by Francis Jock

Created on: January 17, 2009   Last Updated: May 01, 2012

Unclogging a water supply line for a bathtub is not a difficult task, although it does require that you have the proper tools on hand. To begin with, water supply lines are rarely clogged up unless the entire water supply for the house has extremely hard water over an extended period of time. If that's the case, get your water's hardness tested by a certified testing company. If your water tests high for mineral content, consider investing in a water softening unit that removes the hard minerals from the water before it enters into the household plumbing.

In most homes, the most likely cause of a clog in a bathtub's water supply is the accumulation of minerals present in the water system. Overtime, these minerals often referred to as "hard water", form deposits in either the shower head or the tub-and-shower mixing valve. In order to affect a repair on either of these, you will need a few tools, such as those detailed below:

A typical Tool box for plumbing repairs:

- Phillips Head Screwdriver

- Straight Slot Screwdriver

- Assorted Allen (Hex) Wrenches

- Adjustable (Crescent) Wrench

- Channel Lock Pliers

- Locking (Utility) Pliers

- Rag, for cleaning up and mopping up

- A stiff brush, such as an old toothbrush

- Teflon Tape

You should begin by turning off the water supply lines at the nearest point to the fixtures. There may be an access panel directly behind the tub and shower unit that will permit you to do so. If you cannot locate an access panel, just turn off the water at the nearest point to the bathroom you can find. In some homes, you may have to turnoff the entire household water supply.

Clogged Shower Heads

Mineral deposits from water with high levels of calcium are likely causes of clogs in shower heads. Correcting this problem requires your to remove the shower head and take the assembly apart. Use a properly sized wrench, such as a crescent wrench to remove the shower head. Using pliers or vise-grip pliers will result in unsightly nicks and burrs on the soft chrome. Many shower head assemblies that look like chrome plated metal are actually made from plastic these days. Unless you want to go the expense of replacing the old clogged shower head with a new, inexpensive assembly, you should use care in removing and replacing it.

Although there are many shapes, sizes and types of shower heads, a typical shower head assembly consists of a locking collar, an O-ring, a cylindrical body that may have a spray adjustment nozzle, and a faceplate. They are

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