Unclogging The Sink

At home we either use liquid sosa or bleach to unclog the sink. We used muriatic acid for a time but since it's far too dangerous and strong smelling, we switched to much safer methods. Bleach is quite effective compared to liquid sosa. Sosa usually costs more than bleach but since we also use bleach for removing stubborn dirt from clothes, a bottle of sosa doesn't easily run out compared to bleach.

 

I use a can of coke to unclog my sink. It is so much cheaper than the chemicals you find at stores and it costs less too! I just pour a can of coke down the sink once every 3 months to keep things moving along. The acid in the soda help build up to erode.

 

Thanks some pretty good advice! Thanks for sharing it on the forums. I use Drano too, it really does help keep the sink pipes clear. I don't know about using it everyday though, that seems excessive and not to mention expensive. Drano isn't all that cheap to buy.

 

I have to admit I've never been particularly keen on the idea of using chemical drain cleaners - as apart from the toxic fumes they give off being bad for our health and being fairly expensive to buy - but as using them can and very often does result in unnecessary and sometimes extremely costly plumbing repairs - I've always much preferred to use the way more cost effective and healthier alternative of baking soda and vinegar for maintaining or unclogging drains

In fact its a method I can highly recommend trying if you haven't already so - as not only is it kinder to the environment, your health and your plumbing - but a way, way cheaper solution to the problem - especially as it works very effectively on slow moving drains - as well as fairly clogged up ones and can be used as a maintenance treatment too

Which should you wish to give it a try - this is what you will need

2 cups of baking soda
6 cups of boiling water
1 cup white vinegar

How to do it

First pour 2 cups of boiling water down the plughole followed by 1 cup baking soda - then a further 2 cups of boiling water and leave for 5 - 10 minutes - after which time

Add the second cup of baking soda and the cup of vinegar - but this time put the sink plug in immediately after doing so - simply because - there will be plenty of sizzling and frothing at this stage, due to the chemical reaction between the baking soda and the vinegar - then leave for at least 30 minutes - by which time the sizzling and frothing should have subsided - remove the plug and pour the last 2 cups of boiling water down the plughole.

And hey presto - you should now have a clear free flowing drain

For maintenance - using the same method as above every couple of months - normally does the trick - as it avoids the possibility of the drain getting clogged up again.

A word of warning though - if you have previously used chemical warfare on your drain by which I mean - a chemical cleaner - you will first need to use exactly the same method as mentioned above - but omit the vinegar for the first few times - just in case there is some chemical residue left in the drain that might react with the vinegar - but after doing that - it should be fine and you will be able to use all the ingredients together - on a regular basis to keep the drain flowing freely.

 

Our drain was super clogged when we moved into our house and the plumber we called gave me a little tip. He told me to boil a kettle of water and pour it down each drain in the house. Do this once a week. This is much cheaper than buying Drano or other chemical drain cleaners. Well I have stood by his advice and try really hard to pour boiling water down each drain and I have not had trouble with my drains. I also am very careful about what I put down my drain. I do not pour bacon fat down the drain. I keep an old can and pour it in that. I know some people keep it to cook with too.

 

I was once advised by a plumber to put a quarter cup of bleach down the drain every so often to keep pipes running freely. I haven't actually done that. I do have a kitchen sink that gets clogged from time to time, and when I need to, I buy a drain cleaner in town that costs 49 cents for a jug. It works very well, so I try to keep it handy in case of emergency. Also, if you don't like drain cleaner, they also sell thos sink size plungers that work very well. However, then you have to deal with, and remove the gunk which can be quite nasty.

 

I have used most of the methods described at some time or other, except for the Coca Cola. Most of the time the baking soda and vinegar option works fine for slow drains, before it gets too bad. I generally use bleach in the bathroom drains and the former in the kitchen sink. These options are frugal and useful.

I have also purchased store bought drain cleaner, but I don't buy that pricey stuff. I find that the cheap knock offs tend to work as well. The last one I bought was called Mister Plumber (not to be confused with Liquid Plumr). It's available at Walmart and Dollar Tree for a buck, which is a lot less than most of the other brands cost.

 

I suppose liquid agents for blocking drains are effective if the blog is not substantial. They work best in periodic maintenance before major buildup. Bicarbonate of soda is quite good for the purpose. Otherwise, a long flexible tool like a plastic pipe or a wire should do the job with a series of thrusts in combination with the aforementioned agents as well as hot water.

 

As long as you do not have tree roots that are growing into the house drains, then keeping the drains clean should be fairly simple , and using the vinegar and sofa method is usually what I have done also.
I have never seen the method described by @gata montes before; but that should be a particularly effective way to keep the drain cleaned. Just the boiling water will dissolve any grease that accidentally went down the drain, and the action of the sofa and vinegar will push out any solid, or semi-solid clogs.
I try not to put anything greasy down the drain, and when I am washing something greasy, then I use plenty of dish soap to dissolve the grease, and flush the drain with very hot water afterwards.
Being consistently careful when washing dishes will help keep the drain clean, and then you do not have to worry about clogs as often.

 

Hmm... I haven't heard of Drano but we've always use Lye Water to clear out clogs off kitchen drains. People mostly use Lye water as a food additive as Lye creates a unique texture you cannot achieve with other ingredients. If you've eaten Ramen, chefs use Lye water to make the dough of the noodle stretchable and chewy when you eat them. Anyway, for us, Lye water is much safer because unlike acid based decloggers, Lye water doesn't emit toxic fumes.

 

To safe much more money I usually use vinegar mixed with baking soda to unclog the sink. I find that it's as affective or better than chemicals that are meant to unclog. A plus is that you won't be concerned whether it would be bad for you or most importantly for your children. I actually use these two products to do most cleaning of my house hold.

 

I think thats funny about the can of coke pouring down the drain every 3 months to keep your pipes clean. I looked it up and I did find this a way to unclogg your sink though. It also says to let it sit awhile and let it fizz and do it's corrosive power for a hour or two-and then run some hot water down after that. I guess the thing about the coke or pepsi is that they are loaded with phosphoric acid which can really break down all that black sludge or whatever else is in your sink.

 

That is probably a good solution, I am unclogging the sink with baking soda mix with vinegar, this solution is very efficient because it always working and is very cheap. Because once I had no baking soda in the house I have used only vinegar and it worked very well.