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.
Baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid; when the two are combined, you get a fizzy chemical reaction that has some properties that can eat away at a clog. However, when you use this combination to unclog a drain, it's just plain ineffective.
What if The Baking Soda & Vinegar Hack Doesn't Work? If your drain doesn't unclog right away, repeat the baking soda & vinegar process another time or two. If you have a stubborn clog, sometimes the baking soda & vinegar trick just doesn't work. You may have to use a sink plunger to help push through the blockage.
Cover with the drain plug and wait 5 to 10 minutes.
It is safe to leave baking soda (and vinegar) to work overnight to unclog a drain. Always flush this mixture down with boiling water—no matter how long you leave it sitting in the drain.
Baking soda powder will turn into a cement like mass and completely clog everything it settles in.
A monthly cleaning will allow you to use safe cleaning methods which will save you time, energy and money in the long term. Combine 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of very hot water, and 1 half cup of baking soda and pour the mixture down the drain.
Vinegar and baking soda won't unclog drains. All they do is neutralize each other and produce CO2, which is only good for putting out matches. As for Drano: It's better to use non-chemical methods first.
If your drain is clogged with hair, baking soda can dissolve hair in a drain. To try this safe and easy method at home - first, pour a cup of baking soda down the drain. Then pour a cup of vinegar (white vinegar) down. Allow the mixture to sit for several minutes.
Look in Your Kitchen Pantry
Baking soda and vinegar may unclog your drain better than Drano ever could. Start by getting rid of the standing water in your drain. If it will go down slowly, just wait until it's gone.
Adding vinegar to baking soda gives you an immediate reaction. Adding baking soda to vinegar, the reaction is delayed, but then fizzes the same amount. More vinegar is better. A 12 to 1 ratio of vinegar to baking soda caused a fizzing explosion!
When baking soda is mixed with vinegar, something new is formed. The mixture quickly foams up with carbon dioxide gas. If enough vinegar is used, all of the baking soda can be made to react and disappear into the vinegar solution.
Vinegar. Vinegar is both safe and beneficial to pour down your drain. It acts as a natural cleaning solution and can remove blockages and harmful bacteria that cause foul odors.
Using a snake is also more invasive and time-consuming than using a chemical cleaner is, and can often become a dirty job. When it comes to getting at and removing major clogs or clogs that are deep down in your pipes, however, a plumber's snake is your best bet.
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.
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.
Or you can pour one cup of vinegar down the drain and let it sit for 30 minutes, followed by a rinse with two quarts of very hot water.
If you didn't use a chemical drain cleaner, try pouring a gallon of hot (almost boiling) water and a quarter cup of Dawn dish detergent (or any de-greasing dish detergent) down the clogged drain. The hot water and de-greasing agent may break up the clog. Get out your trusty plunger.
Drop in 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain. Pour in 1 cup of vinegar, cover the drain with a plug and let sit for 10 minutes – you will hear fizzing. Rinse with more hot water.
Pouring boiling water is quite risky as it might lead to a steam burn or scalding. Another thing to keep in mind is what type of material you are pouring in into. If you have a porcelain sink, it is likely to crack due to the heat. All in all, pouring boiling water down your drain will only cause issues down the road.
The black gunk that accumulates in your sink drain is created by a buildup of bacteria living on hair, hand soaps, shaving cream, skin cells, lotion, toothpaste, and phlegm (yuck!). The problem with this black gunk is it will not go away by itself.
Leave it in the drain for an hour or two or overnight, and then flush the drain with hot tap water. For larger drains, such as tubs and kitchen sinks, use about a quarter-cup of baking soda, a half-cup of water to move the powder down, and 2 cups of vinegar.
“I use the time-honored baking soda and vinegar trick. Dump a good handful of baking soda into the drain, let sit (don't run any water) for 15 minutes, then pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup white vinegar down. Watch the bubbles, hear the pops and fizz, and let it sit for another 15 minutes. Then, boiling water and voila!
If you're unable to reach into the drain to remove the clog by pulling it out, baking soda, vinegar, and hot water may do the trick. Simply pour one cup of baking soda followed by one cup of vinegar down the drain. Give it a few minutes to fizz (at least five, preferably longer), then rinse the drain with hot water.