April 13, 2009 9:41 AM
To unclog drains
Use a plunger first, though not after using any commercial drain opener. To open clogs, pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain, add 1/2 cup white vinegar, and cover the drain. The resulting chemical reaction can break down fatty acids, allowing the clog to wash down the drain. Do not use this method after trying a commercial drain opener - the vinegar can react with the drain opener to create dangerous fumes. |
Easy Drain Cleaner: From Pinellas County Sewer Safety. You can bet I'm gonna remember this next time!
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Comments
Thanks. I have a slow bath drain so I'll definitely be trying this.
Posted by: Lauren | April 13, 2009 10:37 AM
How timely!
I woke up to clogged drain this morning. Thanks Barbara!
Posted by: redink | April 13, 2009 11:22 AM
Hi, I thought I would also add this. My husband is a plumber and if the plugged drain is susupected to be clogged with grease or something similar, often he will boil water and continue to pour that down the drain to melt the grease and clear the drain. Just another little tip! :-)
Posted by: Terri | April 13, 2009 11:38 AM
I have discovered that if you have long hair in the family and it's a shower drain that's clogged, a crochet hook (to pull out the hair) is the best tool for unclogging it. The rest of these tips work nicely on anything that's left after that.
Posted by: Newt Sherwin | April 13, 2009 2:39 PM
Being serious frugals and do-it-yourselfers, we've used all of these tips for years.
Through much trial and error, we've discoverd that a couple of pots of boiling water poured down the problem drain usually works just as well as the vinegar and baking soda. Although, vinegar and baking soda are fun to watch any time and a cheap thrill for the children.
For a shower drain that is slow due to hair.....at our last house we put a drain in the tub that had the usual 1/4in holes in it, but if you unscrewed it there was another drain with openings about the size of a tight kitchen strainer. Anytime the drain got slow, we would unscrew the visable drain and reach in and put out the "hair ball" (yuck--but we do have a lot of hair in our family). I'll be searching for a similar double drain if we ever re-do the ancient bath we're currently using.
Posted by: von | April 13, 2009 5:50 PM
I pour boiling water down AFTER using the bs/vinegar method. I find one or the other doesn't usually cut it for me.
Posted by: Emily C | April 14, 2009 11:56 AM
