Help, I Poured Drain Opener in My Clogged Tub but Forgot to Bail First.

My house is around 100 yrs old, we bought in 2001. I love this house. The plumbing was in really good shape when we bought the house but as with any old house there have been issues. My bathtub was always stopping up and I had to call a plumber or roter rooter several times; combine the money I spent on plumbers and drain cleaners I could have taken a nice vacation. The last time I had a plumber here he used a plunger that kinda looked like an accordian on the bottom or working end. It worked like a charm -- finally got my pipes flowing again. This was a few years ago and I haven't had trouble with the pipes again. The plunger is not expensive and can be found at a hardware store. Easy Peasy.

The chemical is heavier than water so it should eventually sink down and go down your drain. It's actually designed to be poured into standing water. Just let it sit for several hours and if it's capable of unclogging the drain, it will.

If you haven't already, use the full bottle.

Yep, I've done it.
Let it sit for a few hours or over night.
It should drain eventually.
Then run the hot water and try to flush it out really well.
If it's still stopped up tomorrow then I'd call the plumber.

Use an old container that you don't mind throwing away and dump the water down the bathroom sink. It's drain cleaner, right?

Try a plunger, but be careful not to splash because of the chemicals. Sometimes the suction will loosen whatever the clog is just enough to let the tub drain. Again, be careful to avoid splash-back.

What Everley said...

A plumber friend showed my this trick once on a slow sink. You'll need a small plunger or a plunger with the small part in it (I don't know what it's called, but it has the small round part inside the bigger around part where it suctions so like 2 rings). Plug the emergency drain that's higher up with a towel or rag with one hand or have a 2nd person do it then plunge the drain like you'd plunge a toilet. It took a couple minutes of plunging the sink but I haven't had to use drain cleaner since! Hope this makes sense!!

If you have metal pipes bring water to just below a boil the biggest pot you have and pour it down the drain. Then do it again tomorrow

Pour boiling water and then let it sit for several hours.

I've never bailed out the wated first. Leave it overnight and it should drain. If it's still sluggish try pouring it down the drain without standing water. Also try plunging it before calling a plumber. In all my years and many plugged drains I've never called the plumber. A couple of times my cousin snaked it. A snake is not much money at Fred Meyers or a building supply store.