How to Unclog a Drain in 5 Steps (Without Chemicals)
By Mike Holt, NJ Master Plumber · March 1, 2024 · 3 min read · Updated November 1, 2026
Quick answer
Pull out and clean the stopper, then flush with hot tap water. Next, use a cup plunger with a few inches of water over the drain. If that fails, run a plastic zip tool or a hand drain snake, or take apart the P-trap under the sink. If several drains back up at once, the clog is in the main line.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- 15 to 45 minutes
- You need
- Cup plunger, zip tool or hand snake, bucket, gloves
Rather not risk it? A licensed plumber can handle this for you, with written upfront flat-rate pricing options before any work starts.
Sewage coming up a floor drain or tub? Stop using water in the house and keep children and pets away. Stay out of the water if it's near anything electrical, and skip chemical drain cleaners. That's a main line clog, and more water makes it worse. Call us. 908-873-6686
Most clogs in a single sink, tub or shower sit within a foot or two of the drain, and you can clear them yourself with a plunger and a cheap drain snake. Work through these steps in order and stop when the water runs freely.
How to unclog a drain
Step 1: Pull and clean the stopper
In bathroom sinks and tubs, hair wraps around the stopper and forms most of the clog. Lift out or unscrew the pop-up stopper, pull off the hair and gunk, and rinse it. Stopper won't come out? See our stuck sink stopper guide.
Step 2: Flush with hot tap water
Run the hottest tap water you have for a minute or two. It can loosen a soft soap or grease clog. Don't pour boiling water into a PVC drain or a porcelain sink. It can soften the pipe joints and crack the porcelain.
Step 3: Plunge it
Use a flat cup plunger on sinks and tubs (save the flanged one for toilets). Leave a few inches of water over the drain so the plunger seals. Stuff a wet rag into the overflow hole, or plug the other side of a double kitchen sink. Then give it 15 to 20 firm, straight pushes and pulls.
Step 4: Use a zip tool or a hand snake
For a bathroom hair clog, push a plastic zip tool down the drain and pull it back out slowly. It hooks the hair. For anything deeper, feed a hand drain snake (auger) in until it stops, turn the handle to grab or break up the clog, and pull it back. Run hot water to test.
Step 5: Clean the P-trap
The U-shaped pipe under a sink catches grease, food and lost rings. Put a bucket under it, loosen the two slip nuts by hand or with pliers, and pull the trap off. Clean it out, check the pipe going into the wall, then put it back hand-tight and run water to check for drips.
Is the clog in your main sewer line?
If the steps above don't work, or several drains act up together, the clog is probably further down, in the line that carries everything out of the house. Signs:
- Two or more drains are slow or clogged at once
- The lowest drain in the house backs up first, often a basement floor drain or shower
- Water comes up in the tub when you flush or run the washing machine
- Drains and toilets gurgle
- A sewage smell in the basement
A plunger can't reach a main line clog. Stop using water and call us. We clear main lines with a drain machine or hydro jetting, and a sewer camera inspection shows if roots or a broken pipe caused it. See drain cleaning, snaking vs. hydro jetting and what drain cleaning costs.
What usually causes the clog?
- Kitchen sinks: grease, food scraps, coffee grounds
- Bathroom sinks: hair, toothpaste, soap scum
- Tubs and showers: hair and soap
- Toilets: too much paper, "flushable" wipes, toys
- Main lines: tree roots, wipes, grease, and old pipes that sag or crack
The fitting above came out of a drain line on one of our jobs. Years of buildup had closed it almost completely. Our guide to keeping drains from clogging covers the habits that prevent it.
Why we don't use chemical drain cleaners
Store-bought drain cleaner often clears a narrow channel and leaves the rest of the clog in place, so the drain slows again soon. It can also damage older pipes and makes the next repair more dangerous for anyone working on the drain. More in No, Coca-Cola won't clean your drains.
Still clogged? Call 908-873-6686 or request service online. Written upfront flat-rate pricing options. You choose.
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Stop and call us if
- More than one drain is slow or clogged at the same time.
- Water comes up in the tub or a floor drain when you flush or run the washer.
- Drains or toilets gurgle, or you smell sewage.
- The same drain clogs again within a few weeks.
- You already poured chemical drain cleaner into the clogged drain.
Call 908-873-6686.
Michael Holt
Owner and operator of Plumbing Doctor, NJ Master Plumber (Lic. #36BI01345600) and U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
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