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?
We JUUUUST dealt with a clog in our shower that I was SURE we threw almost all of these remedies listed in this blog here :) Finally.. I poured a whole bottle of liquid plum’r at it. I’d rather not have to do that again, even if I don’t win this–I may buy it–it seems like an invaluable tool!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My mom took us 5 kids to my great aunts house and while we were visiting one of the kids used the bathroom. As kids will do, used way to much toilet paper and my aunt was on a septic. You guessed it! Toilet became plugged and water/poo went all over her bathroom. What a wet soggy mess! My mom could have literally died. My aunt, being the gentle special lady she was, told my mom that everything would be okay and they cleaned the mess up together.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We’ve had drain issues forever! My hair being the culprit 99% of the time. You would think I’d be bald by now…. Literally!
I frequently use the washing soda/vinegar solution to keep the gunk cleared out. However, I have to pull all my hair out of the drain with whatever I can find. Usually a clothes hanger or long surgical type tweezers! Ugkkkkk…..
Our drain stays clear for almost a month, then it’s time to retreat. See, I told you, I should be bald by now….
Please log in or create a free account to comment.D
Just wanted to share that I have always heard to be extremely careful pouring boiling water into a toilet, as the sudden change from very cold to hot can cause it to crack. Just be careful.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.A Drainwig would be great! Clogged hair in the shower/tub is disgusting! I have been known to use a plunger to get the water moving.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for all your great giveaways, Jillee!
i called a plumber out to unclog my kitchen sink about 3 years ago he said it will cost 75 dollars an hour i sent him packing after he left i told my husband who is disabled we can not afford that so i took vinegar, baking soda and boiling water to the drain it took about 5 times of adding and plunging but it finally broke loose i was so happy the plumber was saying he would have to locate the outside drain uncap it (but we had no idea as to where the outside drain was since we just bought the house not long before this happened ) could you even try to guess how much that 75 dollars could have run up to so thanks for all the tips you post i just love them
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have an old house = old pipes = plumbing issues :) Love this idea! Would love a chance to win this awesome product!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have semi long THICK hair..our drains are always clogging with my hair. That would work out great.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My son loved to put his toys in the toilet….I don’t know why kids like to do that. But we were always calling a plumber to get toys out of the drain.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.One Saturday morning, the toilet was once again overflowing and we were having a birthday party for my daughter that afternoon with lots of kids coming. We hurried and called the plumber and paid his outrageous fee for a weekend call. Everyone was sure it was more toys. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a tampon clogging the drain. The culprit could only be….me!
For 20 years the pipes in our home would get clogged with whatever…raised 6 little cloggers! My husband or myself would have to go outside and run a plumber’s snake up the pipes. Oh what a nasty job! Chunks of white pasty stuff would break loose and flow out, possibly fats and detergents from kitchen and bathroom. Well we finally found a cure, unbeknownst to us. For the past 10 years we have never had clogged pipes. The solution? …..My husband surprised me one day with a dishwasher. It took us two years to suddenly realize that we hadn’t cleaned out the pipes in a long time. It hit me one day that it had to be the super-heated water that was cleaning out the pipes! Who would have thunk! Hooray for the dishwasher! Hooray for the hubby!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When my son was about 1 he was super curious and flushed a toy down the toilet. I didn’t know for a little while but the toilet just would stay unclogged. One day #2 happened and OMG, worst mistake ever.. Let’s say it was like a brown swimming pool in my bathroom. And I live in a mobile home which makes it even worse!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Well, clogged drains absolutely disgust me. I’d rather clean someone else’s dirty toilet than my own clogged drain, true story. So my husband is the lucky one to dig my hair out of the drain now and again! This drain wig looks great, I know he would love it!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.yay! So clever! Now I won’t have to use hubby’s long screwdriver to pull out nasty hair, or a clothes hanger bent in a hook-shaped end. So glad to know I’m not alone with this problem. Thank You! The drain cleaners listed are so helpful also :-))
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The worst was a clogged bath tub. My girlfriend who was 8 months pregnant had washed her long hair and the drain backed up feeling bad she stuck her finger in the drain to see if she could pull the hair out and got her finger stuck in the drain. We tried liquid soap oil and ice to help her finger from swelling until the fire department showed up with a 8 month pregnant lady bent over with her finger stuck wearing a robe in the tub,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I remember when I was young, being the youngest of 6 kids our 1 bathroom wasn’t enough. I recall my dad trying to unclog the bathtub drain and it filling up up with the worst grossest black gunk that stunk the whole house up!! Ewww and uckkk!!! Memory smells (especially) bad ones are so hard to forget! Lol
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Reading through these stories almost gives me nightmares since I still have fairly young children at home. The most aggravating clog I ever had was probably when my son was under 6 years old and we were living in our church’s parsonage. Two of the men from our church had to end up taking the toilet up from the floor to find out that my son had flushed a toy. Thankfully they were able to fix it and we didn’t have to pay a plumber!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thankfully our drains work pretty well normally but hubby just had to clean the sink drain in a bathroom and yep hair was the problem. He was so disgusted by the smell that I’m sure he would greatly appreciate one of those little DrainWigs! lol Years of soap, hair and God knows what sure will stink if it sits long enough. hehe ;)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Our main drain backed up in the basement if a previous house. It was beyond disgusting. I need these!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for sharing these wonderful ways to unclog drains. The flower drain chain is great going to be sharing this product & placing an order.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.One of the worst is when you move into a new apartment and you have to remove hair from the drain that isn’t yours.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My guest bathroom sink was taking progressively longer to drain each time I used it- a sure sign that it’s getting clogged ;) ! My grandparents were coming to stay for the weekend, so I took it as an opportunity to finally tackle the silly sink. The plug cannot be fully removed, making it extremely difficult to unclog using many regular methods! I decided to stick a hanger down the pipe to bring up any hair down there, but I got more than I expected! I got a whole bunch of slimy, icky, brown gook! (With some strands of hair.) Ew! But I kept at it, until I brought up hairball after hairball. Boy was I glad when I decided that was it and the water actually drained normally! A Drainwig sounds great! No more touching ooey gooey hair and gook anymore! (Even with gloves on, my hands were left smelling after that expedition!) Thanks for your great posts, Jillee!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have to tell you that Amanda had me laughing out loud . . . Her description drew enormously hilarious pictures in my head. These are all ROTFL funny. We can all relate, we’ve all been through it and will again. I could never better some of the tales others have told, but boy have I had fun reading them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We had our basement flood once. The drain outside the door filled with leaves (well, not the drain, but the drain cover) and rain water flowed under the door. Oddly, it followed a path in front of the washer/dryer, down the short hall, around the corner (completely avoiding the downstairs bedroom and kids’ playroom) and out to the garage. It was still awful, but not as disastrous as it could have been had it entered either of the main roomson that floor.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Of course the worst clogs happen just before you’re having company! Like when you’re hosting your first thanksgiving dinner and your parents are about to meet his parents for the first time. Needless to say we panicked, plunged, dumped drain cleaners and the like until moments before everyone arrived! Thank goodness we could pull the shower curtain closed! This little contraption is genius and just might save us from another mishap!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.ahhh—makes me want to go take the shower apart in our drain right now. This looks like a great invention.
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