Vinegar. 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.
Use a Mixture of Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Hot Water
Pour half a cup of baking soda down your drain, followed by half a cup of white vinegar. Then cover the drain opening and let it sit for 15-minutes.
Overall, plumbers say the best way to clean out clogged drains is by mechanical means (plunging and snaking) and some hot water. Stay away from chemical cleaners as they can damage your pipes and are hazardous to humans.
Pour one cup of fresh baking soda down the drain, followed by one cup of white vinegar. Place a rubber stopper or other sink hole cover over the drain opening. Wait 15 minutes to allow the vinegar and baking soda to unclog your drain, Then take out the drain cover and run hot tap water down the drain to clear the clog.
Best Overall
In just 15 minutes, our pick for the best drain cleaner, Drano Max Gel, will clear up clogs in sinks, tubs, PVC, septic tanks, and garbage disposals. It's safe for piping and septic systems, with a thick gel that sinks into standing water to the source of the clog.
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.
Start with 1/4 cup of salt, 1/4 cup of Borax, and then a 1/2 cup of vinegar. Add a pot of boiling water and let it sit for at least an hour or until it clears. Finally, rinse with hot tap water to clear all ingredients down the drain.
By running the cold water for 40 minutes, you ensure that it flows through the hot waters pipes and flushes the sediment out through the water heater drain hose. Repeat these steps with all other water connection, such as the laundry connection. At this time, you can remove the plugs from the faucet and garden hose.
Shut the faucet taps. Fill your pipes with your chosen drain cleaner (more on that later). Wait for the appropriate amount of time for the cleanser to work – a chemical cleanser may only take 15 minutes, whereas a natural cleanser may need several hours. Bring the pots of water to a boil and pour them down your drains.
If you suspect a grease clog, a mixture of very hot water and vinegar can also help melt and remove the grease that's blocking the pipes. Allow it to work for a few minutes, then use a plunger to help move the clog along. You may have to repeat this more than once.
Hydrochloric acid is highly effective and can quickly clear even the toughest clogs.
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.
Preventative Maintenance
Pouring bleach into the drain when the unit is not operating can leave residual bleach, which will damage the drain pan and line. Using vinegar for preventative maintenance throughout the year will keep your drain clean and clear and will not damage your line.
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.
Use Baking Soda and Vinegar
Pour a ½ cup of regular household baking soda into the drain, then add a ½ cup white vinegar. Cover the drain if you can. Let the mixture stand in the drain for several minutes. Next, to remove grease and debris in your pipes, pour five or six cups of boiling water into the drain.
The combination of baking soda and vinegar proves effective on just about any slime. The chemical reaction of the baking soda and vinegar, which has antibacterial properties, can break up the slime. If you pour in boiling water after you dump in the vinegar and baking soda combo, it will wash away any leftover slime.
What chemical will dissolve dirt and mud? If you don't believe in DIY methods to unclog basement drains, or they simply don't work for you, then you can also opt for chemicals. Hydrochloric acid will do the job for you, by dissolving, dirt, mud, and whatever other debris is making your drain clogged.
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.
Baking soda and vinegar can help mitigate foul odors, as well as boiling water + citrus, or even just a soap and water compound. The most important thing is getting all buildup clean from disposals and drains – those are what typically cause foul odors.
Using Hydrogen Peroxide on a Clogged Drain
You can try pouring some down the drain directly, but for more effective drain clearing, follow these steps: Sprinkle about one cup of baking soda down the clogged drain and wait for 10 minutes. Pour one cup of hydrogen peroxide down the drain and wait for the foaming to stop.
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.
Pour or squeeze ½ cup of Dawn® dish detergent down the drain. For a tougher clog, use 1 full cup. Let the detergent work its way down the drain for 30 minutes.
You can use a bent wire or a hair catching brush to clear out those pipes and prevent clogs, but table salt and vinegar are just as effective in these pipes. Pour one tablespoon (possibly more, if needed) of salt down the drain, and then dump ¼ cup of plain white vinegar down the drain.
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.