If you own a home, you have to prepare yourself to deal with a clogged sing a couple of times in your life. If you feel that your sink is taking a little longer to drain or, there is water pooling around your feet in the shower – you have a clogged drain to deal with. And, of course, let us not forget those unpleasant, strange odors.
While using a drain cleaner can be the most effective way to unclog a drain, there are also a couple of other remedies that you can resort to getting the job done.
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Unclogging A Drain Hack #1: Baking Soda and Vinegar
This is also one of the most used methods across the globe for unclogging drains.
Here, you need 1/3 cup of baking soda and 1/3 cup of vinegar. Mix the two items together. As soon as you see it fizzing, waste no time to put it down the clogged drain. It is the fizzing action that helps to remove the grime, gunk, and hair that might have built up in the pipe.
After pouring the mixture, let it sit for about an hour or preferably for the entire night. This is also one of the most used methods used across the globe for unclogging drains.
Alternatively, you can also put dry baking soda down the drain first and then proceed to pour the vinegar. It is effective either way, so it mostly depends on your choice.
Unclogging A Drain Hack #2: Caustic Soda
Before you get started with this remedy, get some rubber gloves and eye protection. Also known as sodium hydroxide, caustic soda can be a bit dangerous as it can cause nasty chemical burns so only proceed with the steps if you are careful and confident enough to handle it. Don’t worry, there are many other remedies that you can employ if this won’t work for you.
Into a mop bucket, pour 3/4 gallon of cold water and then add 3 cups of caustic soda to it. Using an old wooden spoon, gently stir the mixture until it starts to fizz and heat up. Carefully pour the mixture into the clogged drain and leave it for about 30 minutes. Flush the drain with boiling water in the end. If required, you can also repeat the process for the desired results.
Unclogging A Drain Hack #3: Bent Wire Hanger
Many of us resort to this method as it is simple yet effective. For this purpose, take a regular wire coat hanger that you need to straighten. Bend one side of the hanger to create a small hook.
Push the hook past the drain cover and start fishing. This way, you will be able to get all sorts of hair and grime out of the drain that is causing the blockage. The trick here is to pull the gunk out and not push it further in. Finally, when you are satisfied with the results, run hot water through the drain to clean the entire passage.
Unclogging A Drain Hack #4: Plunger
A plunger is one of the most amazing clog-busting tools. The best way to make this tool work is to ensure that the plunging power is directly delivered to the blocked drain. For this, you need to cover any exposed air holes in the sink to create a powerful suction.
For example, if you have a two-basin kitchen sink, cover one of the sink’s drains with a damp cloth before you use the plunger on the other drain hole.
In addition to this, before you start plunging, put on eye goggles and fill the drainpipe with water. Never, we repeat never plunge a sink that has chemical cleaner poured down the drain as the chemicals can splash out and burn you.
Unclogging A Drain Hack #5: Wet and Dry Vacuum
If you own a wet and dry shop vac, you already have one of the best tools to unclog the drain.
At first, you will need to set it to vacuum liquids and then cover up the vent to prevent any mess. Again, you need to create a tight seal over the drain for effective results.
Unclogging A Drain Hack #6: Boiling Water
If you don’t want to put into much work, just pouring down boiling water in the drain can also be very useful.
You can boil water using either a stove or a microwave as per its capacity. Once you have the boiling water ready, slowly pour it down the drain in repeated intervals. After you pour it for the first time, allow the hot water to work for a few seconds and then proceed to the second time.
This is actually one of the quickest and easiest ways to help to unclog a drain.
Unclogging A Drain Hack #7: Baking Soda, Vinegar, Pressure, and Gravity
Firstly, you will need to create a mixture using 1/3 cup of baking soda and 1/3 cup of vinegar. Proceed as you normally would by pouring the mixture down the drain and then place the stopper over it. After about an hour or so, fill your bathtub with water and then remove the stopper.
You see, as soon as you remove the stopper, the pressure of about 40 to 60 gallons of water from the bathtub will help to remove any blockage that has already been loosened by the baking soda and vinegar mixture.
Unclogging A Drain Hack #8: 8. Salt and Baking Soda
Yes, our last hack also involves the use of baking soda – it’s just such a versatile ingredient when it comes to unclogging of drains!
You’ll need 1/2 cup of table salt and 1/2 cup of baking soda to pour it down the drain. After about 15 to 20 minutes, flush the mixture down using boiling water. The ingredients, when used together, produce a chemical reaction that is extremely efficient to dissolve some of the toughest blockages.
Resources — Wise Bread, Popular Mechanics