I live in a house with VERY temperamental pipes! Over the years we have had 3 floods in the basement and numerous backed-up sinks, showers and tubs — all due to clogs! That’s a lot of time, money and consternation! Needless to say clogged drains cause me a great deal of fear and loathing! That’s why whenever I run across a way to DEAL with them I am compelled to read about it, try it, and SHARE it! :-)
I was actually surprised to realize just how much sharing I’ve already done about clogged drains in the past on this blog. A quick search revealed FIVE home remedies I’ve already written about, and you can read the posts by clicking on the links.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
Empty one-half cup baking soda down the drain, followed by one-half cup white vinegar. Cover the drain and let mixture stand for a few minutes. Then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain. The baking soda and vinegar dissolve fatty acids, allowing the clog to wash down the drain.
Borax
Unclog drains with 1/2 cup of borax followed by 2 cups of boiling water. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then run your water for a few minutes to flush it out.
Dawn Dish Soap
A cup of Dawn detergent poured into a clogged toilet allowed to sit for 15 minutes and then followed with a bucket of hot water poured from waist height will clear out the toilet.
The Secret Plumber’s Trick
Fill a bucket with hot water. Pour the hot water down the toilet and the clog should be fixed in no time. The heat melts the fats in the “clog” & makes it all more flushable.
A Wet/Dry Vacuum
With the sink overflow hole blocked and a rag placed over the drain, press the end of your wet dry vacuum’s hose against the drain to form a tight seal. Then turn the vacuum on and let it do all the hard work for you!
All of these I have personally tried and have saved me countless plumber service calls! Not to mention they are inexpensive and non-toxic – unlike traditional drain cleaners that are EXTREMELY toxic!
Do you have any tips for dealing with clogged drains?
Would love to try these! Will it work on a drain that has the pop up plugger thing? I obviously don’t know the technical term :) I don’t have a drain story but my hubby hates cleaning my sink drain when it clogs so this would work great if I can use it w my kind of sink.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.A couple years ago my husband did his every 3 month shower drain clean up. My hair falls out a lot when I shower. He put on my kitchen cleaning gloves, grabbed my tweezers and went to work. After working on the drain for awhile he finally pulled a big slimy blob of hair out. I said eww and he pretended to sling it at me and it actually landed on my face. He busted up laughing and to this day I still believe he did it on purpose even though he claims he didn’t.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Another toddler story – lived in a small rental house when my son was around 2, toilet overflowed and the landlord found a bar of soap in it. Guessed he was trying to be a big boy and wash his hands and it slipped out, landing in the bowl. I would have thought it would have dissolved but the cold water kept it intact.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have clogged many a shower and bathtub drain with my hair, but most recently it was a combination of my hair and the residual coconut flakes in the drain. You’re probably wondering why there would be coconut flakes in my drain, well I have super curly hair and I started using Lush’s Curly Wurly shampoo. It’s great for my hair, but not so great for my drain. The buildup of the coconut flakes from the Curly Wurly shampoo and the hair that makes it way down the drain recently caused my water to backup into my tub while I shower. I tried the baking soda and vinegar method, and thankfully that has worked!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve also found that brushing your hair to get as much of the loose strands out prior to showering helps reduce the amount of hair in the shower. I also keep a wet brush in my shower to collect as much hair as I can when I rinse out my conditioner.
Just a few weeks ago, our shower drain was SLOW moving. We tried everything to unclog this drain but nothing worked. We tried the baking soda and vinegar trick followed by hot water. We bought a snake but couldn’t reach the clog. We ended up having to call a plummer and he pulled out a lovely chunk of hair. I tried to blame in on my husband but I don’t think the plummer went for it;) This Drain Wig would be great!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jill!
Sorry to butt in on this subject, but I wouldn’t know how else to get your attention…
I happened accross a website on glutenfree, machine baked bread and I thought you might be interested.
http://glutenfreeeasily.com/bountiful-bread-basket-top-20-gluten-free-best-bread-machine-recipes-tips/
I hope it helps you finding bread for your son.
