The nighttime-looking, smelly water that doesn't exit the bathtub or shower has a name: standing water . Also called stagnant h2o, standing water is a visible indication that something is wrong with your drain. Closing your eyes and hoping the problem volition go away never works. You lot demand to learn how to unclog a drain with standing h2o .

Here, discover why standing h2o is a concerning trouble, the tools needed to remove standing water , how to unclog the drain, and how to prevent continuing water .

Why Standing Water Is Problematic

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

Besides slow draining h2o, continuing h2o is a principal telltale sign of a drain clog . The clog creates a tight blockage within the pipage where no h2o passes. Dissimilar slow-to-drain h2o, standing water stays within the bathtub or shower and doesn't move.

Standing water is often unclean. The dirty water sits, infected with bacteria, can turn into basis zero for mildew and mold. It also 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 rapidly as a few hours and as late as two days, and it will worsen if information technology sits longer than that.

Flies, dragonflies, and mosquitoes love standing water and will fly into your abode through the window or door if it's open up for ventilation. Mosquitoes and flies can bring bacteria and disease to the water, making standing h2o fifty-fifty more chancy.

Tools Needed to Unclog a Bleed

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

Touching contaminated water without protecting the peel may cause a reaction, and so y'all need protective tools. The other equipment revolves effectually unclogging the drain. The tools are as follows:

  • A bucket or loving cup
  • Rubber gloves
  • Dry out towel
  • Plunger
  • Petroleum jelly
  • A drain serpent or DrainShroom
  • Wire coat hanger
  • Drain plug or StopShroom
  • ¾ cups of blistering soda
  • 1 cup of vinegar or one/3 cup of salt
  • Boiling water
  • H ot water from the faucet
  • Cold tap water

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

How to Unclog a Drain With Standing H2o

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

Earlier unclogging the drain, put on your gloves and grab a saucepan. Scoop upwardly water in a cup and empty it in a bucket you later empty outside. Continue until there is no more water.

And so, remove whatsoever tub drain stoppers and drain covers .

Adjacent, utilize a dry towel to absorb standing h2o around the drain.

Last, manually remove visible gunk off the bleed and transfer information technology into the trash tin.

At present, it's time to try the clog clearing methods below. Go on your gloves on for the duration. All methods piece of work in standalone showers, standalone bathtubs, and shower/tub combos.

Home Remedies

Two domicile remedies remove continuing h2o clogs : baking soda and vinegar and blistering soda and salt. These safer drain cleaners won't damage pipes. Substitute common salt for vinegar if vinegar is not in the house. Baking soda and vinegar'south fizzy combination and baking soda and salt break down clogs ' tough defenses:

  1. Starting time, pour 3/4 cup of blistering soda in the bleed.
  2. And so, pour ane cup of vinegar or one/3 cup of salt in the drain. A drain stopper like StopShroom will keep the vinegar's fizz within the drain.
  3. Allow it sit for an hour.
  4. Flush by pouring boiling water in the drain slowly to cook the clog .

Plunger

A plunger pushes clogs out using air pressure. Apply petroleum jelly effectually the suction rim. Comprehend the drain with the plunger to make a tight seal. Apply fast, repeated pressure down the drain for three minutes. Remove the plunger .

Turn on the faucet 'due south hot water for three minutes and the cold h2o for two minutes to see if the drain is moving. Repeat the procedure ii more times. Try some other solution if the clog is immovable.

Coat Hanger

A wire coat hanger can reach nearby clogs . Take the wire and unravel information technology until information technology becomes a direct line. Bend the wire at i end to make a J-shaped bend, and hold the opposite end. Send the glaze hanger down the drain. If you experience resistance, that's the clog .

Use the hook to grab pieces of the clog and pull it back up. Identify any gunk from the hook into the trash can. Repeat until all the gunk is out of the drain. Flush with the faucet 'due south hot water .

Drain Snake

Too called pipe snake, plumber'due south snake , or bleed auger , the drain snake reaches clogs deep inside the pipe where no coat hanger can reach it.

But experts should use the bleed snake as information technology can destroy pipes. An easier drain ophidian to use is DrainShroom.

Reaching clogs upward to 3 feet away, DrainShroom is a ability drill attachment that latches onto clogs and pulls them out without pipe harm. If y'all can utilise a power drill, you can utilise DrainShroom.

Professional person Plumber

A plumbing expert is the last resort when all DIY options are not working. A plumber will fix the standing water drain problem using the latest equipment . If necessary, the expert will turn off the water, remove the clogged drain piping , and clean information technology earlier reinserting it. The plumber will also supersede the pipe with a new one if all else fails.

Stop Standing Water from Resurging

person holding shred of hair

After all that hard piece of work, you will never want to unclog a drain with continuing water over again. So, fight for clear bathtub and shower bleed pathways. Focus on keeping drain clogs abroad, and the continuing water will never render. For best results, follow these tips regularly . These tips are the i-two punch combo to help you fight the battle.

Wear a shower cap. Your hair disrupts h2o flow once it gets stuck in the drain. Avoid this by wearing a shower cap. If y'all prefer pilus wet in the shower, rummage and brush your hair before entering the shower. This will collect virtually of the pilus now to prevent hair from bottleneck the drain after.

Take non-flushable objects out of the tub and shower. Have toys, toothpaste tops, toothbrushes, hair bows, hair clips, and electronics out of the tub when not in use. Manually remove solid waste such as pilus, toilet tissue, wipes, napkins, newspaper towels, and paper and transfer them to the wastebasket.

Cease pouring dirty water downwards the bleed. Muddy water such as mop water, wastewater, and foot soak water contains dirt and droppings that will clog drains. Pour water 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. It also removes soap scum build-up . Plough off the hot water for v minutes, and turn the hot h2o back on to run for two minutes again.

Add TubShroom and ShowerShroom to your drain. Drain catchers like TubShroom and ShowerShroom collect pilus and objects effectually its cylinder base, stopping it from falling down the drain and forming a clog . The drain strainers are easy to remove, make clean, and insert for reuse.

Use baking soda and vinegar. The aforementioned homemade combo that clears clogs can also prevent clogs . Use these home products equally directed in one case every 2 weeks to maintain articulate drains.

Preclude the Collision Against Continuing H2o With Shroom

TubShroom in the bathtub

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

Withal, continuing water is avoidable. TubShroom and ShowerShroom could have been guarding your drain confronting non-water items by catching them before information technology becomes a problem. It still tin be your ally in the tub and shower. The bathtub and shower bleed catchers (along with ShowerShroom Ultra ) are the all-time line of defense against continuing water clogs , it wouldn't injure to requite both a try.