How to Unclog Your Toilets, Sinks and Bathtubs

For Toilets

If water persists in running in your toilet tank, remove the top and check out why. The tank or flapper may be stuck open. If so, free or adjust the rods or chain holding it open so it can close. If the tank ball or flapper is worn so it won't close tightly, it will have to be replaced. If the water level is too high so water is going into the overflow pipe, pull up on the float ball. If this shuts off the water, your problem is a ball that is set too high. Some mechanisms have an adjusting screw at the base of the float ball rod. If yours does, turn the screw to move the ball lower in the tank. If there is no adjustment screw, bend the rod to lower the ball. The ball should be adjusted so the water level is ½ to 1 inch below the top of the overflow tube.

If the bowl fills and won't drain, or worse yet, overflows all over the bathroom, use a plunger quickly. The kind of plunger with a cone works best on a toilet. Press the plunger into the drain hole and work it up and down rapidly a dozen times or more. If it won't drain right away, keep the bowl at least half full of water and pump as much as you can for 10 or 15 seconds. If it still won't drain, rest for an hour or so to let the clog soften and then try again.

If the plunger treatment fails, use a closet auger, which has a bent end designed to protect the porcelain. These can be rented, but buying one is much cheaper than even one visit by a plumber. Feed the bent end of the tube into one drain hole and then feed the auger through it into the drain and turn the crank clockwise until you reach the obstruction. Push a little more; then pull the auger out while continuing to turn the crank clockwise. If you can't dislodge the clog with a plunger or reach it with an auger, the obstruction may be down in the main drain.

For Sinks

Do not use chemical drain cleaners. They are caustic and could burn you if you had to drain or work on the pipes. Chemical cleaners can also form a permanent clog by melting the obstruction into one solid piece before the water can wash it away.

The stoppage may be in the P-trap just below the sink or it may be farther down the line. Start by removing the sink strainer and cleaning it. It can be removed by prying or by removing two small screws. If a stopper is in the way, it can usually be removed by giving it a quarter turn and lifting.

Use a piece of coat hanger wire with a small hook on the end or a snake to reach down into the P-trap and see what you can hook onto. If you can't reach the clog, it is probably in the main drain pipe.

For Bathtubs

Sometimes a tub with a built-in drain plug doesn't drain properly because the adjusting nut on the drain plug linkage has worked loose, and the drain doesn't open wide enough. To adjust this, unscrew the drain and pull the linkage out. Tighten the nut on the threaded screw to push the plug farther out of the drain when it's open.

If your tub doesn't have a built-in plug or the plug isn't a problem, then the drain pipe must be clogged. In an older house or apartment building, you may have a drum trap in the floor near the tub instead of a P-trap beneath the tub. If you do, remove the top from the trap with a monkey or crescent wrench. Run your snake first through the lower pipe back toward the tub. If there's no clog there, run the auger down the upper pipe toward the main drain.