If your tub still drains but the water crawls out and leaves a ring behind, the culprit is almost always a wad of hair and soap scum snagged on the stopper linkage — and often on the crossbar inside the drain and in the overflow tube behind the wall. That’s what makes a tub different from a sink: the stopper mechanism sits right in the flow path, and hair loves to wrap around it. Pull the stopper, clean it, and the tub usually drains fast again. If it doesn’t, the gunk has packed down into the overflow tube or the trap, and you fish it out from there. Skip the bottle of drain cleaner — on a slow tub it rarely reaches the real blockage and makes every later step more dangerous. Here’s the whole job, and it turns on removing your particular stopper the right way.
If your tub holds standing water and won’t drain at all, that’s a full stoppage in the trap or line — different job. This guide is for a tub that still drains, just slowly.
Likely causes, ranked
Work this list top to bottom. Most slow tubs clear at the first two rows.
| Cause | How to tell | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Hair & soap scum on the stopper and drain crossbar | Water crawls out; you pull a slimy black wad off the stopper when you remove it | Remove and clean the stopper |
| Buildup in the overflow tube behind the plate | Stopper is clean but it still drains slow; gurgle from the overflow | Pull the overflow plate and clean the tube and linkage |
| Hair clog just past the drain, out of finger reach | Stopper and overflow look clear but a strand-mat is wedged below | Fish it with a barbed Zip-It hair tool |
| Grease/scum film narrowing the trap | Slow everywhere, no single hair wad; water is greasy | Plunge, then flush with very hot water |
| Clog packed into the P-trap or waste line | Nothing above worked; drains again after you clear it | Snake through the overflow down to the trap |
First, figure out which stopper you have
You can’t clean the linkage until you get the stopper out, and each type comes out differently. Look at your drain and match it. Set a rag over the drain opening while you work so nothing — screws, especially — falls down the pipe.
Lift-and-turn
You lift the little knob and give it a twist to open and close it. To remove: open it fully, hold the base steady, and turn the cap counterclockwise until it unthreads. If it just spins without lifting free, there’s a hidden set screw under the knob — pop the cap or look under the small lever, loosen that screw a couple turns with a flathead or hex key, and lift the stopper straight out. Hair wraps around the post underneath.
Toe-touch (push / foot-lock)
You push it with your toe to open and close. To remove: set it to the open position, grip the base cylinder with one hand, and unscrew the top cap counterclockwise. On many, the whole shaft then threads out of the crossbar in the drain — keep turning counterclockwise until it lifts free. Use pliers with a cloth wrapped around the cap if it’s stuck. Clean the spring-loaded shaft; it’s a hair magnet.
Push-pull
Like lift-and-turn but you just pull up to open, push down to close. Unscrew the knob counterclockwise; there’s usually a set screw in the post underneath. Loosen it and lift the stopper out.
Pop-up (rocker) with a lever on the overflow plate
The visible plug is a curved rocker that rests in the drain, and there’s a trip lever on the overflow plate up on the tub wall. To remove: set the lever to open, then wiggle and pull the rocker stopper straight out of the drain — it’ll come out with a curved rod attached, and there’s usually a mat of hair riding on that rod. Then unscrew the two screws on the overflow plate and gently pull the plate, lever, and the rest of the linkage up and out through the overflow hole. Clean all of it.
Trip-lever (plunger style) — no visible stopper
This one fools people. There’s a strainer grate over the drain and no stopper you can see — the seal is a hidden brass plunger that a lever on the overflow plate raises and lowers inside the overflow tube. To service it: unscrew the two screws on the overflow plate, then slowly draw the plate, lever, and the long linkage with the heavy brass plunger up and out through the overflow opening. That plunger sits down in the tube right where hair and scum collect, so this is often the whole problem. Wipe it clean, clear the tube, and it’ll seat right again on the way back in.
How to fix it, step by step
Do these in order — most tubs clear by step 2 or 3. Put on gloves and keep a rag over the open drain so nothing drops in.
- Remove and clean the stopper. Using the method above for your type, pull the stopper and strip off every bit of hair and soap scum. Scrub it with an old toothbrush and rinse. Reach a gloved finger down into the drain and hook out whatever’s caught on the crossbar. This alone fixes most slow tubs. Run water and check before going further.
- Pull the overflow plate and clean the tube. Still slow? Unscrew the overflow plate, draw out the linkage (and plunger, if it’s a trip-lever), and clean the gunk off it. Shine a flashlight down the overflow tube and clear what you can reach. On pop-up and trip-lever tubs, the overflow is where the real blockage usually hides — the drain opening can look perfectly clean while the tube is packed.
- Fish the drain with a Zip-It hair tool. With the stopper out, push a barbed plastic hair tool (a Zip-It) straight down into the drain as far as it goes. Twist a quarter turn each way, then draw it out slowly so the barbs drag the hair mat up with it. Repeat until it comes back clean. Cheap, and it pulls up clumps a plunger never could.
