This is my favourite all natural way to clean our drains! I got the recipe from Young House Love (in addition to a ton of other all natural cleaning recipes!).
First, I sprinkle about 1/2 cup of Baking soda on my drain, add about an equal amount of vinegar and let it bubble up like so:
After a few minutes, dump boiling water over top.
(You can do this cleaning method with the plug in or out, it works both ways.)
Presto! A clean drain every time without harming the environment. :)
Feel free to scrub away all the stains on your sink too. It removes just about any stubborn stain.
Tell me this will work in the bathtub!
I love this! Thanks so much for sharing, Angela. With a toddler in the house, I’m always looking for natural home cleaning methods.
When do you pull out the drain plug? Before boiling water?
yup! Sorry Ill add that in :)
This post makes me so happy! I’m always looking for ways to “green” my life – this is perfect!
I’ve been told that boiling water is bad if you have PVC pipes. The baking soda trick works for “cleaning” a drain, but a drain that is truly clogged (like a bathtub that drains slowly) has to have the physical block (usually hair) removed. You can do this with a zip-tie type plastic tool you can get at a hardware store for like $2. I think the one we bought was called a zip-it.
Thanks for the info! I havent heard that boiling water is bad for drains, but I’ll have to check that out.
Hmm. I’ve tried this on my kitchen sink before (slightly blocked ever since we moved in) and it didn’t work. Think we need something more hardcore.
ohhh we need something like this. I am so uncomfortable with the chemicals my husband buys for our sink. He keeps buying them and I keep throwing them out! Hopefully this will do the trick! :)
Oooh I need to try this! I’ve been cleaning my room lately and have sort of been toying with the idea of giving my kitchen a complete deep cleaning, but I hate the idea of usng all the chemically cleansers under the sink (I didn’t put them there – my mum bought them for me. I think she thought I wouldn’t clean if I had to buy my own, but she’s not very eco-conscious!) I’m writing down your drain cleaner mix for sure!
Thank you for sharing! Will definitely use this (and it’s much cheaper than buying some products).
Definitely my favourite way to deal with drains. I’ve been using this combination since I heard about it almost 10 years ago. A sure winner!
i do this in my bathtub too!=)
Awesome tip! I use ENJO, a chemical free cleaning line, but I admit I still use Drano for slow drains. I will definitely be trying this recipe. It feels so amazing to have a chemical free home!
Love this! Definitely have to try!
I was wondering if this will take odor out of the drain too? My boyfriend uses soooo many onions in his cooking (kinda gross, I know), our drain is stinky stinky stinky! Even after running hot water and soap down the drain, it doesn’t help the smell that much!
I’ve tried this on my kitchen sink before