bathtubplumbing
While trying to remove the child safety cover from my tub spigot I managed to shear off the plug mechanism that activates the shower.
The guy at the hardware store sold me a new spigot and now I need to remove the old one. I've tried twisting it, but it is stuck quite solidly and I can't seem to get it off. I don't care about the condition of the spigot when it is removed, just that is comes off without damaging the pipe underneath so that the new one can be screwed on.
You could try putting an expanding plug into the drain which should give you something to grab hold of with a pair of vice grips. I would replace the wing nut with a regular nut so that you have better access to the stud.
First, make sure that the clog is accessible via the overflow. Try this test... While the tub is draining slowly, pour water down the overflow through a funnel. If that drains fast, then the clog is in the horizontal arm and no clearing through the overflow will help you.
What works for me is to use a wet cloth to seal off the overflow (replace it first to make as small an opening as possible). With the tub 1/2 full of water and holding the wet cloth over the overflow vent, a plunger should then be able to clear the clog because it will force water down the drain (horizontal or vertical) rather than pushing water up the overflow pipe (or pulling air down it). Should that fail, use draino or physically pry off the grate for an auger.
The plunger should pull some amount of gunk back up into the tub while you're using it, even through the grate. If that doesn't happen and the drainage does not improve, then you may have a clogged vent. You need air behind water for it to drain quickly otherwise it's like water draining from an upside-down bottle. Cleaning the vent means going up on the roof and clearing the clog from there -- a hose at full blast will usually do this.
As for fully removing the overflow and parts... I don't know.
Best Answer
This is what worked for me (it's rather brute force, but functional):
Take a small C-clamp (I had a 3" one laying around) and place it in the mouth of the spigot on the right hand side with the body of the clamp facing down.
Tighten the clamp
Twist the clamp counter clockwise using the body of the clamp as a gripping surface and leverage
If it doesn't work try tapping the spigot with a hammer or mallet to jar it loose a bit then try the clamp again.
Note: this may damage the spigot a bit, it was useful to me as the spigot was already broken and all I had available was a hammer and a clamp.