How to Clean a Bathtub Drain

Co-authored by Michelle Driscoll, MPH

Last Updated: September 12, 2023 Approved

A dirty bathtub drain can create horrible odors and clogs in your tub. For that reason, you should regularly maintain it by flushing it with boiling water and cleaning it with baking soda. If you've let the gunk build up, however, you may have to clear a clog by plunging the drain or manually removing the gunk from the pipes before you can clean it. Luckily, cleaning your bathtub drain is simple, as long as you follow the right steps and have the right equipment.

Things You Should Know

Pour boiling water down your bathtub drain to easily dissolve soap scum and debris that's clogging it.
To deodorize your bathtub drain, pour baking soda down it and let it sit for 20 minutes.
For stubborn clogs, you may need to use a drain snake or plunger.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Flushing the Drain with Boiling Water

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Hit the switch on your tub or unscrew the drain stopper to an open position so that water can go down your drain. If water is slow, or your tub fills up and doesn't drain, your drain has to be unclogged before you can clean it.
Bring a 2 L (8.5 c) pot or kettle of water to a boil on your stovetop. The hot water will be able to flush away any loose hair or soap scum in the drain.^{[1]
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If you have metal pipes, you can pour the boiling water directly down the drain. You should do this at least once a week to flush out built up soap scum and gunk that's left over from bathing.^{[2]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Deodorizing Your Bathtub Drain

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Tubs have different types of drain stoppers depending on what kind of tub you have. Some stoppers, like a push-pull stopper, will require you to remove screws in your drain, while others simply require you to unscrew the stopper to pull it free. To clean the inside of your drain, you'll need to completely remove the drain stopper.^{[3]
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Use a measuring cup to measure out a cup (180 g) of baking soda, then pour it down the drain. As the baking soda sits, it should absorb the unpleasant odors coming from the drain.
Get a bottle brush that is at least 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter and stick the brush end into the vertical pipe connected to your drain. Move the brush up and down while rotating it to remove the gunk from the inside of your drain. Pull all of the dirt and hair out of the drain with the brush.^{[4]
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Flush the drain with a pot of boiling water. Fill a large pot with boiling water and pour it down your drain to flush all of the baking soda down the drain. Once you’re done, you may need to repeat the steps to fully deodorize your drain.^{[5]
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- You can also boil vinegar instead of water to further deodorize your drain.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Clearing an Obstruction with a Tool

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Remove the drain stopper completely by either pulling it out or by removing the screws that are in the face of the stopper. To pull the gunk and hair from the drain, you'll need to make sure that you can access the vertical pipe that runs from your drain.^{[6]
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You can purchase a plastic snake that has teeth on it from a home improvement store or you can use pliers. Work your tool into the drain and try to snag any grime or hair that's caught in the drain. Carefully pull the hair and gunk from the drain with your tool and use your fingers to pull the rest of it out. Continue doing this until you've removed all the built up hair from the drain.^{[7]
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Dispose of any hair or gunk in a waste bin and run water into your bathtub. Make sure that the water flows down the drain before wiping down the tub and getting rid of any excess debris that you pulled up from your drain.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Plunging Your Drain

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Remove the overflow drain faceplate. To plunge your drain, you'll also have to remove the faceplate from the overflow hole. The overflow hole usually has a metallic faceplate with screws and is usually under the spout for your bathtub. Use a screwdriver to remove the screws from the faceplate and then remove the faceplate itself.^{[8]
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- On certain tubs the overflow drain will have a switch to open or close the drain on your bathtub. In this case, you must remove the entire drain attached to the overflow faceplate.
Filling the overflow hole with a rag will create the suction that's required to clear drains with the plunger. Shove a cotton towel or rag into the hole and try to make it as air-tight as possible.
If the tub isn't already filled with water, fill it up with 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) of water. Take extra care to not overflow your bathtub.
Plunging helps free any obstructions that may be in the pipe. Place the plunger over the drain and press up and down on the handle. After 30 seconds of plunging, see if the drain flushes normally. If it does not, continue repeating the process until the tub drains.

Community Q&A

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Question

The hole in which dirty water pass through in the bathroom is called what?

CageyCat

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In tubs and sinks, you will see a hole that typically has a metal ring around it. That hole is called the drain. Water, dirty water, and small bits of debris pass through the drain (example, dirt from your hands in a sink). From your apt or home, the drain water flows (usually from gravity) into a main plumbing line, which goes to a city sewer or to a holding tank if the home is not connected to city sewage.

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Tips

If your bathtub is draining slowly, you can try a commercial chemical drain cleaner as an alternative to using a plunger or a drain cleaning tool. You can buy these cleaners at most hardware or home supply stores. Follow the directions on the packaging carefully, and never mix drain cleaners with other cleaning solutions.

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