My Drain is Clogged, Again!
Over the past 2 months I have been dealing with a slow draining sink. That means that all sorts of stuff just gets stuck in the sink and makes it gross after the water has drained out. Yuck! Instead of me enjoying a newly cleaned sink for a bit longer, I have instead been staring at the sink thinking, “I should really take care of that!” Today was finally the day that I couldn’t take another second of this issue. My drain is clogged. Beside the fact that I avoid using chemicals whenever possible, I also do not like putting chemicals into my septic tank. For those of you who have no experience with septic tanks, there are leach fields out in the year and eventually what you put into your drain eventually leaks out into the leech field under ground. While my gardens are not located near the leach fields, I most certainly do not want toxic chemicals in my yard.
What Natural Options Do You Have to Clean out Your Drain?
Here are my favorite items that I use to clean out my sink and bathtub drains. I listed them in the order I normally use them.
- Zip-it Tool
- Vinegar, Baking Soda and Boiling Hot Water
Zip-it Tool
The interesting thing is that this tool was a Father’s Day gift for my husband and I honestly feel like it was a Mother’s Day gift for me. I love this thing! It’s made in the USA, it’s effective, sturdy and very inexpensive compared to hiring a plumber or buying toxic drain cleaners. It has super awesome gripping “teeth” and it’s long handle allows you to get pretty far into the drain to remove stuck hair.
Now if you think someone may have stuffed coins, toys, food or other objects down the drain, this tool may not be of great help to you. It’s really best for hair removal and other scum that is blocking the drain. I stuck it down my sink drain and this is what came out. Again, yuck!
Baking Soda, Vinegar, & Hot Water
This is a great way to remove a clog naturally especially if you do not have the Zip-it tool. Also if the clog seems to be stubborn even after using the Zip-it tool. If there is something stuck in the drain, I would certainly try this as my second option. It’s been successful following the directions below on numerous occasions.
- Pour a pot of boiling hot water down your drain saving 1 cup of boiling water for the 3rd step. Start boiling another pot of water to prepare for the last step.
- Pour 1/2 c. baking soda down drain or try to get it down the drain if there is standing water. Let that sit for 5 minutes.
- Next, pour a mixture of 1 c white vinegar and 1 c boiled water down on top of the baking soda.
- In order to keep the reaction down below the surface of the drain, cover with a drain plug if you have one. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Pour another pot of boiling water down the drain and your drain should be cleared at this point.
How to avoid getting a clogged drain
One of the best ways to avoid getting a clogged drain is to not put certain items down the drain. Hair, clay, grease, food (on non-garbage disposal side), and objects such as toys clog drains. If you do have grease you need to get rid of, put a paper towel into a container that you’re throwing out. Next, pour the cooled grease into the container. If you use clay in large quantities, wipe it off the skin and toss it in the trash. Don’t allow it to rinse in the sink or shower. I learned this lesson the hard way. I used clay a few times as part of my underarm detox routine and ended up with thickened clay deposits in my drain. It also caused water to backup into my shower.
Hair is one the most common things you’ll pull out of bathroom drains. It’s best not to brush your hair around your bathroom sink. If hair lands in the sink, remove it instead of washing it down. Purchase a mesh drain strainer or a drain hair stopper to help keep hair from going down the drain.
What natural methods do you use to unclog your drains?
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