Plumbing question - How to locate and remove persistent and pesky clog in pipe?

Question

I live in a townhouse built in the 1940's. My bathroom was remodeled three years ago (some of its plumbing included) and is located upstairs. The issue is that there is a clog in the line, seemingly between my bathroom sink and the bathtub drain line.

A few months ago, the sink was draining slowly. I removed the sink stopper and cleaned some gunk away, but slow draining persisted. I removed the "pee trap" (the U-shaped dip in the pipe just under the sink drain) and cleaned out a bunch of debris out from that. I thought that surely this would do it, but not so. I filled the sink with water hoping to push the clog through with the large water volume, to no (immediate) avail. I continued using the sink, thinking I'd call a plumber soon. Over the course of a day, the sink suddenly began draining normally. I thought the clog had gone for good, but no.

Recently, the sink started draining slowly again. I decided to fill it with water and use a plunger to loosen the clog. When I began plunging, I heard a release in the pipe and the water began draining normally. Yippee! Wait... a bunch of water and nasty black debris just backed up into my tub through the bathtub drain!

Now I have a sink that drains just fine, but a bathtub full of muck with a totally clogged drain. I tried plunging the bathtub drain, but nothing is budging. I really don't want to call a plumber unless I absolutely HAVE to, so if anyone out there can tell me a do-it-yourself solution to this problem, I'd be so grateful! I hate it when they come out and spend five minutes fixing it by doing something totally simple that I could have done myself. Thanks!

Answer 1

you can plunge the clog in the tub and push it on its way out  to the sewer main . you need to remove the overflow plate , the part where you trip the little lever to stop the tub to take a bath . once removed  carefully stuff a rag in the opening and than plunge, this will give you the back pressure to send it on its way  . Good luck  

Answer 2

This is a two person job....you need to seal the overflow holes on the sink (try duct tape) and place a plunger on the sink drain. NOW, seal the overflow holes on the bathtub (try another plunger or duct tape), now use a plunger on the tub drain AND the sink drain (separately)....hopefully, the plug will break free and go on out .... use hot, hot water IF the tub begins to drain....that will get rid of old soap build up. As a last resort, you may have to use drain opener, but be careful, for this stuff can dull the finish one metal (tub drain). Sounds like years of hair and soap scum have built up in the pipes. Good luck. Goldwing

Answer 3

an old plumbers trick is to run some hot water down the drains (3 minutes or so- to soften up the blockage) and then just pour bleach in the drains and let sit overnight.  The bleach is not as harsh on pipes, but is quite effective and will kill some of the gunk causing organisims in the drains...   The best solution is to have a friend go up on the roof and run a snake down the appropriate vent... this will fix the problem entirely.

Answer 4

Most bathroom clogs are hair, and the best way to remove them is with a snake.  You can get a cheap snake at a hardware store, but this entails learning how to use it (something that most plumbers know how to do).  It's fairly straightforward, but there are a few gotchas you might run into.