Tips For Keeping Your Drains Clean
- Always use strainer baskets on your drains to keep hair and food particles from going down the drain.
- Never pour oil or grease down the drain. When cooking greasy or oily foods, wipe the cookware with a paper towel before washing so less grease, oil, and fat go down the drain to form a clog.
- Regularly add boiling water with a grease-fighting dish soap down the drain to prevent the buildup of greasy clogs.
- Both the baking-soda-and-vinegar and the baking-soda-and-salt methods can be used to clean and freshen your garbage disposal. To remove odors from a garbage disposal, reduce the required amounts of baking soda, water, vinegar, and salt by half and follow the directions above.
- How do you know if your drains are clogged?
If the water is draining slowly from your sink, shower, bathtub, or toilet, the drain in that vessel is clogged or starting to get clogged up.
- How often should you clean your drains?
You can clean drains once a week using boiling water and Dawn dish soap. If you notice that the water is not going down the drain quickly, use the baking soda method to help clear it. You can also use baking soda for monthly maintenance.
- How can you keep drains from clogging?
A strainer can help keep unwanted items from washing down the drain. Don’t put food or grease down the kitchen drains. In the bathroom, a strainer will catch the hair in its basket, preventing it from going down the drain.
Flush With More Hot Water
After the fizzing subsides, wait five minutes. Use this time to heat two cups of water to boiling. Flush the drain with this additional boiling water.
If the drain is now flowing, run hot tap water to flush all debris down the drain. If it is not draining, repeat the previous steps. If you haven’t cleaned your drain recently, it may be necessary to repeat the baking soda flush at least twice.
If a drain clog doesn’t clear after two or more attempts, use the baking soda and salt method described below.
The Spruce / Theresa Chiechi
Dishwashing Detergent And Hot Water
For those who love using coconut oil in your beauty routine, you might notice your drain has been slow. Itâs possible you have a grease clog in your drain. Thereâs also the âoopsâ factor of accidentally pouring or spilling grease into your kitchen sink after cooking.
Weâve got you covered with this degreasing homemade drain cleaner. Put two tablespoons of your usual dishwashing detergent into a pan of boiling water, then slowly pour the hot water into the drain. This is especially effective at breaking up fatty grease clogs because you are returning the fats to a liquid state, then the detergent helps move the grease out of the drain and down the pipes. Greener Ideal recommends doing this once a week, which might make sense if you cook with a lot of greases or use beauty products that could clog your drain.
You May Like: Baking Soda And Vinegar For Clogged Drains
Benefits Of Using Baking Soda & Vinegar As A Drain Cleaner
With time, baking soda and vinegar may work as a natural drain cleaner on weaker drain clogs, and the benefits of regular drain cleaning can help keep your drains free of clogs.
But for tough drain clogs that need to be dissolved right away, you may want to use a stronger drain cleaner, like Liquid-Plumr.
How Do You Clean A Drain With Baking Soda And Vinegar And Salt
DIY Baking Soda & Vinegar Drain Hacks
Recommended Reading: How To Drain Ear Sinus
Recommended Reading: How To Get Drain Out Of Sink
How To Clean A Bathroom Sink Drain
Soap scum and grime can build up quickly in your bathroom. Cleaning gunk out of your bathroom sink drains isnât a fun chore, but itâs essential to avoid floods and odors.
Step 1: Begin by pulling any visible hair and grime out of the drain, then choose one of the following methods to clean your sink.
Step 2: For regular cleaning, you can simply flush your bathroom sink drains with boiling water. This will dissolve soap buildup and keep your drains flowing freely.
Step 3: For a deeper clean, we recommend baking soda and vinegar. Mix together 1 part baking soda and 1 part white vinegar in a bowl. This will immediately start to fizz, so tip it straight down your bathroom sink while this chemical reaction is at its peak.
Step 4: Leave the solution to sit for 30 minutes to an hour, then flush the drain clean again with boiling water.
Read Also: Drain Plug For Yeti Cooler
Clean The Dishwasher Drain
There may be food particles stuck in the drain under the filter causing odor. With the filter removed, add one-fourth cup of baking soda to the drain. Then, pour one-half cup of distilled vinegar into the drain opening. There will be foaming as the products react. That reaction helps to loosen debris so it is flushed away during a dishwasher cycle.
Allow the mixture to work for 10 to 15 minutes before reassembling the filter and any screens over the drain then run a cleaning cycle.
