Pour a cup of baking soda into the drain, and follow it up with two cups of hot vinegar (near boiling point). Allow the mixture to fizz and leave for an hour. Pour hot tap water down the drain and see if the clog clears.
Dump one cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by two cups of hot vinegar. Let the concoction fizz. After one hour, flush the drain with hot tap water. The fizzing reaction helps clean out any gunk in the drain and kills bacteria.
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.
Both baking soda and vinegar are highly caustic. They are, in fact, able to dissolve certain materials that one would not normally think of as being dissolvable. However, the extreme amounts of acid in vinegar, along with its acidic nature, are what cause the drain to become blocked.
If the baking soda and vinegar method doesn't unclog the drain, use the salt and baking soda method next. This works best if you do it right before bedtime since the drain won't be used until morning.
Vinegar is both safe and beneficial to pour down your drain. It acts as a natural cleaning solution and can remove blockages and harmful bacteria that cause foul odors.
Apple cider vinegar has antibacterial properties, making it an ideal choice for an all-purpose cleaner. Use equal parts apple cider vinegar and water to make a cleaner you can use in the bathroom and kitchen to clean drains and hard water stains, counters, the stovetop, microwave, and more.
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.
Boiling water poured into the drain is a quick cleanser for minor odors. A baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water combo can add extra power for breaking up the buildup in your drain's pipes. Periodically adding baking soda down your drain can keep the sink fresh and odor-free.
“I use the time-honored baking soda and vinegar trick. Dump a good handful of baking soda into the drain, let sit (don't run any water) for 15 minutes, then pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup white vinegar down. Watch the bubbles, hear the pops and fizz, and let it sit for another 15 minutes. Then, boiling water and voila!
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.
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.
White Vinegar and Baking Soda
All you got to do is run hot water for a few seconds and pour one or two cups of baking soda down the drain plug hole. And then add a couple of cups of hot vinegar. Let it foam up and wait for an hour or two. Flush it through using hot water.
A slow-draining sink clogged with ordinary hair and soap scum can build up bacteria in the P-trap until your bathroom sink smells like rotten eggs. This smell can also happen in sinks that haven't been used for a long time. Clear the clog by using a combination of baking soda, white vinegar and hot water.
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.
This can help prevent clog-causing buildup on the interior surface of pipes. Or you can pour one cup of vinegar down the drain and let it sit for 30 minutes, followed by a rinse with two quarts of very hot water.
Mixing baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (acetic acid) causes a chemical reaction that produces a salt (sodium acetate) and water, as well as carbon dioxide gas. In this demonstration, baking soda is placed in a balloon that is attached to a flask holding vinegar. This creates a closed system.
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.
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.
Homemade Drain Cleaner
For this method, take a cup of baking soda and pour it down the drain. Allow about a minute to give it time to travel down the pipes. Next, pour in a cup of apple cider vinegar, and wait a couple of minutes to let the concoction do its job. Then, run the sink water to rinse everything out.
When it comes to all-natural home cleaning, many people use apple cider vinegar as a toilet cleaner. One method is to spray apple cider vinegar in the toilet bowl, let sit for 15 minutes, then scrub and flush. Alternatively, you can pour ½ to 1 cup of ACV into the bowl instead of spraying it.
Vinegar contains acid which neutralizes odor, cuts through grease and helps disinfect. By heating up (but not boiling) four cups of vinegar, pouring half down the drain, running the water for a minute and then pouring the remaining vinegar down the drain, you can help eliminate smells and smaller clogs.
Pour a mixture of 1 cup vinegar (apple cider vinegar works best) and 1 cup boiling water down the drain. (Substitute lemon juice for vinegar for a great-smelling drain ? Plug the drain to keep the vinegar baking soda reaction below the drain surface.