How to unclog the bathroom drain – 6 tips to fix it yourself
Manual removal
The first thing you can do when your bathroom drain is clogged is to manually clean the plumbing.
Most of the time, the clogging is superficial, caused by the accumulation, mainly, of hair strands on the top of the drain.
To do the manual removal, remove the screen or protection grid from the drain, if the model in your house has screws, make sure you have the help of a screwdriver.
Other models have small locks, check if the case of your drain is not to damage the part.
Then, with your own hands (preferably use gloves), remove the dirt that is clogging the drain.
You can use a piece of wire or other sharp object to help unclog the drain.
After removing everything that is blocking the passage, put the drain plug in place and turn on the shower.
See if the water is flowing freely or if it is still pooling on the floor.
If the issue is still not resolved, try the options below.
Hot water and bicarbonate
It’s not today that baking soda is a great ally of household chores.
But did you know that it can also be useful for unclogging drains? So it is! However, bicarbonate is only indicated for dirt such as grease, as it helps to remove the accumulated plaque inside the pipe.
For this, you will need to pour about a cup full of baking soda into the clogged drain.
However, do this with the drain dry. If necessary, use a cloth to absorb excess moisture.
Let the baking soda act inside the drain for approximately 30 minutes. Keep the drain cover closed during this period.
After this time, pour about a liter of boiling water down the drain. If all goes well, the fatty plaques will be removed and will literally go down the drain.
Vinegar
Another popular option for when you don’t know what else to do when the bathroom drain is clogged is to use vinegar.
The product is another miracle saint indoors. To use it, the tip is to combine it with bicarbonate to enhance the effect, especially in more severe cases of clogging or when the other tips didn’t work as they should.
Start by drying the inside of the drain with a dry cloth. Then pour a cup of baking soda and a cup of white vinegar.
Let this mixture act for approximately 30 minutes. After this time, boil a liter of water and throw it down the drain.
The fat will be removed quickly and the water will pass through the pipe without difficulty.
Wire or hose
But if the problem with the clogged bathroom drain is the accumulation of hair strands, then the solution is to use a wire or hose to reach the innermost part of the pipe.
Preferably make a small hook at the end of the wire so that it “hooks” the dirt inside the drain more easily.
Insert the wire or hose slowly into the drain, noticing where the obstruction is.
When locating the clogged part, rotate the wire inside the tubing to ensure that all hair strands are caught.
Then start pulling the wire out bringing the yarn bun out.
Common plunger
Another way to unclog a bathroom drain is to use a common plunger, one that works with vacuum pressure.
This method is also recommended in case of hair build-up, as the pressure causes the hair bun to be sucked up.
Start by drying the area around the drain, as puddles of moisture get in the way of a vacuum.
Then, position the plunger in the center of the drain and push it down.
Then come back up, in up and down movements, increasing and decreasing the pressure.
Remove the plunger and look inside the drain. At this point, the hair strands will already be visible and you can complete the unclogging process manually.
Plunger steel cable
Finally, when all other attempts have failed and you don’t know what else to do when the bathroom drain is clogged, the last option is to use a steel cable plunger.
This type of steel cable is specially manufactured to unclog drains, whether in the bathroom, kitchen or service area.
It has a small spring at the end that allows it to pull the dirt that clogs the pipe and thus unclog the pipe.
You can buy a steel cable plunger online or at home improvement stores. There are different models, ranging from the smallest with 5 meters in length to the largest with 30 meters in length.
The steel cable plunger is the most efficient way to solve a clog in the pipe without having to rely on skilled labor for the problem.
To use the wire rope, just place it inside the drain until you reach the point where the clog is.
At this point, rotate the handle so that it picks up as much dirt as possible. Then slowly pull it out, bringing the cake of dirt out of the drain.
Turn on the shower and see if the water runs freely. If so, finish cleaning the drain with the vinegar and bicarbonate technique.