Recommended Reading: Neighbors Gutter Drains On My Property
The Balkan Drain Team Is The Team You Trust
After just under 70 years in continuous business and over 70,000 satisfied customers, Balkan is The Team You Trust. From the time of your first call, receiving courteous attention, to our guaranteed 4 hour response time, we are your best and most trusted local drain cleaner. Team Balkan operates 7 days a week, and after hours as well. There is never a premium charge for weekends, holidays, or after-hours service calls.
You May Like: Bathroom Faucet With Pop Up Drain
Pour Half Of The Boiled Water Down The Drain
Its time to carefully pick the pot of boiled water and pour it down the clogged drain. You must protect your hands and other parts of the body with this boiled water and its steam.
You may have noticed some of the messes already eliminated with this natural drain cleaner. If you frequently do this task after a week or two, you may never need the best drain cleaner for your bathroom or kitchen sinks.
You May Like: Dishwasher Drain Into Garbage Disposal
What To Use To Clean Kitchen Sink Drain
Pour half a cup white vinegar into the kitchen sink drain right afterward. Immediately plug the drain with anything that will fill the hole and prevent any of the fizzings from coming out. Leave the mixture of baking soda and vinegar in the drain to settle for about 30 minutes. While you are waiting, begin to boil a tea kettle of hot water.
Recommended Reading: Installing Drain In Bathroom Sink
What Removes Orange Stains
For fabric or clothing items, the best method is to pre-treat the stain with a detergent that is specifically designed to remove oil-based stains. Follow up the pre-treatment by laundering in hot water and the hottest water temperature recommended on the fabric tag.
For non-fabric surfaces, it is best to use a cleaner specifically formulated to remove stubborn stains. Begin by gently brushing the surface with a soft brush to remove any loose particles, then wet the area with warm water to help activate the cleaner.
Work in a circular motion to apply the cleaner, then rinse the area with clean water. Depending on what material you are working with, the stains may require more aggressive scrubbing for removal or the application of a different household product, such as lemon juice or white vinegar.
Be sure to use a dish brush or soft sponge with a mixture of warm water and mild soap or detergent for a non-abrasive clean.
Also Check: Bathtub Won T Drain Not Clogged
How To Clean Drain Pipes With Baking Soda
Now that there are so many quick solutions available at your local grocery, you dont think twice about whats available at home when it comes to cleaning drain pipes. However, some of the most effective cleaning solutions can just be found in your own kitchen, and baking soda is one of them.
Its understandable that when you think drain cleaner, your mind wont directly go to baking soda. But you should know that the kitchen staple has proven effective when used on smelly and clogged drains. This is not saying that you shouldnt go for those chemical solutions on the shelves of stores. Rather, its more on trying a simple and home-made solution to see if it clears things up. If not, then you can proceed with using ready-made solutions.
Another good reason to use natural solutions is that some rental properties dont allow their tenants to use chemical drain cleaners. This way, you can still keep your drain fresh and flowing without resorting to banned solutions.
How To Unclog A Sink With Baking Soda
Your home can have a couple of different sinks, yet the one in the bathroom can be the hardest to deal with when it gets clogged.
Hair, soap scum, toothpaste, and other grooming chemicals can form an impenetrable clog in bathroom sinks. But before you call a plumber, there are several easy and inexpensive ways to unclog your drain.
If you have a severe issue, you could need to know how to unclog a drain using a baking soda and vinegar drain cleaner, yet the first course of action is to know how to deal with clogged drains.
In our guide, you can learn how to unclog drain using these chemicals to best advantage.
Don’t Miss: Shower Drain Smells Like Urine
How Often To Clean Your Drains
Cleaning your drains regularly is the best method to keep them draining properly. its important to clean it weekly to prevent build-up and odors by pouring boiled water mixed with liquid grease-fighting dish soap down the drain.
This should remove any greasy suds that may have accumulated in your drain and prevent a clog caused by build-up.
If your drains are not draining properly, you can clean them using the homemade baking soda and vinegar mixture. You can use this process as a regular maintenance method for your drains.
How Do I Unclog My Drain
The nastiest clogs need to be tackled with tenacity dissolved into goo and flushed down your pipes as you yell, Victory!
But not every drain clog needs such drama. Sometimes regular drain cleaning and a gentle shove is enough to resolve smelly drain clogs and clear drains.
Enter baking soda and vinegar. They can clear some clogs, but Liquid-Plumr is your best bet for tackling tough clogs when homemade solutions fail. Read on!
Read Also: How To Get Rid Of Drain Odor
Can You Really Clean The Drain With Baking Soda And Vinegar
Youre usually careful about keeping your sink clean, but you just watched your Great Aunt Betty pour a whole skillet full of bacon drippings straight down your drain after a family dinner.
