The upstairs bathtub in my house has had slow drainage problems for a few months now, and I finally decided to clean it out for my sake and my roommates'. After cleaning out underneath the drain cover, which was a bit dirty, there were still some drainage issues. The next method I tried was use a plunger to remove or dislodge more particles in the drain. There were still drainage problems, as bad or worse than before. I decided the next step would be the remove the overflow cover to see if there was any blockage there. Upon removing the cover, I discovered that the plug was not attached to the lever. I now suspect that some of the slow drainage might be caused by the plug sitting in the closed position. Using a bent wire hanger did not remove any part of the linkage. Is this something I could try to fix myself, or is it just better left to the professionals?

What is in the next room behind the tub drain, maybe an inspection door? If no door you may need to make one because that plunger will be a bear to get at without working from the other side. You could try to make your coat hanger look nearly the same shape and length as the linkage and keep fishing until you snag it, make the hook a little more open. http://www.ehow.com/how_6149281_remove-stuck-bathtub-drain-stopper.html

There does appear to be an inspection door in the hallway(which is what's behind the tub drain). A new wall section appears to have been screwed in over the hole when it was last opened up.

Depends on the type of plug you have.

On type does have a plug in the piping that is attached to the lever. With this type you do not see a plug in the drain.

Another type has a rod that pushes down on linkage to the plug. You have a lever on the overflow and you see the actual plug in the drain. But the two are not connected.

Another type is screwed into the cross members of the drain. With this type you push down to close and push again to open. Or you turn and allow it to drop down to close and lift and turn to open.

If you have the type that you push to close/push again to open or you have a turn and drop/lift and turn and you have a lever on the overflow cover that means that the original type with the linkage inside the drain has been replaced. The lever is no longer used.

I'd still try the coat hanger for another half hour but if no luck then unscrew the door. This diagram shows the average plunger so you know what it looks like and how to disassemble it. Google Image Result for http://www.terrylove.com/images/pp19010.gif (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.terrylove.com/images/pp19010.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.terrylove.com/wwwboard/messages/9220.html&h=583&w=427&sz=14&tbnid=dAFwLdc3Ivjw4M:&tbnh=262&tbnw=192&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbathtub%2Bdrain&zoom=1&q=bathtub+drain&hl=en&usg=__5qd5wRgNlksqMBTtFxyWKPf6bUo=&sa=X&ei=TP01TfvjLcit4AaAh_WMCg&sqi=2&ved=0CCUQ9QEwAg)

If you have access through a wall that backs up to the tub, you could remove a section, disassemble the drain and remove the parts, that's what a plumber will most likely do. Otherwise, keep probing with a hanger.

Sorry I jumped on the same idea, it didn't show any answers at the time but them great minds think alike, Brian