Bathroom Sink & Tub Drains in Scarborough

Hair, soap and toothpaste build up in every bathroom drain. When the tub starts holding water around your ankles, it is time for a proper clean-out.

Cause found before anything is cut

Traps pulled and lines cabled

Fixture tested at full flow

Floors covered and wiped down

Signs you need bathroom drain cleaning

The first hint is usually small. The sink takes a few extra seconds to empty after you brush your teeth. A grey ring forms in the tub. Then one morning you are standing in two inches of water at the end of a shower.

Standing water in the tub or shower after you turn the tap off
A gurgle from the vanity when the toilet is flushed
A sour, musty smell coming up from the sink overflow
Pop-up plugs that stick down, or refuse to hold water
Several fixtures turning sluggish together

That last one matters. A single slow sink is a local clog. Two or three slow fixtures can point further down the line, toward the stack or the main drain.

Van sheet

On the job: Bathroom Sink & Tub Drains in Scarborough

We open up	P-trap, tub overflow plate or branch cleanout
Tools in hand	Hand auger, 1/2-inch drum cable, wet vac, plungers
Parts on the van	Slip-joint washers, ABS traps, strainer baskets
Before we leave	Fixture filled and released at full flow

Why it happens in Scarborough homes

Many houses here were built between the late 1940s and the 1970s. Their bathroom drains are often galvanized steel or cast iron under the floor, joined to newer plastic at the trap. Older metal pipe roughens inside over the decades, and that rough surface grabs hair and soap scum far faster than smooth plastic does.

Lake Ontario water supplied through Toronto's system is moderately hard, so bar soap leaves a waxy film that binds everything together. Add a long-haired household and a tub that sees daily use, and a clog is a matter of when, not if.

How the job is done, step by step

First we run every basin, tub and shower in that room to learn whether the problem is local or shared.
The stopper and trap are pulled and cleaned by hand. A surprising number of calls end here.
If the blockage sits deeper, a small hand or drum cable goes through the trap arm toward the stack.
We run hot water through every fixture to prove the flow is back.
Worn stoppers, cracked slip washers or a leaking trap get pointed out, and replaced if you agree.

Gazette tip: Skip the bottle of caustic drain opener. It rarely shifts a hair clog and it is hard on old metal pipe and on whoever opens the trap next.

Price factors

Reaching the clog matters most. A pedestal sink with an open trap is quicker than a tub with no access panel. The age and condition of the pipe count too, since corroded fittings sometimes need replacing once they are disturbed. If the clog turns out to be in the main line, the work becomes a main sewer line clearing instead, and you will hear about it first.

When to call right away

Call the same day if water backs up into the tub when the toilet flushes, or if a basement floor drain bubbles while the bathroom drains. Both suggest a blockage below the bathroom, and the next step can be sewage on the basement floor. Our basement flooding prevention guide explains first aid for slow drains.

Things callers ask us

Are those plastic barbed strips safe to use at home?

Yes. Those barbed strips work well on clogs sitting just below the stopper. If water is still slow after a careful try, the blockage is deeper and needs a cable.

Why does my bathroom drain clog every few months?

Repeat clogs usually mean rough old pipe, a poorly sloped trap arm or a partial blockage further down. A clean-out plus a look at the piping normally finds the reason.