After you’ve read this, feel free to delete it, as it has no bearing on clogged drains ;)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It started with our toilet, one day it wouldn’t flush anymore, soon we couldn’t even use our bathtub, it was horrible. My parents tried everything and finally called a plumber… It turns out my little sister had flushed a pad down the toilet… It was so embarrassing…. I will never forget that…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Our worst and maybe the most humorous was when my daughters’ commode got stuck. You could use it and flush but it would clog. If you let it sit, it would eventually go down when the TP and whatever else was there disintegrated. However, if someone went in the meantime, it would overflow. We tried everything to clear the clog before we called the plumber. He came out and tried to snake it. Nothing. Same problem. He took the commode off and snaked the lower pipes, same problem. He went up the bottom of the commode and could not get anything. Finally we told him to replace it. The one favor I asked was that when he was done could he please smash the toilet to find out what was clogging the commode. So here is my plumber in the driveway smashing a commode with a sledge hammer. Turns
We’ve had other issues along the way, eggs in out drain turning to concrete on Thanksgiving, long hair, lost contacts. Our plumber knows us quite well and tells me, “Cathy, it’s people like you that keep me in business!”
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I unclog my bathtub drain every so often and even it is my own hair , mixed with soap it makes me sick to my stomach removing that hair from the drain, I will be getting that drainwig for sure and will certainly tell all my friends
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great invention !!!!!!’ Bravo
The absolute worst clog is the one that happens in the toilet when the icky, nasty, funky water overflows onto the floor along with most of the “clog”. It’s a race to get it plunged before it gets too full & you know it’s either going to splash on you or head over the edge!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The night of my wedding reception, surrounded by friends and family, my brother proudly posed with a plunger! The picture is in my wedding album! The basement bathroom was also the laundry room and although he was able to clear the sink and toilet enough to get the water to flow very slowly, nobody used the facilities in that room the rest of the weekend! The plumber came and had to replace some of the pipes the following week. . It was really bad!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Two teenagers with long hair who have to shampoo in the shower on a daily basis. Help us, Drain Wig!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When I was about 7 yrs. old our family went on a vacation and we stopped at an old warehouse restaurant to use their bathroom. The ceilings were about 15 feet high. I flushed and all of a sudden the toilet pipes burst sending a ‘fountain’ shooting almost to the ceiling drenching me as I stood screaming trying to unlock the stall door, unable to see from the torrent of water!! My mother tried to calm me down so I could escape but by the time I was able to finally get free the whole restroom was flooded! My poor Mom was very concerned about me but also was dying from laughter from the absurdity of the situation. NOW when I think about it I chuckle too!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We used to always have family at our house (and I have a HUGE family) for Christmas and/ or Thanksgiving. We only had 1 bathroom, and every single time it would get clogged! It usually ended up running into the back room where we did our laundry and it was all over the floor. It was horrible!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This past year I got upper dentures & use denture powder, applying it in the sink. I have double sinks in my bathroom & while I’ve had problems with one sink draining I made sure to use the other. When I realized how the powder could build up on the bottom of the sink I worried about the pipes & stopped applying it there. Everything has been fine for months until this last weekend when a pipe in the front yard broke. That sink backed up & about 1/3-1/2″ of what looks like the powder settled on the bottom of the sink & smelled like a dirty diaper. Needless to say it was gross to clean up.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have very long hair, it is down past my waist and I seem to lose hair by the handful in the shower! Well I try to remember to grab it before it heads down the drain, but sometimes it is too fast! So by the time my hair goes down the drain and hubby shaves or showers after a haircut and all the long and short hairs combine, it doesn’t take long for the drain to start running slow again. I have a little pair of scissors that I use to cut the hair in the drain so that I can pull it out, otherwise it won’t budge! This little contraction would be great to put in my shower and make hubby happy!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee.
One thing I need to add: The drain is in the bathroom and we have a dog so much hair is drained. Do you have any ide to prevent this?
Cheers and thanks in advance
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Tobi
Hi Jillee.
This is truly fantastic. I personally have one drain that is clogged literally every single month. Again and again. Do you have any idea on how to prevent this drain to get clogged all the time?
Cheers and thanks
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Tobi
Simply the easiest and best ways to clear drains. TY
Please log in or create a free account to comment.very much.