The dark-looking, smelly h2o that doesn't leave the bathtub or shower has a name: standing h2o . Also called brackish h2o, continuing water is a visible indication that something is wrong with your drain. Closing your eyes and hoping the problem will go away never works. Y'all need to learn how to unclog a drain with standing water .

Here, notice why continuing water is a concerning problem, the tools needed to remove standing water , how to unclog the drain, and how to preclude standing water .

Why Standing Water Is Problematic

how to unclog a drain with standing water: bathtub with dirty water

As well slow draining water, standing h2o is a main telltale sign of a drain clog . The clog creates a tight blockage inside the pipe where no water passes. Unlike deadening-to-drain h2o, standing water stays inside the bathtub or shower and doesn't move.

Standing water is oft unclean. The dirty water sits, infected with bacteria, tin can turn into ground zero for mildew and mold. It likewise carries a foul odor that begins where the clog occurs and ends inside the bathtub or shower. The smell pollutes the air, causing allergic reactions, asthma flare-ups, and respiratory problems once inhaled.

This chain reaction can occur as quickly every bit a few hours and equally tardily every bit ii days, and it will worsen if information technology sits longer than that.

Flies, dragonflies, and mosquitoes honey standing h2o and will wing into your dwelling house through the window or door if it'due south open for ventilation. Mosquitoes and flies can bring bacteria and affliction to the h2o, making continuing water fifty-fifty more chancy.

Tools Needed to Unclog a Drain

how to unclog a drain with standing water: woman wearing rubber gloves

Touching contaminated water without protecting the pare may cause a reaction, so yous need protective tools. The other equipment revolves effectually unclogging the drain. The tools are as follows:

  • A bucket or loving cup
  • Condom gloves
  • Dry towel
  • Plunger
  • Petroleum jelly
  • A drain snake or DrainShroom
  • Wire coat hanger
  • Bleed plug or StopShroom
  • ¾ cups of baking soda
  • 1 cup of vinegar or ane/3 cup of salt
  • Boiling water
  • H ot water from the faucet
  • Common cold tap h2o

A word of caution: Using chemical drain cleaners and bleach volition erode and weaken piping construction, shortening the pipage'southward lifespan and increasing the chance you will need to contact a plumber to install a new one.

How to Unclog a Bleed With Continuing H2o

how to unclog a drain with standing water: woman complaining to the repairman about the bathtub

Before unclogging the drain, put on your gloves and grab a bucket. Scoop up water in a cup and empty it in a bucket you later on empty outside. Go along until at that place is no more water.

And then, remove whatsoever tub bleed stoppers and drain covers .

Next, apply a dry towel to absorb standing h2o around the bleed.

Terminal, manually remove visible gunk off the bleed and transfer it into the trash tin can.

Now, information technology's time to try the clog clearing methods below. Proceed your gloves on for the duration. All methods work in standalone showers, standalone bathtubs, and shower/tub combos.

Habitation Remedies

2 dwelling remedies remove continuing h2o clogs : blistering soda and vinegar and blistering soda and table salt. These safer bleed cleaners won't damage pipes. Substitute salt for vinegar if vinegar is not in the house. Baking soda and vinegar'southward fizzy combination and baking soda and salt break down clogs ' tough defenses:

  1. First, cascade iii/4 cup of baking soda in the bleed.
  2. And then, pour 1 loving cup of vinegar or ane/three cup of table salt in the bleed. A drain stopper like StopShroom will keep the vinegar's buzz inside the drain.
  3. Permit information technology sit for an hour.
  4. Affluent by pouring humid water in the drain slowly to cook the clog .

Plunger

A plunger pushes clogs out using air force per unit area. Apply petroleum jelly around the suction rim. Cover the drain with the plunger to make a tight seal. Employ fast, repeated force per unit area down the bleed for three minutes. Remove the plunger .

Plow on the faucet 's hot water for 3 minutes and the cold water for two minutes to run into if the bleed is moving. Echo the procedure ii more times. Endeavor another solution if the clog is immovable.

Coat Hanger

A wire glaze hanger can reach nearby clogs . Accept the wire and unravel it until it becomes a straight line. Bend the wire at one end to make a J-shaped bend, and hold the reverse end. Send the coat hanger down the drain. If you feel resistance, that'due south the clog .

Apply the hook to take hold of pieces of the clog and pull it back up. Place any gunk from the hook into the trash can. Repeat until all the gunk is out of the drain. Flush with the faucet 's hot water .

Drain Snake

Besides called pipage snake, plumber'due south snake , or drain auger , the drain snake reaches clogs deep inside the pipe where no coat hanger can achieve information technology.

Only experts should apply the drain snake every bit information technology can destroy pipes. An easier bleed snake to apply is DrainShroom.

Reaching clogs up to three feet away, DrainShroom is a ability drill attachment that latches onto clogs and pulls them out without pipe damage. If you can utilise a power drill, you tin can utilize DrainShroom.

Professional Plumber

A plumbing adept is the last resort when all DIY options are non working. A plumber volition prepare the standing water drain trouble using the latest equipment . If necessary, the expert volition plough off the h2o, remove the clogged drain pipe , and make clean it before reinserting it. The plumber will also replace the pipe with a new one if all else fails.

Stop Standing Water from Resurging

person holding shred of hair

After all that difficult work, you will never want to unclog a bleed with standing water once more. So, fight for clear bathtub and shower drain pathways. Focus on keeping drain clogs away, and the standing water will never render. For all-time results, follow these tips regularly . These tips are the 1-2 punch combo to help you fight the boxing.

Habiliment a shower cap. Your hair disrupts water flow in one case it gets stuck in the bleed. Avoid this by wearing a shower cap. If y'all prefer hair wet in the shower, comb and brush your hair before inbound the shower. This will collect most of the hair at present to forbid hair from clogging the bleed later.

Take non-flushable objects out of the tub and shower. Take toys, toothpaste tops, toothbrushes, pilus bows, hair clips, and electronics out of the tub when non in use. Manually remove solid waste product such as hair, toilet tissue, wipes, napkins, paper towels, and paper and transfer them to the wastebasket.

Finish pouring dirty water down the bleed. Muddy water such as mop water, wastewater, and human foot soak h2o contains clay and debris that will clog drains. Cascade h2o outside instead.

Let the hot water run for two minutes. It cleans the drain of oil-based products like shower gels, body washes, shampoos, and conditioners stuck to the pipe'southward interior structure. Information technology also removes soap scum build-up . Turn off the hot h2o for five minutes, and turn the hot water dorsum on to run for two minutes again.

Add together TubShroom and ShowerShroom to your bleed. Drain catchers similar TubShroom and ShowerShroom collect hair and objects around its cylinder base, stopping it from falling downwardly the bleed and forming a clog . The drain strainers are easy to remove, clean, and insert for reuse.

Use blistering soda and vinegar. The aforementioned bootleg combo that clears clogs can also prevent clogs . Use these habitation products every bit directed one time every ii weeks to maintain articulate drains.

Prevent the Standoff Against Standing Water With Shroom

TubShroom in the bathtub

Standing water is a sign that a clog is so severe that no water can seep through information technology. In these cases, do-information technology-yourself bleed cleaning and prevention solutions are welcome sights.

Nevertheless, standing h2o is avoidable. TubShroom and ShowerShroom could have been guarding your drain confronting non-water items by communicable them before information technology becomes a problem. Information technology nevertheless tin can be your ally in the tub and shower. The bathtub and shower drain catchers (along with ShowerShroom Ultra ) are the all-time line of defense against standing h2o clogs , information technology wouldn't hurt to give both a try.