A lot of folks know the baking soda and vinegar trick. Simply pour some hot water down your clogged drain and follow it up with equal parts baking soda and vinegar (baking soda first), cover the drain with a plug if you have one, let it sit for 20-30 minutes, then follow it up with more hot water to clear the clog.
Baking soda and vinegar can also push through stubborn clogs if used right. These methods work well for simple clogs in places like the bathroom sink. For tougher or deeper clogs, a plumbing snake or even a wire coat hanger works well. It can reach the clog and fix the problem.
If your ears are plugged, try swallowing, yawning or chewing sugar-free gum to open your eustachian tubes. If this doesn't work, take a deep breath and try to blow out of your nose gently while pinching your nostrils closed and keeping your mouth shut. If you hear a popping noise, you know you have succeeded.
If you don't have a plunger or an auger then you can try baking soda + vinegar. Mix one part baking soda with two parts vinegar and pour into the bowl. Let it soak for at least 20 minutes, but longer is better to give it time to break down whatever is causing the blockage. Then flush.
One of the strongest substances for unclogging a toilet is a commercial drain cleaner specifically designed for toilet clogs. These cleaners typically contain powerful chemicals that dissolve organic matter and stubborn blockages.
The fizzing reaction and gas created may help loosen some small blockages. However, it is not typically strong enough to break down larger clogs or remove hard-to-reach debris. As a result of the above facts, if you have a serious drain clog, using baking soda and vinegar is unlikely to be effective.
Drain snakes also called drain rooters or augers, use a long cable with a spiral-shaped head.
Pour one-half cup table salt down the drain, followed by boiling water. Or try a cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar—let it bubble, wait 15 minutes, then pour boiling water down the drain. You can also try a cup of baking soda and a half-cup of salt; let it sit for several hours, then flush with boiling water.
A catheter is used to insert a small balloon through the nose to open a blocked Eustachian tube. Inserting a small, balloon-like device in a blocked eustachian tube can bring relief to children and adults who suffer from chronic eustachian tube dysfunction.
TOYNBEE MANEUVER | Pinch Your Nose and Swallow
With your nostrils pinched or blocked against your mask skirt, swallow. Swallowing pulls open your Eustachian tubes while the movement of your tongue, with your nose closed, compresses air against them.
Loosen clogs by running hot water down the drain for two to three minutes. Pour 1/2 a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by 1/2 a cup of white vinegar. Cover the drain and let the cleaning solution sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
Hydro jetting costs $475 on average but range from $350 to $600. A plumber can give you a quote and get rid of your sewer clog. Having to keep your plumber on speed dial is no fun for any homeowner. If chronic sewer clogs are giving you issues, it might be time to call in the big guns.
Manual Drain Snakes and Augers
This tool has a long cable wound onto a spool with a metal corkscrew on the end designed to grab globs of hair and other blockages. Manual augers have a hand crank that the plumber uses to feed the cable into the drain, maneuver it through the pipe, and break up the debris inside.
The Santeen Sulfuric Acid Drain Opener proved to be the most potent among all the chemical drain cleaners we tested, effectively dissolving 80% of the hair, 80% of the organic matter, 40% of the grease and 76% of the paper products.
Drain jetting is like giving your pipes an intense hydro-cleaning session. It uses the power of high-pressure water to obliterate any drain blockages, leaving your pipes as good as new. It's like the pressure washer you use on your patio but for your drains.
Properties and Uses: Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is a highly corrosive acid used extensively by plumbers to clear severe clogs. It reacts rapidly with organic materials in drains, breaking them down into simpler compounds that can be easily flushed away.
An age old trick for drain unblocking, a concoction of baking soda and vinegar can work wonders for your drains. Mix 1/3 of a cup of baking soda with 1/3 of vinegar. As it begins to fizz, pour it down the blocked drain as soon as possible. The fizzing action helps to remove any debris that has clogged within a pipe.
What happens if you put too much baking soda down a drain? Too much baking soda put down a drain can clog it. It can harden and become a solid, cement-like mass.
For those times when you don't have a plunger on hand or it fails to clear the clog, you can try to use a toilet brush or plumber's snake to break up the blockage. You can also pour soapy and hot (but not boiling) water into the toilet bowl to try to melt the clog and get it moving.
Letting a clogged toilet sit too long can result in more severe problems. Beyond the risk of overflow and water damage, the clog could also cause toilet water to back up into other parts of your plumbing system, affecting sinks, showers, and even your home's main sewer line.
Use Dishwashing Soap
Pour several squirts of dishwashing detergent down your toilet, and follow it up with some hot water. Wait for around 30 minutes to give the soap time to work, and then, flush your toilet. If the clog is severe, you can allow the dish soap to sit overnight before flushing the toilet.