Tips For Keeping Your Bathroom Sink Clear
A clogged bathroom sink can take time to clear. You might even have to try multiple methods. Avoiding clogs in the first place can help you prevent this task. Here are some tips to help you avoid a bathroom sink clog in the future:
- Avoid flushing hair from shaving down the drain. Small hairs may not seem problematic, but over time, they can build up and clog your sink.
- Clean your sinks stopper regularly. Stoppers can collect hair and debris, but this is relatively easy to remove. Left unchecked, it will eventually make its way down the drain.
- Add a grate or screen in high-use sinks. These can trap hair and soap scum before they enter your drain system.
- Finish up with hot water. Hot water from the tap can keep buildup at bay.
- Use boiling water periodically to break down soap scum and other bits of small debris that can create problematic clogs down the road. You can also use baking soda and vinegar regularly to keep your sink from backing up.
Learning how to unclog a bathroom sink is easy when you know what to do. With basic household items, youll be able to clear most clogs in a matter of minutes. Consider drain cleaning equipment rental from The Home Depot for more stubborn clogs. If the blockage is especially tough, consider professional plumbing services to get your sink in tip-top shape again.
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How To Unclog A Drain With Baking Soda:
On its own, baking soda has a number of household uses but combine it with vinegar, and youve got an eco-friendly chemical reaction that can take out even the most stubborn messes. When people discuss unclogging a drain with baking soda, they usually mean baking soda and vinegar. The fizzing, bubbling reaction is perfect for forcing out stubborn clogs.
This method below is adapted from YouTuber Pan the Organizers instructions on how to unclog a drain with baking soda and vinegar.
Step 1: Pour a pot of boiling water down the drain. You can heat this water on the stove or in an electric kettle, but it must still be boiling when it hits that drain.
Step 2: Next, pour one cup of baking soda directly down the drain and let that sit for 5 to 10 minutes. You do not need to combine this with water or vinegar yet, just the baking soda itself will do.
Step 3: Next, pour one cup of white vinegar down the drain as well. The 1:1 ratio is important to achieve the proper chemical reaction. You should see a lot of foaming bubbling up and around the drain this indicates the chemicals are doing their job.
Step 4: If you have a drain cover, cover or plug the drain and wait another 5 to 10 minutes for the chemicals to do their work. Then, pour another pot of boiling water down the drain. This will loosen up all the fizzy gunk youve created.
Step 5: Run the hot tap water for 5 minutes to make sure you have a clear path and the drain is unclogged.
How To Fix A Clogged Sink
In addition to the weekly maintenance, heres my favorite way to clear out a drain clog if they do happen
I recently had my kitchen sink clog on both sides. Thankfully my sink slowly drained after 15-20 minutes and I was able to try this trick. I really didnt want to have to get under the sink and remove the drain elbow to fix the clogged drain pipe. Or worse yet, call an expensive plumber. If youve ever had to repair or replace the plumbing under your kitchen sink, youll know this is no fun at all!!
Thankfully I had everything I needed in my kitchen pantry. I buy my Baking Soda, Salt, and White Vinegar in bulk at Sams Club, so I had plenty ready to use
Leslie said: Baking Soda works great to clear clogged drains a layer of baking soda, a layer of salt, a layer of baking soda, a layer of salt, then pour vinegar on it all and flush with hot water. Plunge if needed.
Monya said: Baking Soda is fantastic at unclogging drains put 1/2 cup of baking soda in first, then 1 cup of vinegar, and 1 cup hot water, then cover with drain plug. Flush with hot water after 15 minutes. It works great you may need to repeat, but it works. Even great for unclogging the toilet.
After keeping the drain covered for 10-15 minutes, I next flushed the drain with 3-4 cups of boiling hot water I had warmed in a large stock pot using my stove top burner.
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Pour One Cup Of Baking Soda Down The Drain
After pouring the hot water and dish soap down the drain, add one cup of baking soda to the drain. Be sure to pour the baking soda into the drain first because the clog will suspend it higher in the drain than if you were to pour in the vinegar first. Placing baking soda in the drain first also allows you to maximize the reaction that occurs.
However, if you were to pour in the vinegar first, some of it would drain off, such that not all the baking soda would react. This would only expand the clog further.
Allow the baking soda to sit for 30 seconds. This way, it will settle fully around the clog. It will also help to trap warm water and dish soap in the proximity of the clog.
