Baking soda and vinegar to clean drain

One Southern Living writer puts the popular method to the test.

Table of Contents Show

One Southern Living writer puts the popular method to the test.
How Often to Clean Your Drains
What You Need
How to Clean Drains with Vinegar and Baking Soda
Tips to Keep Your Drains Clean Longer
When to Call a Professional
What Happens When You Pour Baking Soda and Vinegar Down Your Drain?
Is a Vinegar and Baking Soda Solution Harmful to Your Drain?

Photo: sasimoto/Getty Images

In another life, I was blessed with thick, straight hair...that doesn't shed like wildfire every darn day. This is not that life. Like clockwork, every three months or so, I have to call up my building's super to unclog the sink and tub drains in my bathroom. So when I came across this tutorial on how to unclog a drain with baking soda and vinegar on CrunchyBetty.com, I was ready to grab my cleaning gloves and get started. A cheap, green method to clean my drain out with no grocery store trips required? You don't have to tell me twice.

Though I followed Crunchy Betty's directions to a T, my results were pretty lackluster. On first test, the sink seemed to work markedly more efficiently, but by the following day, the bath seemed to drain about 20% faster, but that's not that great when you're showering in ankle-deep water. Sometimes hard-to-reach clogs have to be removed mechanically, and turns out baking soda and vinegar won't help with fat, oil, and grease clogs (here's a helpful explanation from Bren Did), which explains why you should start with scalding hot water. This is why we've included tips on how to keep drains from clogging in the first place, along with our recommended DIY process for unclogging your drains and keeping them clean.

How Often to Clean Your Drains

Most plumbers recommend cleaning drains monthly to prevent clogs from occurring in the first place. After all, the effort and cost of doing so are minimal. With regular maintenance, you should only need to hire a professional to clean your drains every couple of years. And you might avoid ending up in ankle-deep water like I did.

What You Need

Large pot
Hot water
Baking soda
Vinegar
Sink stopper
Optional: plunger

How to Clean Drains with Vinegar and Baking Soda

If the sink or tub is not draining at all, add enough water to cover the bottom of a plunger. Place the plunger over the drain and press down and release the handle several times. Remove the plunger after several thrusts to see if the water starts draining. Repeat until it does.
Remove any drain cover or stopper that is obstructing your view of the drain. Then remove any materials you can see clogging the drain, like hair or food. (Tip: A wire coat hangar can be an effective tool for pulling out clogs that are just beyond reach.
Fill a large pot with very hot water. If necessary, water can be heated to scalding on the stove (do not pour boiling water down your drain, as it can damage the seal between PVC pipes).
Pour the hot water down the drain to dissolve and wash away any grease clogs.
After the water has finished draining, pour half a box of baking soda into the drain.
Measure a half cup of vinegar and pour it into the drain. Seal immediately with a sink stopper, so that pressure can build and help dislodge any materials.

After one hour, unplug the sink or tub.
Fill a large pot with very hot water as instructed earlier. Pour down the drain to flush it out.
Replace any drain covers or stoppers that you removed.

Tips to Keep Your Drains Clean Longer

How can you keep your drains from clogging in the first place? First off, use sink strainers and regularly clean any debris from strainers and throw it in the trash (a mesh screen is best for catching hair in the shower). Second, never pour grease down a drain—pour hot grease into a can to cool, and wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing. It's also a good idea to put coffee grounds and food waste in the trash or compost instead of the garbage disposal. And finally, place a washcloth over the tub drain before washing your pooch to catch its shedding fur.

When to Call a Professional

You might be tempted to try a store-bought liquid drain cleaner if you have trouble clearing a clog, but many have dangerous fumes and can even damage pipes. Try an enzyme or bacteria-based drain cleaner if you want to give it a shot. If your drain is still clogged or draining slowly, it's time to call for help. A professional can use more powerful tools to clear any clogs and identify other problems that might be present in your plumbing.

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| 2022-04-25 23:40:16 -0400

The internet is filled with various do-it-yourself (DIY) hacks that advertise themselves as great alternatives to common home problems. However, a big chunk of these hacks isn't really as effective as they may seem. One popular hack that people commonly believe to be effective is the use of baking soda and vinegar to unclog a drain. But is this hack really that great for your drains?

What Happens When You Pour Baking Soda and Vinegar Down Your Drain?

First of all, what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar? Both baking soda and vinegar are highly caustic. They are, in fact, able to dissolve certain materials that one would not normally think of as being dissolvable. However, the extreme amounts of acid in vinegar, along with its acidic nature, are what cause the drain to become blocked.

For example, baking soda and vinegar produce carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is what causes the vinegar to vaporize and form bubbles in the drain. Thus, the clog is broken, and the drain is cleared. But this also means that once the vinegar is gone, the bubbles will dissipate as well, and the drain will eventually clog again. This is because carbon dioxide is not a good solution for removing grease and grime buildup, which are the main culprits behind clogged drains.

While both baking soda and vinegar are great cleaning products, they are not something you should be using to help you get rid of a clogged drain.

Is a Vinegar and Baking Soda Solution Harmful to Your Drain?

The reason why you shouldn't be using the vinegar and baking soda solution to clean out your drain is that the baking soda and vinegar mixture can cause a chemical reaction that is harmful to certain materials in your drain. When you are using baking soda and vinegar, you are actually causing the material in your drain to corrode. This will cause the drain to break down even more.

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.

When you choose to use a baking soda and vinegar solution to clean out your drain, this will also cause a reaction to take place with the metal that is used to create the actual drain. While the reaction might not take place immediately, over time, you will notice that the drain starts to look more and more corroded. This means that the metal of the drain will have a hole in it, and the drain will eventually become completely blocked.

In Summary

So, is it safe to say that you should avoid using a baking soda and vinegar mixture to clear up clogged drains? The answer is yes. While the baking soda and vinegar solution is effective in breaking down a clog, it will also cause your drain to become more damaged. The baking soda's abrasive nature will wear down your drain over time. This is why you should avoid using baking soda and vinegar solution for cleaning out your drain.

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