How To Clear Small Clogs

Not every clog needs the professional attention of a plumber.  Here are some issues that you can and should try to handle on your own before reaching out to our maintenance team for help. 

For a tutorial, check out these helpful videos. 

• Unclogging a drain with a drain stick: CLICK HERE. 
• Unclogging a toilet drain: CLICK HERE. 

Below, we’ll discuss the procedure for clearing a clogged bathtub or sink drain or a clogged toilet.

Clogged Bathtub Or Sink Drain

If you notice that your bathtub or sink are draining slowly, then it is likely that there is hair, food, or other debris accumulating in your drain, and it’s time to clean it out.

1. Get a drain stick like this one: CLICK HERE. You can find this on Amazon, your local hardware store, and even places like Dollar General that sell home goods.
2. Before you start, you may want to wear some disposable gloves and have a garbage bag ready to dispose of any gunk, food, or hair you remove. 
3. Remove the stopper/drain cover and gently insert the barbed plastic drain stick into the drain past the clog or until you hit the turn in the pipe. 
4. Gently twist and wiggle the drain stick to catch the hair or gunk causing the clog, then carefully pull the drain stick out, removing the blockage with it.  Dispose of the clog in a trash bag in your garbage can.
5. Repeat if necessary.
6. Run hot water down the drain to ensure the clog is fully cleared. 

If this does not work, it’s time to submit a maintenance request on your tenant portal, and one of our maintenance techs will take over from here.  A maintenance fee could be charged, based on the cause and severity of the clog.

Clogged Toilet

You will know that your toilet is clogged if it is draining slowly or not draining at all, if the water is rising when you flush, or if you hear gurgling sounds from the toilet drain or other drains such as your bathtub or sink.

1. Start with a good quality toilet plunger, such as this one: CLICK HERE.  A good plunger is a necessity that everyone should have on hand, don’t wait until you have a clog to go out to buy this.  Believe us, you will want to be able to plunge your toilet quickly if a clog happens.
2. Wear rubber or disposable gloves, have a trash bag and towels or paper towels handy, and have other disinfecting products close by.
3. Submerge the plunger into the water and angle it to remove any trapped air from the cup. Position the flange directly and firmly into the drain opening to create a tight seal.
4. Start with a gentle push to force out any remaining air slowly, preventing water from splashing out. Then, once you feel the seal is secure, plunge vigorously up and down using a fast, in-and-out motion. The upward pull (suction) is as important as the downward push for dislodging the clog.
5. Maintain the seal as best as possible and repeat this action until the water in the bowl begins to drain.
6. To test the drain, carefully remove the plunger. If the clog seems cleared, slowly lift the toilet flapper inside the tank to add a small amount of water to the bowl, or be ready to cut the water supply if it looks like it will overflow. If it flushes normally, the clog is gone.
7. Pro Tip: You can shut off the water using the supply valve behind the toilet any time you are worried an overflow may occur.
8. Clean the toilet and surrounding areas with a disinfecting product.

If you are unable to unclog the toilet with a plunger, or if the issue gets worse, please reach out to us for help and put a task into your Resident Portal.