Peter Daly, CEO of Master Plumbers, said that you should be wary of using products that aren't designed to go into a toilet system. Talking to News.com.au, Daly said, “Master Plumbers advises that it's safest to use cleaning products specifically designed for flush toilets.
Rooter Plumbing of San Antonio, a Neighborly company, has a pro tip: “Adding a squirt or two of dish soap into your kitchen sink drain will help to keep grease build-up to a minimum,” he says, “It also keep your drains smelling great too!”
Baking soda, vinegar and Dawn dish soap along with boiling water can safely unclog a drain. Baking soda, vinegar and Dawn dish soap along with boiling water can safely unclog a drain.
A little dish soap goes a long way, too
A more effective way to get the chore done is to fill the sink with soapy water. We've found that sometimes you need only as little as a teaspoon of dish detergent in a sinkful of water to produce a healthy layer of foam on top.
In fact, it leaves toxic chemical residues behind on your dishes and glasses that pose significant health hazards over the long-term. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) evaluated 326 dish soaps and assigned each one a hazard rating ranging from A to F, A being the safest, F being the most toxic.
The majority of my solutions contain blue Dawn® Ultra because it's concentrated. The regular Dawn is a non-concentrated version, (also called Simply Clean) so more diluted. Platinum Dawn is almost identical to Ultra, but it contains more surfactants.
Because dish soap is meant to break up oils and lift grease and grime from your flatware and utensils, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on the oily soap and human grease build-up accumulating in your tub or shower!
Considering the above analysis of some of the key ingredients of Dawn dish soap, we would have to conclude that no, Dawn is not an environmentally friendly product. It contains one or more ingredients that are potential groundwater contaminants. They can pollute the water system and can harm fish or marine life.
Use Dawn and some hot water and a cloth or sponge to get into those nooks and crannies where grime and scale tend to build up. You can also combine Dawn with vinegar for stronger cleaning power, especially when tackling hard water stains.
“Vinegar is a good cleaner because it's acidic, but when you add dishwashing liquid/dish soap to it (which is a base or neutral) - you neutralise the vinegar. You take away the very thing that makes it work well. “The dishwashing liquid works that well on its own. Adding the vinegar is a pointless step.”
Hard water (rain is soft) is the presence of calcium, magnesium, lime and iron in drinking water. The microscopic iron particles, upon mixing with oxygen, form iron oxide and cling to the surface of bathtubs and sink. As they build up, they create an orange or brown stain.
A baking soda, salt, and vinegar solution can help remove hard water stains if left to sit in a sink for thirty minutes to an hour. When you remove the drain plug, the foamy stuff will also unclog the sink pipes on its way down!
"The best natural cleaning method for the countertops and sink would be a homemade spray mixture made of 2 cups of baking soda, ½ cup all-natural dish soap, 1 cup water, and ½ cup vinegar," says Bowen.
If any tough stains linger, sprinkle the sink with baking soda again. This time, add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide or lemon juice to your sponge before scrubbing. Another option is to slightly dampen the baking soda sprinkled around the sink to form a paste. Then, pour a little vinegar onto the paste.
Pour equal parts of vinegar and Dawn into a spray bottle. Gently shake, then spray liberally onto the surface to be cleaned. I have found the best results is when I use it to clean chrome shower and sink fixtures. After spraying on the fixture, rub and wipe it with a microfiber cloth to avoid scratching.
Soft scrub — Mix ½ cup baking soda with enough Dawn dish detergent to make a paste. Use to clean sinks, tubs and counters. Rinse and dry. Deep-cleaning scrub — Great for soap scum and mildew.
Bar soap can resolidify in the drain, causing clumps of soap to form a large, sticky mass that will eventually lead to a blockage. While bar soap may leave you clean and smelling fresh, it leaves behind a layer of film in your pipes and on your shower walls.
Greasy clogs can be cleared with dish soap and hot water.
For this method to work, the drain needs to be cleared of water. Squirt dish soap down the clogged drain and then pour boiling water down the drain.
Adding soap lowers the water's surface tension so the drop becomes weaker and breaks apart sooner. Making water molecules stick together less is what helps soaps clean dishes and clothes more easily.