Drain Snake vs Drano As far as home solutions, the snake is your strongest drain unblocker. It can be very helpful to keep a plumber's auger or snake in the house.
Because of its corrosive nature, Drano can cause toilet bowls to crack, PVC pipes to melt or break and the glue that holds pipes together can be eaten away. If any of these things happen, you're going to be left with an inoperable plumbing system and costly repairs.
First the drain snake loosens the clog—then the powerful Drano® gel clears it away! The 23-inch flexible tool bends safely through your pipes, and the Drano® Pro Concentrate Gel powers through the clog.
Experts agree: Drano Max Gel is the best overall drain cleaner because it works quickly to get rid of tough clogs. This reliable and effective cleaner is a thick gel that goes deep in sinks, pipes, and drains to reach the source of the clog and completely dissolve it.
For the toughest of clogs, a plumber may use a hydro jet. This tool sends pressured water through pipes to break down drain build-up. This tool is often faster and more efficient than a typical drain snake. Hydro jets get rid of the clog, but they're also effective for cleaning drains.
Sometimes drains are too clogged to be treated with just a gel alone—that's why we created the Drano® Snake Plus Tool + Gel System. By manually loosening the clog in the pipe with the tool first, the concentrated gel can then power through and completely unclog the drain (even the most stubborn ones).
A manual drain snake, also known as a plumber's snake or a drain auger, is a small boring tool that rotates slowly as it's physically pushed through a stubborn clog. The terminal end of the device is a corkscrew-shaped hook that is fed into a clogged drain or toilet.
Baking Soda and White Vinegar
This mixture is a great green alternative to Drano because most people have these items somewhere in their kitchen. To use this method, pour half a cup of baking soda into the clogged drain and follow it with a half cup of white vinegar.
After 15 to 30 minutes, clogs are substantially minimized or dissolved. A final blast of hot water flushes away what's left of the clog.
If inserting a plumber's snake seems like a risky option, and your problem is more than what a plunger can solve, adding a cleaning agent like WD-40 is always a good idea. The good part about using WD-40 is that it gets right under the build-up and muck, and breaks it down, which helps clear the drain.
The thick bleach formula in Drano® Max Gel Clog Remover cuts right through standing water, clinging to your toughest clogs to blast them fast. It works great to remove hair, soap scum, and other gunky clogs.
Avoid running hot water while you snake, and use cold water instead. If the pipe is severely clogged, it will only trap this hot water in the pipes and damage them. Don't force the snake into the drain too hard. Doing so could also damage the drain entrance or pipe.
If standing water remains, use Drano® Max Gel Clog Remover. It pours straight through the water and attacks the clog directly.
It is Extremely Corrosive For Your Drains
This can put a great deal of stress on your drains as the heat can cause PVC pipes to soften and even break or collapse. While it is dissolving your clog, Drano can also quickly eat away at the glue holding your pipes together, leading to a potentially costly leak.
Drano damages plumbing systems.
Drano sits in a pipe until the clog dissolves, continually reacting and generating heat. Toilet bowls can crack. PVC pipes can soften and eventually break. Old, corroded pipes can be easily damaged, and Drano can quickly eat away at the glue holding pipes together.
Repeatedly using liquid plumbers on drains that clog frequently can deteriorate your pipes and do more damage in the long run. If you experience repeat clogs in the same drains, nix the use of liquid plumbers and call in the professionals instead.
Drano Max Gel Drain Clog Remover and Cleaner for Shower or Sink Drains, Unclogs and Removes Hair, Soap Scum, Blockages, 80 oz.
Drano, like other chemical drain cleaners is a base, it raises the pH of the water in the trap. With metal pipes at room temperature, a high pH actually protects the pipe from corrosion. Plastic pipes are not really affected by most chemicals. Leaving drain cleaner in the trap longer will have no adverse affect.
Baking soda, vinegar and boiling water can help clean drains naturally, but you may need something stronger, like Liquid-Plumr, to fully unclog those really tough drain clogs.
Look in Your Kitchen Pantry
Baking soda and vinegar may unclog your drain better than Drano ever could.
While the phosphoric acid found in cola can help alleviate some minor clogs, carbonated beverages are certainly not the ideal drain cleaner. Better DIY methods include a baking soda/vinegar mixture, a plunger, or a plumber's snake.
Better to use an alkaline drain cleaner to dissolve the blockage. Because many drain blockages are caused by congealed fats and oils ( especially kitchen drains ). Boiling water will melt these types of blockages and allow them to flow.
Simply adding a combination of vinegar and baking soda will make a concoction that can unclog your drains. Pour half a box of baking soda down your drain. Pour half a cup of vinegar down the sink. Immediately cover the sink with a drain cover/stopper.
When it comes to clog removal, mix one part of baking soda with one part salt and four parts of boiling water. Dump this mixture down the drain and let it sit overnight. Flush your drain with hot water in the morning.