It’s a common problem that we’ve all experienced. At first, your bathtub starts to drain more slowly but you tell yourself the problem will go away. Except it just gets worse and worse until one day you find it’s completely blocked.

A clogged drain can cause all kinds of headaches, which is why it’s important to know how to fix a clogged bathtub drain the right way. Try these tips and when in doubt, always consult with a professional plumbing service for help. It's usually not recommended that a harsh chemical de-clogging agent be used to clear clogged drains and pipes. Rather, periodically pouring a homemade drain cleaner down a bathtub or sink's drain will work just as well. Pour a cup of baking soda down your drain. Follow that with a cup of vinegar and then plug the drain hole.

It’s understandable that you don’t want to call in the plumber at the first sign of a blockage – it’s expensive after all – but you don’t need to wait till you have a tub full of standing water to take action. So here’s how to unclog a bathtub drain by yourself.

In this Video I'll show you Step-by-Step How To Unclog Bathtub Drain in 5 minutes. Don't Call a Plumber! Do it Yourself & Save!TOOLS & SUPPLIESPlumbing Snake.

If you want to see a couple of techniques – including one we didn’t talk about using Coca-Cola – check out this humorous video that shows you how it’s done.

Different steps you can take

When it comes to unclogging your bathtub drain, you have several options. Here, we’ll work through them from the easiest and least drastic to the last resort.

If you have a drain to unblock, you can work through them in order – and if you still haven’t managed to unclog your drain, it probably means it’s time to call in a professional.

Note that these techniques are the same for any kind of bathtub, including walk-in bathtubs, corner bathtubs, freestanding bathtubs and any others.

1. Clean the strainers and stoppers

Many drains have some kind of cover that allows the water to pass but prevents larger objects from disappearing down the drain hole. The problem with this is that hair can become tangled up in it, eventually preventing water from passing.

This means the first thing you need to do if your drain is showing signs of being blocked is to clean this cover.

All you need to do is remove whatever strainer or stopper your drain has and clean off any build-up of hair. If the cover is not screwed down, simply lift it off and give it a clean. If it is held in place by a screw, unscrew it and do the same.

Replace it and run some water to test it. If the water drains away as it it should, you have solved the problem. If not, move on to the second technique.

2. Drain claw

If cleaning the strainer or stopper hasn’t done the trick, the next thing to try is a drain claw. This is an inexpensive tool consisting of a stick covered in small hooks that is designed for unblocking bathtub drains.

Remove the strainer or stopper as before and push the drain claw into the drain. Push it in as far as you can and then slowly pull it out again. The hooks on the stick will grab hold of any clumps of hair, allowing you to pull them out with the stick.

You can repeat the process a few times until you are no longer pulling out clumps of hair and gunk. When you are ready, refit the stopper or strainer and run some water to see if the blockage has been resolved. If not, you can move on to the third technique.

3. Baking soda and vinegar

The next technique you can try involves pouring boiling water into the drain with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.

First, boil a full kettle of water and pour the whole lot into the drain. If you are lucky, just the boiling water alone will be enough to shift the blockage.

If not, next, pour half a cup of baking soda and a cup of white vinegar into the drain. Wait for 15 or 20 minutes for the mixture to act.

Boil another full kettle of water and pour it into the hole and wait for the water to drain away. Run some water to see if it has worked. You may like to repeat this process two or three times. If not, you can move onto the next technique.

4. Use a plunger

If the baking soda, vinegar and hot water mixture doesn’t solve the problem, even after a few tries, the blockage is probably more severe and the build-up more solid. This means a bit more force might be required – so the next thing to try is a good old-fashioned bathroom plunger.

Start by filling the bathtub to a couple of inches deep. Using hot water rather than cold may also help a little. Place the plunger over the hole and push it down and pull it up hard several times.

You are trying to shift the blockage with the force of the suction, so the more vigorously you do it, the more effective it will be.

