When cleaning, there’s few things more irritating than a clogged drain! Whether it is a sink or a tub, if it’s clogged, it is difficult to get clean. I’ve dealt with both a slow draining tub as well as two clogged sinks in recent months, so today I’m going to answer the question, “How do you unclog a plugged up tub (or sink) drain without using chemicals?”
How to Unclog a Sink or Tub Drain here’s what you need:
- Zip-It tool
- Disposable gloves
A few months ago when my tub started to drain very slowly, I resolved to use what had worked in the past – a plunger! So I headed to Lowe’s to purchase a new one. One that’s sole purpose would be for unclogging the tub drain. I have long, thick hair and a clogged tub drain is a reoccurring problem at our house. As I am not awfully familiar with where products are located in Lowe’s, I asked an associate where to find a plunger. He showed me to the aisle and we proceeded to chat about why I was in need of one. He then recommended trying the Zip-It, a tool you push down the drain and pull back up, bringing whatever it is that is clogging your drain (usually hair), up and out. Hesitant that it wouldn’t work, I bought both a plunger and the Zip-It. I was amazed at how well the Zip-It worked and didn’t end up using the plunger! Here’s the process used on my clogged sink a few weeks later:
Insert Zip-It tool into drain.
Uh, be sure to wear gloves! And be careful when handling those sharp edges!
Push Zip-It tool down drain until handle meets top of drain.
This might seem a little tricky at first, especially if you are working on a tub, but if you wiggle it around a bit it’ll go down!
Pull Zip-It tool back slowly to avoid possible splashing of debris.
This is the gross part! Have a trash can close by to discard the hair balls. I carefully removed what came up and stuck the Zip-It back down on a different side of the drain, until I had gone all the way around and nothing else came up. When finished, throw the tool away and clean your sink. The clog should be gone! If it’s not, then the drain is likely clogged farther down than the Zip-It tool reaches and you’ll need to take further action.
The Zip-It tool is now my go-to method for unclogging drains! It’s quick, cheap (around $2.00), non-toxic, and environmentally safe!
Kim
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I was actually trying to find this very tool in my local stores because my mom said it worked great, but I couldn’t find it. I ended up getting a specially-designed sink plunger (cost $2.50) and it worked great, too! Always thrilled to find options that don’t use caustic chemicals!
That’s really useful. Not sure if every store carries something like that though. It looks like easy to make so maybe a homemade alternative could work, too.
I used this for my bath tub and it worked great (gross, but great!). I got mine off of Amazon – it’s not this exact brand, but it’s very similar.
My tub was doing the same thing one day, draining very slow, I didn’t have that handy little gadget so I took a metal coat hanger broke it down and used one side of it that already had a curve on the end, put it down the tub drain and pulled up a bunch of hair that was clogging the drain.
That’s a great idea! Thanks for the tip. 🙂
I ordered Drain-FX online after hearing about it on the Gary Sullivan radio show and it cleared my drains – no need for chemicals. It’s ecofriendly & effective. I highly recommend it.