problem like a cracked pipe or tree roots finding their way in. A CCTV drain inspection shows what is actually going on inside the pipe, so the fix targets the cause, not just the blockage.

Will chemical drain cleaner clear a bathtub clog?

Sometimes, but it is not a good idea. Store-bought chemical cleaners struggle with hair clogs and can damage older pipes, and if they do not work you are left with a pipe full of caustic liquid that a plumber then has to work around. We explain the risks in more detail in our guide on why you should avoid chemical drain cleaners.

How much does it cost to unblock a bathtub drain?

It starts with a $45 service call to get a fully equipped plumber to your door. They assess the job and give you a fixed price on the spot, before any work starts. Go ahead with the work and the $45 comes off the quoted price.

Still draining slowly?

Give us a call on 1300 303 247. We will come out, find the blockage, and get it sorted. No pushy sales, no surprises, just a fixed price before we start. Prefer to book online? Fill out our contact form and we will get back to you.