Plungers: Easy Home Remedies For Clogged Drains
The clog in your drain may be caused by a build-up of hair, food particles or other gritty materials. You can dislodge this obstruction yourself using a plunger. The trick for this to work is using the proper technique. Heres how to unclog your drain using a plunger:
- Position the plunger directly over your drain and press it down towards the sink. Seal off other openings like overflow protection holes with a wet cloth.
- Run water into the sink until the water has completely covered the plungers rubber cup.
- Move the plunger up and down without lifting it entirely from the drain.
- After plunging the sink or shower drain several times, take the plunger out of the sink. If the clog has loosened, the water should be able to drain freely once again. If not, put the plunger back on the clogged drain and start plunging again. If this process again fails to unclog it, you may want to consider an alternative method. Keep reading for additional approaches to unclogging even the most stubborn clogged sink and shower drains.
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How To Unclog A Kitchen Sink With Baking Soda & Vinegar
A clogged kitchen sink drain can be a show stopper for any cook or party host. While store-bought chemical cleaners can be effective at unclogging drains, they can also be expensive, harsh and damaging to the environment. Baking soda and vinegar are two common household ingredients that can be used in a variety of ways, including as natural cleaners for your drains. There are a lot of reasons why this is a go-to method for unclogging a drain.
How To Clear Clogged Drains With Baking Soda And Vinegar
Are you tired of water pooling around your feet? Does a disgusting odor make you sick as soon as you enter the kitchen?
So you are witnessing a clogged drain and looking for the ultimate solution to get rid of this terrible situation. Its high time you fix this problem or else you can face some terrible consequences. The clogged pipe can burst anytime.
A very dear friend of ours was in the same situation a month ago. Imagine using the bathroom and getting into ankle-deep dirty water. A sink filled with dishes waiting to be washed with filthy water oozing out of the drain. These scenarios are enough to make you furious and nauseated. So he came up with a DIY solution and came across a superb yet simple formula to clear clogged drains.
We are pretty sure that just like him you would have gotten some of the most expensive liquid drain openers off the market shelves. But they were of no use. You would have tried all the home remedies available on the web. But they never work. No need to be depressed. I am going to share a cheap, eco-friendly and wonderful cleaning solution which will be a blessing in disguise especially in an emergency situation like that.
Place the drain cover on top of it so the reaction stays below the drain surface.
Leave it like this for multiple hours. This time is for the greasy muck to loosen up.
The last most important step is to flush the drain with gallons of boiling hot water.
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Why Does Cleaning The Drain With Baking Soda And Vinegar Work
Remember back in science class when you studied the difference between bases and acids? Baking soda, or since were thinking about chemistry, sodium bicarbonate, is an alkaline base. Vinegar is an acid. When you mix them together, theres a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide and water.
Bubbles form. Youll hear them fizzing and popping. Its those bubbles that break up the grease, fat, or oil residues that have solidified and bonded with food particles, forming that nasty, stubborn clog.
Benefits Of Using Vinegar And Baking Soda On A Clogged Drain
Commercial drain cleaners can be harmful. In some pipes, they can eat away at the material, and they cause chemical burns on your skin. Additionally, if they don’t clear out the clog, you don’t have many options since they are corrosive. However, baking soda and white vinegar are both natural chemicals that you can freely touch and eat. White vinegar is gentle enough to eat at the organic material of the clog but not destroy your pipes. So, vinegar and baking soda are a much more natural option to try.
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The Hot Water Solution
Let me tell you a little secret: questioning the drain cleaning power of baking soda and vinegar is controversial. It gets people mad, very mad. I get emails and comments that are not appropriate to post on a PG website.
Im sorry if youre upset, I really am. I was a baking soda/vinegar devotee for a long time. However, once I started researching green cleaning ingredients and bad cleaner combinations I realized that the trick was not doing me much good and I was wasting baking soda and vinegar that I could use to clean other things.
The Dynamic Duo Of Cleaning
Baking soda and vinegar make a great team when it comes to cleaning up grit, grime, and other nasty stuff from your homes surfaces. This is because each substance has its own strengths as a cleaning agent. Baking soda can dissolve organic compounds like dirt and food particles, while vinegar can break down minerals from hard water, soap scum, and similar substances. However, grease and hair are another story entirely.
In addition, when you mix the two together, the carbon dioxide that they release can help lift the mess off the surface youre trying to clean, whether its a kitchen counter, a bathtub, or a tiled floor.
Here are just a few ways to use baking soda and vinegar for your next cleaning project around the house:
- Remove stains from hard tap water by covering the area with a vinegar-soaked towel. After an hour or two, remove the towel and scrub the stain off with a mixture of baking soda and water.
