HELP!! My tub is clogged, I have tried many things....

[iamme]

I so don't have the money to pay a plumber! I live in a 90 yr old home. We have one tub for the whole family, and it clogs regularly. Tonight I showered, and by the end(w/o shaving) I was standing in tow inches of water. UGH!!
I only recently found a "hair-stopper" that is small enough to fit our drain. Whew! But, that doen's solve the current clogged problem. I have tried...

The cheesy tv advertised "snake" device that is available at BED, Bath and Beyond. I am taking it back tomorrow-what a waste of money!!

A can of coke down the drain. No effect.

Vinegar down the drain. No effect.

Baking soda down the drain. No effect.

Used our wet/dry vac for several minutes-no effect.

Before and after each shower I use tweezers to get out and touchable hair(dd and I both ahve long hair)-and I may as well skip it. UGH!!

Any ideas?? Please take me through baby steps. I am about to go to Lowes to get the MIGHTY drain de-clogger, which may eat through our pipes, too!!

Desperate to get our tub usable!!

Thank you! Sorry for so many >>!!!!!!.

I am seriously frustrated.

[zoebird]

well, this is a long term solution, but it does work: Bokashi Compost Liquor.

Bokashi composting is a Japanese form of composting that functions on fermentation. Every 2-4 weeks, the compost has created a lot of liquid that needs to be drained off. That's the Liquor.

that can be used as fertilizer when it is cut with 100 parts water to 1 part liquor, but what it's even *better* for, is keeping your drains clean.

----

So, look up Bokashi composting and get started. Every two weeks, you'll be able to pour it down your drain (or, split the amount and do it weekly). makes a huge difference.

in the mean time, use a hanger.

[Bethla]

What we do is bring the water hose into the house. We have the sprayer attached, stick it in, build up the pressure first. Of course someone has to stand outside and turn the water on. My dh kind of wraps something around the nozzle so there's a lot of pressure when the water sprays through. This works for us, we may do it a couple times a year.

[yeahwhat]

Have you tried plunging it while there's standing water in the tub? Sometimes that can help dislodge a clog.

If you have metal drain pipes, please don't pour down the really strong chemicals. Last time a tenant did that before calling us, it ate tiny pin holes in an already thin drain pipe, causing leaking into the apartment downstairs, and requiring riping out the wall/ceiling and replacing a chunk of drain pipe. If we'd known in time, calling a plumber or renting a snake would have been much cheaper than the emergency call and wall repair.

[Annie Mac]

Yes, a real plumber's snake from the hardware or plumbing supply store. I've seen the commercials for the snake you're talking about, and I can see why it doesn't work. I have a snake with a reel -- it does the twisting, not you. It retracts back into its casing and I think it's about 30 feet long or so (can't recall, but it's quite long). I've never come across a clogged drain it could not take care of. The only thing I could see it wouldn't work on is a solid smooth object, like a plastic toy. Hair clogs, and anything it can sink its "tooth" into is going to come out.

[cristeen]

I'm going to agree with the plunger. And then is your hair catcher a fine mesh? I had to get one of those because we were having the same problems. Once you've plunged and any gunk has come back up, stick the hair catcher in before it drains back down so you can dump the gunk in the garbage.

And then dump about a cup of BS down the drain, followed by about a cup of boiling hot water. Let it sit about 10 minutes, and then chase it with about a cup of white vinegar. It should foam like mad (if it doesn't then your BS all got washed away already).

It may also be that your pipe isn't properly vented, which means it moves slowly anyway. We have that problem too (100 yo Victorian), and unfortunately there's nothing cheap you can do about it.

[greenmansions]

You may have galvanized pipes for your drains and then none of the above solutions are going to work. The only thing you can do is replace the pipes. This is what happened to our neighbors. The pipes were down to about a half an inch opening for drainage. When her kids took a bath, it took over an hour for the water to drain out.

[iamme]

Thanks!

I am not going to use the heavy duty drain crud, as I fear it would eat through our old pipes.

Will try pouring one can of coke down drain first(bff keeps suggesting this).

Followed by the last poster's advice-plunger,BS, boiling H2O,vinegar. The only problem is that I CANNOT find a hair catcher that is small enough to fit nicely into our drain hole. I guess I'll just have to be quick on the catch of gook.

Will let you know if it worked! If not, will send dh to Lowes to rent a snake(didn't even know I had that option-thought I'd have to hire a plumber.)

Thanks, again!

[LeahBoo]

I've heard you can use nair for hair clogs. Never tried it though.

[cschick]

My parents have always lived in older houses (old Victorians) and had 4 daughters with long hair. My father invested in a professional plumber's snake, and snaked out the shower drain every six months.

[Katie T]

I do something like what was mentioned above except I do the bs, let that sit 10 minutes then the vinegar let that sit 10 minutes then boiling water, lots of it and plunge the crap out of it. It takes about 3 to 5 times in a row but it always helps!

[iamme]

It worked!!!!

I loaded it up with very hot H20,plunged, let drain, then added i can coke, waited 5 mins and added 1 cup BS (SLOWLY!!), followed by TWO CUPS boiling water, and last, one cup vinegar!!!

I am in hot pursuit of a mesh cover that will fit our drain, and plan to do this "bathtub cocktail" every month.

Thank you!!!!!

[IntuitiveJamie]

I had to buy a drain cover that goes over the drain, (not fits into the drain). I got it at Walmart. It was a couple of dollars. It's similar to this:
http://www.organize.com/hairstopper.html
It works well.

[mumkimum]

Glad you fixed the problem!

We've had similar problems before - usually the bs/vinegar/boiling water works out fine. But we've also had luck with enzyme/microbial drain cleaners too. They're safer for older pipes and work surprisingly well - even with really bad clogs (and good too for maintaining your drains and preventing clogs).

[bigteamug]

Ya know, unless it is clogged, I'd hesitate to do that treatment once a month, esp if you have a hair catcher in there - I'd be afraid of damaging the drain pipes, esp if the drain is not somewhere you can see it (say in an unfinished basement). Small leak in a wall - you don't want to go there.