When a drain stops draining like it’s supposed to, the un-natural among us haul out the Drano. But there IS a better, cheaper and more natural way to get the lead (or lead-like sludge) out of a drain.
Products like Drano are bad for the environment on several counts. For one, Drano’s ingredients pose serious health hazards if humans or other living things come in contact with them. Its ingredients work by heating up lye in a chemical reaction and swirling shards of aluminum in the drain to cut through hair and other clog agents. If the compound doesn’t wash all the way out of pipes, it can be harmful to plumbers working on pipes later, or to people who are splashed by water coming up out of a Drano-containing drain.
There is a better way
Fortunately, a quick and easy way exists to clean out drains — and it’s completely gentle and nontoxic to humans.
It does require a little elbow grease, a little grossness (but honestly … worse than Drano?), and it works best BEFORE the drain is completely clogged. Do this procedure once every week or two, or whenever you notice a drain getting slow, and you’ll be good to go.
1. Remove the drain cover, if you can. For most sinks, you can just pull it out.
2. Remove all the sludge, slime, hair, etc. that you can. This is the nasty part! Use a rag or even a paper towel (it’s OK, you can compost it).
3. Look into the drain. Do you see clogs of hair in there? You can purchase a flexible plastic drain-cleaning tool (like an extra-long plastic stick). Or use something homemade, like an actual stick (be careful! don’t let it break off in the drain!) or a coat hanger. If you use a hanger, put a tight crimp in the end to catch the nasty, nasty goo, and also so that the wire doesn’t punch through PVC or flexible pipe — or even worn-out metal pipes.
4. Sprinkle a good 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain.
5. Remember your fourth-grade science-project “volcano”? Time to relive your childhood! Follow up with about 1 cup of white vinegar. Pour it right in there. Let it sizzle, sizzle, sizzle away.
6. Meanwhile, start heating up 1/2 to 1 gallon of water to a boil. (I use my electric kettle to save some energy.)
7. Check on the “volcano.” If the drain is really gummed up, the liquid might be just sitting there. Pull out your trusty stick again and gently swizzle it around, up and down in the drain to get the liquid circulating.
8. Pour the boiling water down the drain. Use the stick, if necessary, to keep things moving. Odds are good that you’ll be left with some nasty bits scattered around the sink — old toothpaste and more, being devoured by gummy bacteria or other scientific creatures.
9. If the drain was really foul, or is still a bit slow, repeat the above steps.
10. Pour an extra half-gallon or so of boiling water down. By now the drain should be running smoothly!
Clean the sink (but of course!) and you are on your way — ready for your sink to swirl away your water for another few weeks or months, all naturally.
Browse Timeline
- « Costco will accept food stamps at 2 clubs as trial
- » Summertime, and the movies are FREE (or cheap)
Comments ( 14 )
[...] Like Me tells us how to clear a slow drain naturally. Kind of gross to think about, right? But I could’ve used this two months ago, and [...]
Oh Happy Day, A Roundup « Simple Savvy added these pithy words on Jun 12 09 at 3:13 amMy husband just plunges our bathtub once it’s gotten clogged. With the standing water, it’s pretty similar to a toilet. The he washes the bathtub, of course.
It works really well for us with a bigger drain/clog–though I’ve used this method on our sink and it works well too!
Mrs. Micah added these pithy words on
Jun 03 09 at
3:48 pm
I’d also recommend stuffing an old washcloth in the drain and the overflow hole after adding the vinegar. This makes the mixture bubble down through the clogged pipe instead of just back up into the sink. Leave it for a minute until you think the bubbling has done its job and then flush with the boiling water.
WeightlessOne added these pithy words on
Jun 04 09 at
7:09 am
I’d also recommend stuffing an old washcloth in the drain and the overflow hole after adding the vinegar. This makes the mixture bubble down through the clogged pipe instead of just back up into the sink. Leave it for a minute until you think the bubbling has done its job, remove the washcloth, and then flush with the boiling water.
WeightlessOne added these pithy words on
Jun 04 09 at
7:09 am
Good tip on the washcloth!
@Mrs. Micah – I agree, plunging can work great once you have a full-on stopped-up drain! I do that in my laundry sink too … although it takes some coordination to block the second tub’s drain so that it works properly.
You can use this method, though, to clear out the gunk on a slow drain before it is 100% stopped up — it removes all the black goo.
Cheap Like Me added these pithy words on
Jun 04 09 at
8:12 am
I’ve tried this a couple times (the vinegar and baking soda). Worked pretty well but love the tip on a washcloth in the comments too.
Green Bean added these pithy words on
Jun 07 09 at
10:20 pm
My brother in law uses a shop vac. Just hold the hose in the drain and turn on. Sucks up a lot of ugly stuff.
DIY Solar Guy added these pithy words on
Mar 17 11 at
2:58 pm
Kimbyrlie added these pithy words on The natural way is always better for the drain and your health
Nate the Clean Guru added these pithy words on
Jul 19 11 at
10:23 pm
Awesome advice! I just used to clear out a drain that has been bugging me for probably a year now cause it drained so slowly. It was nice to hear the sound of draining when the baking soda/vinegar combo finally broke through and cleared the remaining obstruction. The boiling water poured right down and cleared it all out. Now the drain keeps up with the faucet even on max. And best of all no icky chemicals down the drain. I will show this trick to my kids (ages 7 and 9) next time their bathroom drain looks gross since I know they can do this without having to worry about them getting poisoned.
halfling added these pithy words on
Jul 19 11 at
11:41 pm
worked for me I didn’t have the money to buy draino so i looked for advice, i just used the super hat water then plunged it and the water melted or softened it , then the plunger pushed through.
cool bean added these pithy words on
Aug 07 11 at
12:34 am
Very helpful advice, there are many ways of unblocking a drain and this is one of the most effective.
Bristol Blocked Drain added these pithy words on
Aug 09 11 at
2:39 am
this worked awesome and i couldn’t believe it…Thank you to who ever posted this solution.
kitkat added these pithy words on
Dec 17 11 at
5:05 am
