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Homemade Drain Cleaner



To avoid clogging and bad odors, sink and tub drains should be periodically cleaned.

A once a month cleaning with a non-toxic, homemade cleaner prevents needing a stronger, usually sodium hydroxide (lye) based, cleaner to remove clogs.  Sodium hydroxide is extremely caustic, and will damage the lungs if inhaled, burn skin and eyes, and can be fatal if swallowed.  In addition, the heat generated by using sodium hydroxide can soften PVC pipes, and damage old, corroded pipes.  It also changes the pH of water and can cause fish kills.

A much nicer alternative to this harsh chemical is the simple combination of baking soda and vinegar, followed with boiling water.  When baking soda and vinegar are combined, they foam and expand, cleaning the sides of your pipes and dissolving fatty acids.  The boiling water then washes it all away.  This method is a great way to use up the box of baking soda in your frig that is not longer doing a good job of deodorizing.

Ingredients:

1 Cup baking soda
2 Cups vinegar
1 tea kettle of boiling water

Pack one cup of baking soda into the sink drain.


Pour the vinegar into the drain.



Cover the drain, and allow the baking soda and vinegar to work for 20 minutes.



Bring a kettle of water to a boil, and pour it down the drain to rinse away the baking soda and vinegar.



And that's all there is to it!  This treatment done monthly will prevent clogs and keep drains smelling fresh.

Tip:  Baking soda also does a nice job of gently scouring your sink.  Take a wet sponge, and, using any baking soda that spilled from your drain cleaning, scrub the inside of your sink.  It deodorizes and leaves your stainless steel shining.

Comments

  1. Hi,

    Homemade drain cleaner will unclog just about any pipe and is safe for the environment. This will help prevent or unblock your drains from grease and it can pose a hazard to the environment if misused, mishandled, or disposed of improperly. Thanks a lot...

    Drain Cleaning

    ReplyDelete
  2. Really impressive & helpful blog for me, I was searching this kind of information from a long time. Thanks for help me.

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  3. Hello, A very insightful post. Thanks for the info. Its great that if our default settings are giving us messy or stringy builds, this dialog can probably help.Thanks for the information.

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  4. I’m not sure if it’s bad, but my mom has been doing this solution almost every other week or since she discovered this. She’s really amused! I guess she’s just overwhelmed by the fast and evident results. But, I recommend this much for it is non-toxic. It’s safe to use even with kids and pets around. :]

    ReplyDelete
  5. What about for the bathtub? for a drain clogged with a build-up of hair and soap scum? (we have a hair catcher, but it still gets through and builds up over time)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I used it on our tub that was slowly draining and it worked great!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I tried this in my porcelain bathroom sink, and accidentally got the boiling water onto the porcelain, cracking it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh no! Sorry to hear that! :(

      Delete
    2. For future reference, you could warm up the porcelain with hot tap water before pouring boiling water on cold porcelain. The boiling water is great for melting away built up soap scum, but warming up the sink beforehand won't have any affect on the process.

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  8. Or just put saltwater through electrolysis and make the real deal.

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  9. I was searching this kind of information from a long time. Thanks for help me.
    Drain Cleaning

    ReplyDelete
  10. “To avoid clogging and bad odors, sink and tub drains should be periodically cleaned.” Absolutely right! I think this should be a mantra for each and everyone of us. It can be a real headache if we let the dirt stay and accumulate, which can result to a costly repair in the future.

    James Warren

    ReplyDelete
  11. That’s really amazing! Your method can really keep your drains from clogging. But it also helps if you unclog the drain with a cleaning stick first, to be sure that the solution will flow through smoothly. It might have a nasty smell, but it’s worth a try because it will surely keep you from having troubles in the future, and it's a good alternative to the common household chemicals.

    Angela Cyrenne

    ReplyDelete
  12. Blocked Pipes One of the most common problems around anyone’s house is a blocked pipe.A blocked sewer pipe could lead to a very unwanted disaster inside our house.So drain cleaning is very necessary to keep your home sewage system in good working condition.

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  13. I have tried commercial drain cleaners on my bathroom sink but haven't ever had success in clearing out the drain. It seems like I am destined to have a sink that doesn't drain properly. I am going to have to try your home drain cleaner because I am all out of ideas. I may have to call a plumber if I can't get undo the clog myself. http://www.royaltrooter.com

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  14. Awesome idea using homemade drain cleaner on your clogged pipes. Drain cleaning can be such a hassle. I am glad that worked out for you! I will have to try this out on my pipes. We had a plumber come by the other day and tell us that we need to be better about cleaning our drains.
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  15. What a great alternative to harmful drain cleaners! I've been looking for a more natural solution for cleaning my drains. It's good to know that common kitchen items can do the trick! I think I'll give this a try later today! I'm sure my drains could use a good cleaning. http://www.guaranteedrooterservice.com

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    Very informative!

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  20. Wow! Homemade. I have seen some good Quality Drain Cleaning Equipments and I want to buy that. Thanks for sharing. Keep exploring.

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  21. Dozens of articles I have read, mention the idea of baking soda and vinegar to clear your pipes. I wonder if these two items are usable in other avenues of life. It would be interesting to know what each substance is made of that helps plumbing issues so well.

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  22. Fantastic tip! I am going to use this alternative of a drain cleaner. We should choose eco-friendly ingredients everyday. Best regards!

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  23. Hello, A very insightful post. Thanks for the info. Its great that if our default settings are giving us messy or stringy builds, this dialog can probably help.Thanks for the information

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  25. I have been told and have read that using boiling water in old pvc pipes can soften and distort the pipes leading to further problems. The other issue we had with this tip was that remnants of the baking soda built up over time, in the trap, turning to cement and clogging the drain to the point the trap had to be replaced. When the old trap was taken off, there inside, was the hard and caked remnants of the baking soda. I should have known this would happen as I used this solution on a pet stain on my carpet. I ended up with rock hard pieces of baking soda stuck to the fibers of my carpet and I never could get them all removed.

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