Unclogging Drains Naturally and on the Cheap - A How To

Supplies: Baking soda and vinegar. (Optional paper towel roll and scissors.)

Does this really need a "how to"? I don't know. I wrote one anyway.

Slow drains are a common problem. Our bathroom drain has been slow pretty much since this house was built in 1973, I think. The fact that I have two cats, a dog, and a very facial-hair prone boyfriend does not improve the flow of water in our goddamned sink. It has been so bad that even washing your hands would result in a good four  inches of slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y draining water. (I forgot to take a picture of our sink pond, but I have no reason to lie to you about this.) And slowly draining water after brushing your teeth results in a slew of disgusting soapy-saliva build-up on the bottom of your sink. It's nasty. It's unhealthy. It's frustrating.

It's a little scary.
You also don't often see "mucous membranes" in print.

Since we moved here in January, we have been battling this sink drain. Every six weeks or so, we go buy a bottle of Drano or Liquid-Plumr, or whatever generic chemical drain agent we happened to grab. They are expensive. They are smelly. They are not exactly safe. The warnings are disturbing and unnerving. I worried that our cats will accidentally get too close to them when they go on their sneaky expeditions into what I thought was a latched cabinet. I worried that the dog could get into it. Mostly, I could make worrying an Olympic sport, but that's not the issue. What's more, I got tired of buying the shit. Ugh.

My mother has always loved using vinegar and baking soda to clean. Our house used to smell like a pickle factory every so often. She goes through periods of fully embracing the natural way of doing things, and would periodically stock up gallons of vinegar and surplus boxes of generic baking soda throughout my life. (Though she will still use Round Up to kill poison ivy, so there's that. Round Up is evil and so is its maker, Monsanto, don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise.)

I never listened to her on this before. I was wrong. Don't tell her I said that.

The vinegar and baking soda make truly effective, totally safe cleaning agents. They scour without scratching, foam without chemicals, and are so so so SO CHEAP. I'm funemployed, and I don't even want to think about how much money we've spent on drain cleaner! Crap!

Anyway, it's really simple.

Step 1: Remove your drain stopper and remove any debris you can immediately access. (I opted not to share that picture. It wasn't pretty.)

Stuff it in there!

Step 2: Pour baking soda into drain. I made a quick disposable funnel out of a paper towel roll so I could cram as much baking soda in there as possible. Also, baking soda tends to be clumpy and fall out in surprising bursts. And I'm clumsy. So I went with the funnel. I have no idea how much I put in there. I just kept adding until no more would fit. I still spilled it. BUT unlike drain cleaner, it will in no way harm your sink, tiles, or anything else. This clog solution is also totally safe for septic systems.





Step 3: Cram it in! I also made a little divot in the baking soda. Not really sure why, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

How very science fair-y.

Step 4: Add the vinegar and let it do its thing. I added about a cup of vinegar. Look at it go!














Five minutes later... still going!

Still working... This picture kind of fascinates me because you can see the baking soda in the bottom.

And ten minutes later, one fantastically clear drain! Woohoo! It was so much more effective than any commercial cleaner I have ever used.

Now I can finish cleaning the bathroom. And repeat the process in the shower drain. Less woohoo...