Now all you can think about is having a house full of company and a clogged kitchen sink, hands plunged into gross dishwater with the residue of a dozen plates and cooking pans burping backward onto your basin.
Dont worry because, yes, you really can clean your drain with baking soda and vinegar.
How To Use A Drain Snake
If you try the drain cleaners above to no avail, you may need to go in and manually get out the source of the clog. A drain snake, also known as a drain weasel, is an easy way to do thatâjust don’t try to DIY one with a wire hanger. “I do not ever recommend using the wire hanger method as we often see broken p-traps from the rigid sharp metal poking through the bottom. Once this occurs there is no longer a seal on the plumbing system to keep unpleasant sewer gasses from entering the home,” says Mulder. “The better suggestion is to use a small drain weasel.”
Don’t Miss: Schluter Kerdi-drain Grate Kit 4 Oil Rubbed Bronze
The Baking Soda And Vinegar Experiment
I conducted a simple experiment to compare two popular green cleaners when fighting a fat, oil, and grease drain clog . FOG is the most common cause of slow drains and backup in home kitchens, learn more about FOG clogs.
- Step 1 I used a tablespoon of butter to mimic a greasy FOG drain clog.
- Step 2 I poured one-half cup of baking soda and one-half cup of vinegar into one bowl, and a cup of hot water mixed with 1 tablespoon of dish washing detergent into the second bowl.
- Step 3 I watched what happened to the greasy clog for 5 minutes. Heres what the bowls looked like at 30 seconds.
How To Avoid Clogged Drains
Prevention is always better than any cure, and you can always avoid clogged drains instead of having to remove blockages.
- You can purchase strainers for your drains that will prevent items from entering the drainage pipes. Strainers are also usually referred to as hair catchers and food catchers.
- After you use the kitchen sink or bathroom sink, wash it down with hot water. Hot water will always wash away the fresh buildup so the residue doesnt stick to the sides of the pipes.
- Brush your hair before and after showering. This will allow you to remove the majority of loose hair the loose hair that gets showered down and ends up in your drain.
- Buy and learn how to use a plunger or an auger . Clogs happen no matter what we do. Small clogs can be dealt with before they turn into bigger clogs with the help of these two plumbing apparatuses.
Now you know why bicarb soda and vinegar work as drain cleaners and theres science to back it up. In case the clog is very difficult to remove, call a plumber. They have the equipment needed to remove those pesky and persistent clogs. Hopefully, you wont be using commercial chemical drain cleaners anymore.
Don’t Miss: Can I Use Drano In Shower Drain
Can I Leave Baking Soda And Vinegar In Drain Overnight
It will fizz like seltzer and foam up a bit. Leave it in the drain for an hour or two or overnight, and then flush the drain with hot tap water. For larger drains, such as tubs and kitchen sinks, use about a quarter-cup of baking soda, a half-cup of water to move the powder down, and 2 cups of vinegar.
How To Clear A Drain With Baking Soda
This article was co-authored by Susan Stocker. Susan Stocker runs and owns Susans Green Cleaning, the #1 Green Cleaning Company in Seattle. She is well known in the region for outstanding customer service protocols winning the 2017 Better Business Torch Award for Ethics & Integrity and her energetic support of green cleaning practices. This article has been viewed 103,923 times.
You can use baking soda for a number of household chores, including unclogging drains. Combine baking soda with vinegar and hot water to remove stubborn clogs. Clean your drains and keep them clear by flushing them with baking soda once a week.
You May Like: What To Do If Dishwasher Is Not Draining
Dish Soap And Hot Water
Another tried-and-true homemade drain cleaner is a mixture of dish soap and hot water. This method is excellent for breaking up pesky grease clogs.
Mix 3-5 tablespoons of liquid dish soap with two liters of boiling water. Gently pour the mixture down the sink, keeping an eye out for any splashes. Depending on the grease clog, you may need to repeat the method a few times. This is one of the many homemade drain cleaners that is safe for your plumbing systemand not to mention, its easy for any homeowner to try!
Cleaning The Drain With Vinegar And Baking Soda
Don’t Miss: How To Clear Clogged Bathtub Drain
The Science Behind The Process
Baking soda, which is sodium bicarbonate, is a base. Vinegar comprises of water and acetic acid, making it an acidic compound.
During the reaction, there is a release of water and carbon dioxide. When water bubbles through the clog, it makes it lose, and further pressure from the carbon dioxide pushes the clog downwards.
Moreover, pressure and steam from the hot water help remove clogs and unwanted stains and materials from the drainage pipe.