Cheap, Organic Drain Cleaner

Clogged drains are a pain, and nobody really wants to use toxic drain cleaners that are powerful to strip the flesh from your fingers. Having tried an “environmentally friendly” drain cleaner that was $20 for a small container, I can attest to the fact that it didn’t work at all, and I was forced back to toxic crap.

Enter baking soda and vinegar.

An AMAZING drain cleaner. I was simply astounded at how well it works.

Our bathroom sink gets clogged periodically, and I put about 1/2 a cup of baking soda down the drain (where I could still see water), poured a small amount of water in to help the baking soda work its way down the drain, then started pouring in about 1/2 of a cup of vinegar.

Well, lo and behold, the drain is unclogged.

With baking soda and vinegar.

I figure I could probably get better results by quickly filling the sink with about 4 cm of water above the drain, then plugging the drain with a plunger. Or, if you live in North America where sink drains have plugs that snugly fit the drain, simply plug the drain. That would add pressure. But either way, I was pleased with the results.

Costs:

ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda – 13.5 lb. bag – $17.62 (this is exactly what we use)

Bakers & Chefs Vinegar – 2×1 gallon jugs – $5.91 (this is just some cheap vinegar at a glance)

Actual usage was about 150 g of baking soda (about $0.43) and about 150 ml of vinegar ($0.12), or about $0.55.

You probably already have this in your house, so the next time your drain is clogged, give it a try. Not only is it cheap and effective, but it’s non-toxic.

Cheers,

Ryan