- Clean your kitchen sink and eliminate unpleasant odors at the same time. Mix one part baking soda with two parts vinegar, and then scrub the base and drain of your sink.
- Add 1/2 cup baking soda to your laundry detergent when first starting your washing machine. Then add one cup of vinegar during the rinse cycle. This will help eliminate patches of mildew and mold on your clothes.
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Unclogging With Salt And Boiling Water
How To Prevent A Clogged Sink
It may be impossible to completely avoid a clogged sink drain, but there are a few things you can do to ensure it doesnt happen too often. For the bathroom sink, keep small items and trinkets out of proximity of the drain.
Its so easy for small pieces of jewelry or hairpins to slip down the pipes. Over time, these items could cause an issue with plumbing, so be careful.
Also, for the shower drain, use a hair stopper to prevent strands from going down the pipes. Hair is one of the biggest culprits of backed up shower drains. However, using preventative measures will help you avoid plumbing issues.
Furthermore, be careful with grease and food in your kitchen sink. Dispose of large chunks of food in the trash and run the garbage disposal for small, soft bits of fruits and veggies.
Also, avoid pouring grease down the drain. As the saying goes, oil and water dont mix, and pouring oil and grease down the drain is sure to cause a problem.
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Sometimes A Professional Drain Cleaner Is Your Best Bet
Dave Balkan: It seems like you can have a lot of foaming, and all of this action, but theres really nothing happening. That didnt clear the drain out. You know sometimes you need a professional drain cleaner. So, when youre dealing with slow and clogged drains, you just gotta call a pro sometimes.
Christina: And not believe myths about cleaning drains with baking soda and vinegar.
Dave Balkan: Thats right!
Christina: So I believe, I think we should just save the baking soda and the vinegar for volcano science projects for the kids!
How To Unclog A Drain With Baking Soda And Vinegar: 8 Easy Steps
When it comes to plumbing, one of the most common and most annoying issues people encounter in their homes is clogged drains. While fishing the clogs out with strings, hooks, and coat hangers is a common and practical option, using baking soda and vinegar is often an easier, and cleaner solution.
Heres how you can unclog a drain with baking soda and vinegar in 8 easy steps:
Using baking soda and vinegar is an easy, affordable, and safe way to unclog a drain. In this article, we will take a deeper look at each of the above steps. Keep reading to discover exactly how to go about unclogging your drain.
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Dont Mix Chemicals Unless You Know What Youre Doing
On that note, its important to remember you should never mix chemicals unless you know that its safe to do so. In the case of combining baking soda and vinegar, the result is harmless. But in other cases, mixing chemicals can have dangerous results. Youve probably heard the common warning that mixing bleach and ammonia create toxic gasses called chloramines that can make you nauseated or unable to breathe. Its the same with other types of chemicals.
Yes, even non-toxic products like vinegar the stuff you use to make salad dressing can be dangerous if its mixed with the wrong chemical. For example, vinegar should not be mixed with bleach or else it creates a chlorine gas that could be lethal if inhaled.
Its therefore important that you dont use vinegar or baking soda in your drain if youve used a store-bought drain cleaner immediately beforehand. Similarly, if baking soda and vinegar prove insufficient at clearing your drain, do not use a drain cleaner immediately afterward. The results could be dangerous!
How Long Do You Leave Baking Soda And Vinegar In Drain
There are two ways to use baking soda and vinegar for cleaning a drain. One is for regular and weekly cleaning of pipes and drains and the other is to clean drain clogs.
The two methods require two different proportions of the ingredients and times for resting after pouring into the drain.
For both techniques, along with vinegar and baking soda youll additionally need boiling water as well.
Now lets come to the process. The first method is for cleaning a clogged drain. For that, boil some water and then pour half a cup of baking soda into a separate bowl.
After that, prepare a solution of a cup of vinegar with hot tap water. Pour the boiling water on the clogged drain first. And then, followed by that, drop the half-cup of baking soda.
After dropping the baking soda, pour the vinegar solution into the drain, close the drain plug, and wait for the vinegar and baking soda to do their work for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Then, after a while, again pour some more boiling water into the drain removing the drain plug from it. You should notice your drain unclog after that.
The second method is generally used for cleaning the drain and the pipe either weekly or regularly so that further clogs dont get the chance to take place within the drainage system.
For the process, drop half a cup of baking soda through the drain followed by a half cup of vinegar. And then, wait for about an hour or half an hour plugging the drain hole.
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