How to unclog your drain without nasty harsh chemicals
2013
A long time ago our bathroom drain was in need of some major help. It was moving slower than a turtle napping. And of course, whenever you have drain issues you are stuck with gross bathtubs and sinks that just slowly gather every little hair, dirtball, and other nasty stuff that’s floating around. Thankfully, making your own “draino” is easy. In fact, unclogging your drain doesn’t require harsh or toxic chemicals.
The power of Baking Soda and Vinegar
I’m pretty sure baking soda and vinegar are like the Batman and Robin of natural cleaning. I mean, combined these two are almost unstoppable.
When we had our bathtub issue my husband said he’d take care of it. And I let him. I was so grossed out by the whole thing (kind of an OCD neat freak, okay) that I didn’t even care what methods he used… I just wanted it fixed. (Clearly this was before my total hippie transformation.)
I tried not to think about the garbage he tossed down our drain in a number of attempts to clean it. I honestly had to leave the house each time he did. And while it was always a little bit “better” after each chemical raid… the problem was never really solved.
Finally, like the super woman I am (ha!), I told him I would take care of it. I knew I had heard of baking soda and vinegar for cleaning drains, and I figured “what do we have to lose”? I mean, this stuff is a whole lot cheaper than the toxic waste my husband was using.
Well, silly me… It took one time to get our drain moving beautifully again. Once. 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup vinegar, some hot water, and a little patience and our drain was moving like a hare in the races.
And we haven’t had a problem with it since.
Ready to learn the simple magic of homemade drano?
I thought so.
How to unclog a drain naturally with baking soda and vinegar
Ingredients:
1/4 – 1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 – 1 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 – 1 gallon of boiling water (8 – 16 cups)
You’ll also need something to “plug” or cover the drain after you pour in the ingredients.
Directions:
Before you begin make sure to remove any drain stops or plugs. You want an open drain for this to work.
1. Pour baking soda down the drain. Really get it down. I’ve used the skinny part of a funnel before to help “ease” the stuff down. (Ease, shove… whatever.)
2. Pour in half the vinegar and quickly cover the drain with something to keep the “fizz” going down the drain. (Sense a pattern here?) Once it has stopped fizzing, pour the remaining vinegar and quickly cover the drain again.
3. Keep it covered and let the mixture sit for 15 – 30 minutes. Use this time to boil your water.
4. Slowly pour boiling water down the drain. Nice, easy, and slow. Pour it directly into the drain.
Depending on the severity of the clog, you may have to repeat this entire process 2 or even 3 times. But trust this dynamic duo to do its thing!
No more chemicals (or wasted money!) down the drain. Sounds good to me.
Want more great tips and recipes for a toxic free home? Be sure to check out my book Toxic Free for 70 cleaning and personal care recipes. Learn more here.
Have you used baking soda and vinegar to unplug your drains?
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I use this method all the time! To clean anything from the sinks to shower to toilet, unclogging drains–baking soda and vinegar are miracles. I have a whole book on how to clean with backing soda, vinegar, lemons and salt and it truly works. My husband doesn’t like the smell of vinegar so I add some lemon or lavendar oil to help the smell. But I would rather have the vinegar smell for a little bit, then the harsh effects of the chemical stuff.
Amen. I used to hate the smell of vinegar… and while it’s still not my favorite, I’m amazed at less offended I am by it compared to chemicals these days.
This is my go to method too! Well, it used to work all the time at my old house on my bathroom drain. This new house must be weird because I did this 2 times and STILL my drain won’t drain properly. It’s the first time in years that this hasn’t worked for me. I think the people who plumed my bathroom sink did something “wonkey” with the drainage! LOL
Oh nuts! Good luck.
I have a question I have been trying to find something that is not harsh. We just redone our sink and cabinet I do not want to pour anything down the drain that is going to ruin my polished brass fitting in the bottom of the sink to the pipe. Do you think this mixture would tarnish or ruin my fixture in the sink. It is very hard to crawl up under the sink and take a screw out and take the level out that keeps the water in the sink. My drains have been cleaned out so I just need to put something in there every few weeks to keep it running good. Do you think I could just use a couple tablespoons of Baking soda. I am afraid my husband will ruin my new fixture in the sink bottom. Thanks if you can help me in any way.
Great question. I’m not entirely sure, honestly. I’d google “is baking soda safe for brass” and go from there. Wish I had a more definitive answer. Good luck!
Thanks for your help I will google it and try to find out that way.
I sure have – I love method. Sometimes I add kosher salt because in my mind the little grains of salt are “scrubbing” away at the gunk in the drains.
Great idea, Michelle!
YES! I’ve been doing this for years, but I didn’t know about pouring the boiling water down after…I’m going to try that. Thank you!
The boiling water really “seals the deal” for the stubborn clog.
I use this method all the time! It’s so inexpensive and I love that its a more eco friendly.
I know… cheaper and better for the environment. Win win.
It’s also a great chemistry experiment for kids – my youngest will spend hours mixing vinegar (or lemon juice) with baking soda and enjoy the bubbles
If you dislike the smell of vinegar, you can use citric acid instead, for everything. I think I have a drain that needs unclogging now, actually 
So true!
I have used this method for a while also in conjunction with plunging it. Work better than anything I’ve used before
Yeah, sometimes a plunger or a snake can help if the clog is really stubborn.
I have used this trick before to clear our shower drain and it worked like a champ! Glad you are sharing the love on no-more-draino!
– Katie
Thanks, Katie.
Pretty useful post. I use a vinegar baking soda mixture to wash my dishes. Anybody have any other interesting recipes? I’m looking for a good laundry detergent that doesn’t require lye, any ideas?
I just use this to wash my dished by hand: http://thankyourbody.com/homemade-liquid-hand-soap-2-easy-ways/
This for the dishwasher: http://thankyourbody.com/all-natural-diy-borax-free-dish-detergent/
And this for laundry: http://thankyourbody.com/soap-nuts-making-laundry-even-easier-and-greener/
I do this all the time. I live in an apartment with no garbage disposal and plastic pipes. I have actually found that periodically pouring 2-3 gallons of just plain boiling water down the drains keeps them running well. I also have a ceramic cooktop and I use baking soda as scouring powder.
Awesome!
Would this work on bigger drains? (Our shower drain blocks alllllllll the time and is so grotty, but it one of those weird big ones that has the plus with the gap so that hair doesn’t get down there (But still does *sigh*) And our kitchen sink has a garbage disposal, and it seems to be blocked lately) And got anything for dishwaher drain? Or could you do the same thing, just don’t have plug?
Should work on larger drains.
I don’t use anything but this it works great……