Why Your Bath Is Draining Slowly And How To Fix It

Being able to handle household problems without calling in the experts can save you a lot of time and money. This is especially true when it comes to slow draining baths.

In most scenarios you can fix the problem with a bit of elbow grease and a small investment in drain clearing equipment. You don’t even need a lot of DIY experience to do so in most cases. 

Before we go into detail on how to clear your drain it's important to understand the common problems that can cause your bathwater to drain slowly or not at all.

Common causes of a slow-draining bath 

Baths see a lot of activity day-in-day-out and therefore encounter a lot of debris and dirt. This debris will gradually build up over time and can lead to a clogged or blocked drain.

There are four main forms of debris that cause blockages and we’ve outlined them below.

Hair

The most common debris found in bath drains is hair. When you have a bath you shed hair which is then carried down your drain. Over time this hair sticks to the inside of your drain and collects other debris to form a blockage.

This problem is particularly prominent in houses with multiple occupants.

Soap scum

When you use shampoo or soap residue is created which can line the inside of your bath drain. This residue solidifies within the drain pipe and can create multiple layers of soap scum.Over time this can significantly reduce the efficiency of your bath’s pipes and increases the likelihood of a significant drain blockage.

Hard water

If you live in an area that experiences hard water you are likely to encounter limescale build-up within your bath drain and pipe. 

This occurs due to the presence of sediment within the water supply. When hard water evaporates it leaves behind deposits of calcium and magnesium. These deposits obstruct drains and pipes and can lead to blockages. 

Dead skin

Much like hair, you shed dead skin cells every time you have a bath. These cells build up within your bath’s drain and slow the drainage of water and increases the likelihood of significant blockages.

When all four of these factors combine you can experience significant drain blockages and will have to take steps to clear any obstructions.

How to fix your slow-draining bath 

A blocked or slow-draining bath can be very frustrating, especially if you come across the problem at the end of a long day. That’s why we have curated some short DIY guides below to save you money, time and headaches. 

Manually unclog 

A great first step to dealing with a blocked bath drain is to see if you can solve the problem with a manual plunger. A plunger works by creating a vacuum over a drain seal and using this the pressure generated to dislodge debris.

To use a plunger effectively on your bath drain:

1. Get a bucket or container, fill it with water and see how long it takes for the water to drain from your bath.
2. Place the rubber part of the plunger over the bath drain so there is no space between it and the bath.
3. Gently push and pull the plunger while it is still sealed to the drain. This will cause the debris and blockage within the drain to shift and hopefully break up.
4. Remove the plunger.
5. Test the speed of your bath’s drain again and see if there is a significant improvement in the time it takes to empty.

If you find this method has not significantly improved the efficiency of your drain there are a few other methods you can turn to.

Chemical cleaning 

Chemical drain unblockers help to dissolve and breakup debris by creating a chemical reaction within your drainage system. Oftentimes, drain unblockers can clear drains single-handedly.

It’s important to mention that these unblockers work best in slow-draining blockages, they will not perform well if there is a significant amount of standing water.

To use a chemical unblocker:

1. If available, put on protective equipment for your skin and eyes. Drain unblockers are irritants and you should avoid direct contact with it whenever possible.
2. Pour the drain unblocker down the drain.
3. Leave for 30 minutes. This allows for the chemical reaction to take place.
4. Flush the unblocker away with lots of hot water.

Once you have completed these steps your drain should be unblocked. If it is proving to still be an issue we recommend utilising a drain snake.

Drain snake 

A drain snake (or plumbing snake) is a specialist piece of equipment that helps to unblock drains and pipes. You can buy one for less than £10; a small investment which could save you a lot of time and money. 

To use a drain snake:

1. Remove the drain cover to get full access to your bath’s drain and pipe.
2. Carefully insert the drain snake into the drain.
3. Feed the snake gently.
4. If you feel resistance, rotate the snake clockwise while applying pressure. This allows the snake to burrow through and break up any debris. 
5. If you can’t feed the snake any further, retract the snake. This should bring up some of the debris and help to clear the blockage.
6. Repeat this process until you have removed the blockage.
7. Refit the drain cover.

If a drain snake does not remove the drain blockage you may be dealing with another problem. At this point we recommend reaching out to a plumbing engineer to assess and fix the problem. 

Call in the pros 

If none of the above methods prove fruitful then we recommend getting in touch with a plumbing engineer to troubleshoot and solve your problem.

To book an appointment with our expert, local engineers call our customer service team at 0208 722 7072.

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