- Plunge it — with the overflow sealed. This is the step people botch. Press a wet rag firmly into the overflow opening (or hold the plate over it) so your pressure goes down the pipe instead of blowing out the overflow. Run enough water to cover the plunger cup, set a cup plunger over the drain, and pump hard a dozen times. Break the seal and check the flow.
- Snake it through the overflow. If it’s still slow, the clog is down in the trap. With the overflow plate off, feed a small hand auger (drum snake) down the overflow tube — that’s the straight shot to the trap, no tight bend at the drain to fight. Crank it in, catch the blockage, and draw it back out. Run hot water to flush. Reassemble the linkage and plate when you’re done.
One rule throughout: no chemical drain cleaner. On a slow tub it seldom reaches the real clog down in the overflow or trap — it just pools on top. The heat it throws off can soften and warp plastic pipe and eat at older metal drains, which plenty of tubs still have. And if you plunge or reach in after pouring it, that caustic liquid can splash back onto your skin and eyes. Mechanical clearing, done above, is safer and actually works. The same logic applies at the sink — see how to unclog a bathroom sink drain.
A word on baking soda and vinegar
Here’s the honest version: a half cup of baking soda followed by a half cup of vinegar will fizz, and that mild reaction can loosen a light film of grease and soap scum and knock down odor. It will not dissolve a solid mat of hair — no home remedy does. Use it as a finishing rinse after you’ve mechanically cleared the stopper and tube, not as the fix. Let it sit ten minutes, then flush with hot (not boiling — boiling can crack older porcelain) water.
Tools & parts you’ll need
- Zip-It or barbed hair-clog tool (~$5)
- Flathead and Phillips screwdrivers
- Flat cup plunger
- Flashlight
- Old toothbrush and rags
- Rubber gloves
- Channel-lock pliers (for a stuck cap or set screw)
- Small hand auger / drum snake (only if you reach the snaking step)
- Baking soda and white vinegar (optional finishing rinse)
DIY cost vs. calling a pro
This is one of the cheapest plumbing jobs to do yourself — the tools are inexpensive and you keep them.
| DIY | Licensed plumber | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | $0–$35 (mostly reusable tools) | $125–$350 to clear the drain |
| What you pay for | Zip-It ~$5, cup plunger ~$10; hand snake ~$20–$30 only if needed | Labor, minimum service call, and snaking the line |
Prices are typical US ranges for 2026 and vary by region and after-hours rates.
Difficulty & time
Easy to moderate. Most people clear a slow tub in 20 to 40 minutes with basic hand tools. Removing the stopper and cleaning the overflow is the bulk of the work; add time only if you get to snaking.
When to call a licensed plumber
- Multiple drains are slow at once — tub, sink, and toilet all sluggish, or a drain gurgles when another runs. That points to the main sewer line, not your tub, and it needs professional equipment.
- Water backs up into the tub when you flush a nearby toilet
- Sewage smell that doesn’t go away after cleaning
- The tub slows down again fast every time you clear it
- You hit corroded metal linkage or an overflow plate you can’t free without risking damage
- You already poured chemical drain cleaner in — tell the plumber so they can protect themselves
FAQ
Why is my bathtub draining slow all of a sudden?
Almost always a hair-and-soap-scum wad on the stopper linkage or down in the overflow tube. Hair wraps around the mechanism over weeks until the water starts to crawl. Pull and clean the stopper first — it’s the most common fix by a wide margin.
How do I clean the tub drain without removing the stopper?
You can push a Zip-It hair tool down past a pop-up or trip-lever grate and drag out some hair, and a plunger (with the overflow sealed) helps. But on a tub the stopper mechanism itself is usually where the hair collects, so you’ll get far better results taking it out. It’s only a screw or a twist.
Does baking soda and vinegar actually unclog a bathtub?
It helps with light grease film and odor, and it’s fine as a finishing rinse. It won’t break up a solid hair clog — that’s mechanical work. Don’t count on it as the fix.
What’s in the overflow tube and why does it matter for a tub?
The overflow is the opening under the faucet with a plate on it; behind it a tube runs down to the drain, and on pop-up and trip-lever tubs the stopper linkage lives inside it. Hair and scum collect right there, and it’s the straight path for a snake down to the trap — which is why it’s the tub’s secret second cleanout.
Should I use a chemical drain cleaner to speed things up?
No. On a slow tub it pools on top of the clog instead of reaching it, its heat can warp plastic pipe and corrode older metal, and it can splash back when you plunge or reach in. Stick to the mechanical steps. If you want another mechanical drain job to practice on, here’s how to unclog a kitchen sink.
More on why caustic cleaners are a poor first move: see the U.S. EPA’s guidance on household hazardous waste, which lists drain cleaners among the corrosive products to handle with care.