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!
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.
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.
Further Pipe Damage
The chemicals in Drano may not solve all clogs, and they can lead to a worsening of pipe issues. 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.
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.
It is Extremely Corrosive For Your Drains
While it is dissolving your clog, Drano can also quickly eat away at the glue holding your pipes together, leading to a potentially costly leak.
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.
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.
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.
Drano® Clog Removers can unclog a drain fast. They contain ingredients chemicals that quickly dissolve hair, soap scum and gunk. You can use Drano® Clog Removers to unclog a kitchen sink, bathroom sink, shower or clogged bathtub, but DO NOT use them in toilets.
In a toilet, especially since Drano does not work quickly on toilet clogs, it creates a serious issue. The heat generated from this chemical reaction can crack the porcelain of the toilet or soften the PVC of the pipes. So, not only can Drano hurt you, but it can also hurt your toilet and cause costly damage.
Bleach or chemical drain cleaner.
For those tough clogs that seem like they are impossible to solve, you could try to use harsher chemicals, like bleach or a store-bought toilet drain cleaner. The chemicals contained in these can be harmful to yourself and your pipes, so only use them as a last resort.
A common cause for clogs, especially in kitchen drains, is a buildup of grease. Soap and hot water can be an effective Drano alternative to dissolve grease blockages. Pour roughly ½ to 1 cup of dish soap down the blocked drain. Following this, pour about a gallon of boiling water, taking care not to burn yourself.
Baking Soda and White Vinegar
This mixture is a great green alternative to Drano because most people have these items somewhere in their kitchen. To use this method, pour half a cup of baking soda into the clogged drain and follow it with a half cup of white vinegar.
Because of its corrosive nature, Drano can cause toilet bowls to crack, PVC pipes to melt or break and the glue that holds pipes together can be eaten away. If any of these things happen, you're going to be left with an inoperable plumbing system and costly repairs.
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.
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.
For use on clogged or slow-running drains, pour half of the bottle (32 oz. size) slowly over drain. For extremely slow-running drains or complete clogs, pour in entire contents of 32 oz. bottle.
When using plumbing tools, like a plunger or an auger, Drano can splash up and burn your skin, and get into your eyes and lungs. If even a small amount of Drano remains in the drain, and you use a chemical cleaning product soon after, the two products might react unfavourably to create toxic fumes.
Unfortunately, the pressure from a plunger probably won't break up a shower drain clog. Instead, it will only send the material deeper down the drain pipe completely intact. The clog still exists, but now it's even deeper into your plumbing system, causing your shower to drain slowly or not drain at all.
Although plumbing chemicals like Drano are designed to break up clogs and clear your pipes, they often make a clog worse for homeowners.
We recommend trying another bottle of this product. However, if the problem continues to persist, you should call a plumber, as there are some plumbing situations that even Liquid-Plumr cannot fix. Know when to call a plumber for clogged drains.