Are you conscious of what chemicals you use in your home and put down your drains? Don’t you wish you could unstop your drains when you need to without using caustic drain cleaners? You do it Green yourselfer’s can indeed make DIY drain cleaners for clogged drains.
It’s almost impossible to prevent bits of food particles down your sink’s drain. Sooner or later your drain may slow down or stop up all together. If your sink drain is running slowly try these things:
1. Green DIY Drain Cleaner-Boiling Water
You can’t help getting some grease down your drain when you wash dishes. As you pull the plug and let the water out, whatever grease was in the water will solidify on the inside of the drain. Often when your drains are stopped up you can’t get them unstopped with a plunger, and boiling water is just the thing. Whenever you or someone in your home cooks, you should be sure to never pour the hot grease down the sink. Pour it into a throw away container and toss it out, or wait for it to cool off and empty the grease into your trash can.
Boiling water is one of the most effective green DIY drain cleaners. Just boil a pot full of water and slowly pour it down your clogged drain. As the hot water comes in contact with the sides of your slow drain it will melt the grease as the water passes through it. You can also use boiling water to unclog your shower drain. Sometimes that is all it will take to get your shower or bathtub drain to working again.
2. Green DIY Drain Cleaner-Baking Soda and Very Hot Water
If boiling water alone, is not successful, the next best DIY drain cleaner is baking soda. Take 1 box of baking soda and pour it down your drain. If your drain is completely stopped up pour the baking soda over the drain. Heat a tea kettle or pot of water to nearly boiling and pour the hot water over the drain. Hot water creates a chemical reaction with baking soda that will be effective in unclogging your drains.
3. Green DIY Drain Cleaner-Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar
I learned this green DIY drain cleaner from a very good AC content producer friend, Melanie. She lives in an apartment building with very old pipes. Her shower drain would always clog up and her landlord was slow about coming to check out her drains. She read where
baking soda and apple cider vinegar was good for unclogging drains. She used this combination of natural chemicals and they worked like a charm. I had a clogged kitchen drain and I tried it. It worked! I now keep apple cider vinegar and baking soda under my sink at all times. When my drains start to get clogged up I use this effective DIY drain cleaner.
4. Green DIY Drain Cleaner-Salt and Baking Soda
Pour one cup of table salt and baking soda down your drain. Follow with about a quart of boiling water. The boiling water softens the grease and the salt and baking soda act as a mild abrasive to scour away the grease.
5. Green DIY Drain Cleaner-Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
As a DIY drain cleaner, washing soda is good at removing hair clogs in your sink and shower drains. Just use your laundry washing soda with boiling water and your hair clog will be gone. Washing soda works more effectively than baking soda because it is more alkaline. It will soften the hair clogs so that it will wash away freely.
Green DIY Drain Cleaner-Warning about Use with Commercial Drain Cleaning Products
Be sure that you never add homemade drain cleaning materials, such as vinegar, salt, or baking soda to drains that have any traces of commercial drain cleaning products in them. There could be a really bad chemical reaction that could cause personal injury.
Green DIY Drain Cleaner-Warning about Sink Plunger Use with Commercial Drain Cleaning Products
It is perfectly okay to use your sink plunger to help remove clogged particles from your sink or shower drain; however, do not ever use a plunger when commercial drain cleaning products. The splash could cause chemicals to make contact with your skin and cause chemical burns.
Green DIY Drain Cleaner-Pipe Auger Snake Clog Remover for Clogged Drains
If you have stubborn clogged drains, and no other green DIY drain cleaner has worked effectively, you may try a DIY drain clog remover, such as a pipe auger snake clog remover. A pipe auger snake clog remover is a cable snake that can be put down the drain to snag or dislodge a clog so it can be removed or flushed away.
Try one or all of these methods and see which one works the most effectively for you. Each clog may respond differently. One clog may clear with just boiling water, while others may respond to one of the others. If all fails you can purchase a drain and pipe snake for under $20 on eBay that will be effective in clearing your drains.
Sources:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/cloggeddrains
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/clearing-clogged-drains.html
