Drano® Liquid Drain Cleaner starts working to unclog your drain on contact. After 15 to 30 minutes, clogs are substantially minimized or dissolved.
Simply flush 4 ounces of Drano® Max Build-Up Remover down the toilet for three consecutive days. Do this before leaving for work or going to bed, as it's best to avoid flushing your toilet for 6-8 hours after each treatment.
While this is not typically a problem for the drains in your sink and tub, if you use Drano in your toilet it can: Soften PVC pipes. Damage old and corroded pipes. Crack the porcelain bowl in your toilet.
Use ½-1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar, plus a bit of water if you want to dilute things a little bit more. Pour it down the drain and let it sit for 30-60 minutes. Sometimes, this mixture can break up clogs that even Drano can't touch!
Caustic soda is a nasty chemical that can burn, but it's very effective for unclogging toilets. To use this chemical, you need to get some rubber gloves and eye protection. You can pick the chemical from the local hardware or grocery stores. Pour a ¾ gallon of cold water into a bucket, and add 3 cups of caustic soda.
Make your own drain cleaner by pouring one cup of baking soda and two cups of vinegar into the toilet and adding a half gallon of hot water. Dish soap can also help loosen some obstructions. When using either method, allow the solution to sit overnight and then flush the toilet to see if the obstruction has cleared.
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.
Drano® Liquid Drain Cleaner starts working to unclog your drain on contact. After 15 to 30 minutes, clogs are substantially minimized or dissolved. A final blast of hot water flushes away what's left of the clog.
Deploy Drano. Does this particular clog seem bust-up proof? If standing water remains, use Drano® Max Gel Clog Remover. It pours straight through the water and attacks the clog directly.
Several gentle pumps will usually work better than a couple of hard pushes. If your clog is going to come out, it should happen in less than 10 minutes. If not, it's time to move on to a snake or call a plumber.
Toilets can develop drain clogs for any one of several basic reasons, usually involving partial or complete obstruction in one of the various parts of the drain system: the toilet trap, the branch drain line, the vent pipe, or the main sewer line.
A plumber snake is a great tool for clearing drain clogs… if it's working properly. If your snake isn't unclogging your drains it could be because the thumbscrew is loose, the clog is too severe, or the auger is dirty, for example.
Note: Snaking a toilet is the final approach you should take before you call a plumber. Always start by plunging or trying a cleaning solution method like dish soap and hot water, or a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar. Read our guide to unclogging a toilet for step by step breakdown of each method.
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.
Drano can build up in a clogged area, and corrode the pipe. With repeated use, these chemicals may eat their way through a pipe, and cause a leak or a collapse of the system. Homeowners and plumbers should avoid repeated use of chemical cleaners. Safer plumbing alternatives can be chosen to resolve most drain issues.
Single Use, Not Frequent Use
Because of the chemicals found in these types of products, you could cause irreparable damage to your pipes. In most cases, a single use of Liquid-Plumr or Drano will not cause any issues with your pipes, though you should avoid using them in your toilet.
Many people think that a forceful push into the plunger is what frees up the clog, but this can often worsen the problem. In fact, pushing the plunger in with enough force can even break the seal of the toilet gasket (the seal between the toilet and the floor where the plumbing exits).
Using a plunger is one of the most effective methods used for unblocking a toilet as it can unclog a wide variety of waste pipes.
Will a toilet eventually unclog itself? It sure would be nice, but it's fairly rare for a toilet's clog to clear up after a few hours. It can happen, but only in select circumstances. Here's what you need to know about whether your toilet will unclog itself.
You may just be using it incorrectly. Do this: Next time you have a clog, use your plunger like this: Ensure the flange lip is unfolded. Get a good seal on the toilet drain (that is, make sure you're covering the entire drain or you won't have enough pressure to loosen the clog.)
You might want to see if the clog works itself out in time. If you have another toilet you can use, let the clogged one set overnight. The water pressure that builds up in the bowl might actually cause the toilet to unclog itself. After a day's wait, flush the toilet again.
High Water Pressure with Baking Soda and Vinegar
To do this, use a 2:1 ratio of vinegar to baking soda, and mix it into 60 gallons of water. As you pour the water down the drain, use a drain snake or plunger to dislodge debris that is blocking water flow.