Lemon's acidity can help break down grease and gunk that gets stuck in your sink. First, clean the area around your drain with a sponge to get rid of any preliminary debris. Then, pour a few cups of boiling water down the drain. Follow that with eight ounces of baking soda and eight ounces of lemon juice.
Drop in 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain. Pour in 1 cup of vinegar, cover the drain with a plug and let sit for 10 minutes – you will hear fizzing. Rinse with more hot water.
Baking soda, vinegar and boiling water can help clean drains naturally, but you may need something stronger, like Liquid-Plumr, to fully unclog those really tough drain clogs.
Environmentally Friendly & Safe to Use
They will not cause any damage to your PVC pipes. A lot of chemical drain cleaners are harsh, abrasive and can cause damage to the environment. Baking soda and vinegar, on the other hand, are both natural and non-toxic, making them safe to pour down the drain.
When you are using a baking soda and vinegar solution to clean out your drain, you are actually causing the rubber and plastic that are used for the drain's pipes to be eaten away by the mixture. Over time, this rubber and plastic will break down, causing the drain to become even more blocked.
If your drain is clogged with hair, baking soda can dissolve hair in a drain. To try this safe and easy method at home - first, pour a cup of baking soda down the drain. Then pour a cup of vinegar (white vinegar) down. Allow the mixture to sit for several minutes.
Look in Your Kitchen Pantry
Baking soda and vinegar may unclog your drain better than Drano ever could. Start by getting rid of the standing water in your drain. If it will go down slowly, just wait until it's gone.
It is safe to leave baking soda (and vinegar) to work overnight to unclog a drain. Always flush this mixture down with boiling water—no matter how long you leave it sitting in the drain.
Although mixing vinegar and baking soda is not considered dangerous, you should still avoid mixing these in a container. Vinegar is acidic and basic soda is basic, so the by-products are sodium acetate, carbon dioxide, and water that are not toxic.
A monthly cleaning will allow you to use safe cleaning methods which will save you time, energy and money in the long term. Combine 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of very hot water, and 1 half cup of baking soda and pour the mixture down the drain.
First, make sure there is no water in the sink. Pour one cup of baking soda followed by one cup of table salt, and then pour a cup of white vinegar. Wait for ten minutes and then flush it with boiling water. After that, the drain should be clear!
So, if you don't like the smell of vinegar, lemon juice is the solution. To begin, put about half a cup of baking soda down the drain and immediately follow it with a cup or two of cheap household vinegar or lemon juice.
Baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid; when the two are combined, you get a fizzy chemical reaction that has some properties that can eat away at a clog. However, when you use this combination to unclog a drain, it's just plain ineffective.
Lemon Juice:
Lemons are not only great for flavoring food, but they can also help clear clogged drains. Pour a cup of lemon juice down the drain and let it sit for an hour. Then, run hot water down the drain to flush away the obstruction.
Using a solution of baking soda, vinegar, and hot water
For more stubborn clogs, a combination of baking soda, vinegar, and hot water may do the trick. Because vinegar is an acid and baking soda is a base, mixing the two will cause a chemical reaction that will create pressure and possibly dislodge the clog.
Because of its corrosive nature, Drano can cause toilet bowls to crack, PVC pipes to melt or break and the glue that holds pipes together can be eaten away. If any of these things happen, you're going to be left with an inoperable plumbing system and costly repairs.
Experts agree: Drano Max Gel is the best overall drain cleaner because it works quickly to get rid of tough clogs. This reliable and effective cleaner is a thick gel that goes deep in sinks, pipes, and drains to reach the source of the clog and completely dissolve it.
Pouring boiling water is quite risky as it might lead to a steam burn or scalding. Another thing to keep in mind is what type of material you are pouring in into. If you have a porcelain sink, it is likely to crack due to the heat. All in all, pouring boiling water down your drain will only cause issues down the road.
While the phosphoric acid found in cola can help alleviate some minor clogs, carbonated beverages are certainly not the ideal drain cleaner. Better DIY methods include a baking soda/vinegar mixture, a plunger, or a plumber's snake.
CLR Clog-Free Drain clears almost all household clogged or sluggish drains in seconds! It is safe to use on all sound plumbing and works on almost any clog including hair, grease, food, soap build-up and more.
Try Using Boiling Water to Fix a Clogged Sink
Most clogs in sinks and tubs are due to a combination of hair, grease, soap residue, and tepid water that are trapped in the drain trap right below the drain opening. If you have metal pipes, you can try to loosen the clog with hot water—very hot.
If your drain is clogged, clean it by pouring a pan of boiling water down the drain. Follow the water with 1 cup of baking soda and one cup of vinegar. You'll probably see some bubbles as the chemical reaction works its magic and opens your drain.