If your snaking session yields plenty of hair and soap scum, but still leaves you with a slow drain, there's a good chance that the P-trap is still obstructed. To clear it, plug the overflow hole with a rag and fill the tub drain with hot water, which will help to soften and loosen soap scum.
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.
Uneaten food should go down the garbage disposal, not the drain. If it's your bathtub or shower drain that is constantly clogged, the culprit is most likely hair and dead skin. A plastic plumbing snake or drain cleaner is usually enough to take care of that problem.
Our top pick, Drano Max Gel Clog Remover, is easy to find and use on common clogs, like hair, food, and grease. We also like the Rockwell Labs InVade Bio Drain Gel. This gel solution is extra-effective on drain flies and comes in a smaller container, making it good to keep around the kitchen.
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.
Can you leave baking soda in the drain overnight? It is safe to leave baking soda (and vinegar) to work overnight to unclog a drain.
Plumbing Snakes
You can rent a plumbing snake at your local hardware store. This is usually a claw, hook, or pointed end on a long, flexible cable. You'll thread the snake down into your drain, then use it to break up or pull out the clog. When Drano won't go down your drain, sometimes this can move the clog instead.
Using a snake is also more invasive and time-consuming than using a chemical cleaner is, and can often become a dirty job. When it comes to getting at and removing major clogs or clogs that are deep down in your pipes, however, a plumber's snake is your best bet.
For stubborn clogs, a plunger might not do the trick. Instead, a tool called a closet auger fits down inside the toilet bowl and allows the user to feed a cable through the toilet without scratching the coating. These augers can bust up clogs or hook the clog and pull it back through the bowl.
While snaking is generally considered safe for your pipes, it can damage your pipes if they are in bad shape. Homes that have older pipes are more susceptible to this happening as hairline cracks and corrosion occur over time. Surprisingly, snaking your main line can potentially make the clog worse.
Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is a strong acid that is commonly used to dissolve clogs in drains. This acid works by breaking down organic materials such as hair, grease, and soap scum that can accumulate in pipes and cause blockages.
When Drano is left in the drain for too long, it can cause corrosion of the pipes. The chemicals in the product are designed to break own the clog, but if left for too long, they can start to break down the pipes themselves.
You may be surprised to learn that pouring soda down the drain does work for some clogs. To be specific, you need a dark-colored cola (such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi). This type of carbonated beverage usually contains a good amount of phosphoric acid, which given enough time, can eat away at some types of clogs.
Drano is not only ineffective, but it's also extremely damaging to your plumbing system. The heat created by the chemical reaction is more than your drains are designed to take. Corroded, aging plumbing can easily breakdown. Pipes can split and the glue holding them together can disintegrate.
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. If it isn't moving, use a cup or a spoon to get it out of there.
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.
With time, baking soda and vinegar may work as a natural drain cleaner on weaker drain clogs, and the benefits of regular drain cleaning can help keep your drains free of clogs. But for tough drain clogs that need to be dissolved right away, you may want to use a stronger drain cleaner, like Liquid-Plumr.
Mix 1/2 cup table salt and 1/2 cup baking soda together, and pour down drain. Let sit for about 30 minutes (or overnight if it's a tough clog). Follow with a pot of boiling water.
Bleach dissolves hair and it takes a bit of time. If it doesn't get rid of the stoppage completely then try another application of a cup of bleach. This may not always work. There are many other things that can clog a drain line…
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! Ecofriend does have a disclaimer that if the problem persists after this at-home method, you should call a plumber.
Final Verdict. Our best overall pick for drain cleaners is Drano Max Gel Clog Remover, which also comes recommended by experts. We love that this formula works on every type of drain pipe and can clear just about any clog.
A mixture of baking soda and white vinegar works to unclog your main sewer line by reacting inside the drains to break the clog down and consequently clear it away.