You’ve probably heard about the trick where you pour baking soda, salt and then vinegar down a clogged drain and in minutes, the drain magically clears. I’ll save you the disappointment that I experienced (multiple times) and tell you it generally doesn’t work. There are better ways to clear your drains that work.
An average plumber’s visit may run $50 – $200 just to show up and do the necessary work so if you can learn how to do basic drain clearing yourself, you’ll save yourself money and get a feeling of accomplishment too.
Why salt, baking soda and vinegar generally doesn’t work
I’ve tried putting salt, baking soda and vinegar into a clogged drain numerous times and it has never worked. I kept trying because I figured I’d add to the ingredient amounts each time to see if that helped. It never did.
The general thought is that the chemical reaction from the vinegar coming into contact with the baking soda combined with the abrasiveness of the salt will cause the drain to unclog. The problem is that for a well-clogged drain, the reaction isn’t strong enough to generate enough energy since the drain and pipe are open at both ends, not closed.
Even if you put a stopper into the drain to close it off, you’re only closing the top and not the drainage pipe which might not be completely blocked, and allowing air in. Anyways, once you’ve poured the vinegar down the drain, it fizzes and bubbles for 20 seconds or so, and that’s it. If you have standing water in your drain, the fizzy reaction might be strictly above the blockage too, which accomplishes even less.
Before we look at what will work to unclog drains, let’s look at why drains get clogged to see if we can prevent it in the first place.
Kitchen drain clogging causes and prevention
Kitchen drains typically get clogged with:
- Fat
- Grease
- Oil
- Food particles
- Debris from the dishwasher
With fat, grease, and oil a certain amount will always go down the drain if you rinse off dishes before putting them in the dishwasher which you should. If you wash dishes manually in the sink with dish soap it’s possible that much of the fat, grease and oil will wash down the drain when you pull the plug and empty it.
Food particles can additionally get stuck to the fat, grease and oil and clog the drain over time. If your dishwasher drains into the P trap which it likely does, any debris from there all flows down the same route.
How to limit your drain’s exposure to debris
- Scrape dirty plates and utensils into your bio recycling container rather than in the sink.
- Wipe oil off plates and discard used oil in your recycling bin rather than tipping it into the sink.
Bathroom drain clogging causes and prevention
Bathroom drain clog typically get clogged with:
- Hair
- Soap scum
- Dirt
- Dead skin
- Toothpaste residue
The average person loses 50 – 100 hairs from their head per day and much of that will happen in the shower. If you have a hairy guy in your household, they’re losing more hair in the shower that could potentially clog the sink. More so if you shave in the shower as whiskers along with soap scum add up to wash into the drain.
The longer and more hair you have the more likely it’ll end up in the drain helping to clog it up.
How to limit your drain’s exposure to debris
- Get a sink strainer that fits over your drain to collect hair and other debris rather than allowing it down the pipes. Empty the strainer regularly to allow water to flow properly and clean off soap scum when needed.
- Clean visible hair out from the drain with your hands. Yeah, it’s kind of gross but it is your hair and it’s easier than dealing with a slow-running or clogged drain in the near future.
- Get a small scrubbing brush on a handle at the dollar store that fits down the drain holes and scrub the inside of the drain every so often to loosen any debris that is forming. Flush it out with a kettle of hot water afterwards.
- You can also buy a plumber’s snake which is costlier but more professional and purpose built.
- Flush your kitchen drain each month with hot water and salt. The salt is abrasive and can help to clean out debris.
How to unclog drains yourself without calling a plumber
There are a number of ways to clean out a slow-moving drain or completely blocked drain without calling a plumber. This is assuming that nothing major like a small toy or other item fell into the sink to cause the blockage.
Chemical drain cleaner
This is the obvious choice for many people. While chemical drain clogging products aren’t great for the environment, they do tend to work well and quickly without any work on your part other than pouring it down the drain in either the bathroom or kitchen.
Other than the cost and environmental concerns, some pipes can be damaged with repeated use due to the use of lye, caustic soda and other dangerous chemicals that can also create fumes and burn your skin.
Hot water and dish detergent
Squirting some dish detergent like Dawn, Palmolive or another grease-cutting brand and pouring a kettle full of hot water down the drain may help to unclog a slow or blocked drain in the kitchen. The hot water heats standing water and grease, oil and fat which can help to make it easier to move. The detergent is designed to cut through the grease, oil and fat. This may only work for a slow-moving drain and may not work for a completely blocked one.
If it appears to be working after one use, repeat as necessary.
High pressure water
My dad used to do this one when I was a kid. Our upstairs bathroom sink got very blocked every few months. He’d be in the bathroom and would open the window and lower a string down to me while I stood outside the house in the backyard. I’d tie the end of the string around the garden hose and he’d pull it up to the bathroom. Once he put the end of the hose in the sink, I’d turn the water on full for about 20 seconds and it’d flush out the blockage. Took 10 minutes maximum.
Requires no chemicals, is cheap and if your blockage is on the lower floor, you may not need the string like we did. Works in the shower or bath too.
Plunger
You can buy small sink specific plungers also called a cup plunger to force blockages and standing water out of your sink and drain. It has a flat bottom that covers the drain completely when you start plunging to create a suction.
A toilet plunger has a flange at the bottom to fit into bottom of the toilet so be sure you get the one. A sink plunger is designed to cover the drain in your sink to create a suction when you start pushing down on it to force the blockage loose.
Clean your P trap
The P trap is the p-shaped (when viewed at an angle) part of the drain pipe underneath a sink in your kitchen (see below) and bathroom. The purpose of a P trap is twofold:
- To prevent sewer gases from coming back up the sink into the home. The trap holds a small amount of water due to gravity at the lowest part of the pipe which gets flushed out when the water gets drained and pushes it out. This water prevents gases from coming back up.
- To prevent small items like jewelry from washing down the sink if they fall in. They may collect in the P trap if you’re lucky so you can unscrew the pipe and get it back.
The P trap is a common place where blockages can happen as fat, grease and oil binds together with food scraps and causes a stoppage. While you may be able to clear a blockage with the aforementioned methods, you may also need to put a bucket underneath the pipe, unscrew it, and manually clean out the P trap yourself.
If you notice on the right side of this dirty pipework is a smaller grey pipe which is the dishwasher drain pipe. So more food fat, grease, oil and food scraps are entering the P trap from there too.
How to maintain your drains naturally
- As mentioned above, using a plumber’s snake or thin brush to keep your drains clean may help to prevent them from clogging in the first place.
- White vinegar makes a good deodorizer. Pouring 1 cup of white vinegar slowly down your drain can help to keep it fresh. If a smell remains, there is probably a blockage developing that is causing the odor.
- A long wire hanger can also be used to loosen debris and in some cases pull it out rather than flushing it down the drain. This works well for hair.
- Be careful when using boiling water down the drain as it can melt PVC pipes and seals.
- Never use boiling water in the toilet as the extreme heat can crack or damage the porcelain. Using very hot water but stay away from boiling water directly from the kettle. While the boiling water can quickly cool off in the cold water, it’s better to be safe than sorry.