If it’s working, clumps of hair and other grime will start to be sucked up out of the hole. When this happens, scoop them up out of the tub so they don’t go back into the hole and block it up again.

Repeat this several times. It will probably be quite obvious if you are succeeding because you will see the clumps of hair being sucked up out of the hole and into the tub. If it works, once you have removed the blockage, the water will drain away normally.

If it seems to work partially, you may think about trying the baking soda and vinegar again, and then the plunger again several times.

If this doesn’t work, move on to the last option.

5. Chemical products

If all else fails, before calling in a plumber, you can try a chemical drain cleaner. This should be a last resort as they contain strong chemicals that are bad for the environment and that will also weaken your bathtub’s drainage system.

Choose a product that is specifically made for bathtubs, take all necessary safety precautions like wearing gloves etc., read the instructions carefully and do what it says on the bottle.

Remove standing water, pour the product into the drain and wait for the time specified on the bottle. After the time has elapsed, try running some water into the bathtub to see if it drains away. If it does, you’re in luck – and if not, it’s time to call in a pro.

Bathtub Drain Clogged Standing Water

Don’t leave it until it’s too late

Probably the key to dealing with blocked bathtub drains is catching the problem early. If you take action before the problem gets too bad, it will be easier to solve – but if you let the blockage build up, it will be much harder to remove.

By following these techniques, you should be able to clear most blockages – but if you still can’t manage to get the blockage to clear, you’re going to have to bite the bullet and call in a plumber.

A clogged bathtub may be a little higher on the difficulty scale than a clogged kitchen drain or toilet, but most homeowners should be able to fix this problem using basic repair tools and commercially available chemical drain openers. Before attempting any clogged bathtub repair, however, you may want to first make sure that you have all of these tools and chemicals on the premises. This could mean a trip to a local hardware store to buy a plunger or plumber's helper, a drain snake, an adjustable pipe wrench and a chemical drain opener.

One of the first ways to fix a clogged bathtub is to visually inspect the drain for obvious blockages. Sometimes, a small bar of soap or a child's toy becomes wedged in the bathtub drain and it becomes a simple matter of pulling the blockage out. The object may be stuck a short way down the drain, so careful prodding might dislodge it. Clumps of hair can also accumulate behind the plate covering the water controls, so it might help to remove that plate by removing a few screws and manually cleaning out the opening.

If the clog cannot be removed easily by hand, then use a plunger or plumber's helper. A plunger is a simple tool consisting of a rubber cup and a wooden handle. The cup should be placed squarely over the hole in order to get a good seal, then you press down on the cup with the stick until it is fully compressed over the drain. Sometimes, this initial burst of pressure will dislodge the clog, but many times the plunger will need to be pulled up and pressed down repeatedly. After several strong compressions, check for any signs of draining water.

If physical plunging does not remove the clog from the bathtub drain, it may be time for more aggressive chemical action. The instructions on most chemical drain openers call for the users to put on protective clothing, including goggles and rubber gloves. The drain opener may be poured into standing water, but some manufacturers may recommend removing as much excess water as possible. Once the drain opener has been poured into the bathtub drain, it must be given enough time to work. After a specified amount of time has elapsed, the drain should be checked for any signs of restored water flow.

Bathtub Drain Clogged Deep Down

The last resort to fix a clogged bathtub is to either run a plumbing snake through the drain system or remove the actual drain pipe for a thorough inspection and cleaning. This kind of work is generally reserved for professional plumbers, but a motivated amateur handyman should be able to maneuver a flexible pipe snake through a drain without causing significant damage. If this attempt should fail to produce any results, however, the next step may be to call in a professional plumber, since the clog may be located far from the bathtub itself.

Bathtub Drain Clogged Home Remedy

Sometimes, the best defense against a clogged bathtub is a good offense, so it pays to use a properly fitted screen or filter over the open drain to prevent larger objects from falling in, and to keep an eye on any accumulations of hair or other detritus around the drain and behind the control face plate.