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?
I lose tons of hair when i wash it, unclogging the drain myself is a nightmare each and every time!! aaahh.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.About six months ago I washed clothes and the water backed up into the bathtub. I went to the store and got a bottle of drain cleaner, it did not work. I finally went back and got three bottles, put one down each drain, let it set overnight and then flushed with boiling water. No more clog! These tips sound way better!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have really long hair and it always get sinks clogged. We resulted in using liquid fire but don’t like to use all the chemicals around the kids.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I worked at a group home. There’s always excitement. We had a client who flushed things down the toilet. Door stops, was clothes, paper towels you name he flushed it. He ended up needing a new toilet because he broke his. He said he flushed things he didn’t need anymore. Lol
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My oldest once flushed a pair of his underpants just after being potty trained, Very expensive plumber bill followed!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Most disgusting clog was when I was a child and I saw my grandfather remove the toilet and then have to pry out a HUGE ball of poop…………. NASTY!
Nowadays my worst problem is my waist length thick hair clogging the tub even though I try my best to grab it all before it gets near the drain.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We’ve used the hair genie or whatever they call it now … a long plastic thingy (technical word for it!) with little fingers on it … you stick it down the drain and SNAG the hair clog … eeeewwwwww … I like the idea of the Drain Wig WAY BETTER! I can’t wait to try it!! (Besides .. all that mess can’t be good for our septic system!) …
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Years ago my daughter’s goldfish died and I secretly flushed it. Before I had time to sneak to the store and replace it,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.our drain in the basement began to gush horrible things across the floor. My daughter stood at the edge of the mess I was mopping. Suddenly she screamed “My fish, my fish. It swam to the basement!” I looked and there was poor Goldie. You know I never did admit to flushing the fish and for many years after she always wondered how it “swam” to the basement.
I need these right now! My husband has been working in another State since May. I can’t clean the drain without throwing up. The kids and I are taking “Navy” showers (get wet, soap up, rinse) so that we don’t have to stand in water because it drains so slowly. Eeewwww. Winning would be wonderful!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love my old house but the drains are a nightmare. My daughter and I both have longer hair and I keep a plunger in the shower so I can keep it at least flowing. I hate to put harsh chemicals down the drain but there are times I just have to…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have several but I think the worst was the night before my wedding. It was my Mom and my Aunt from out of town and myself. Laundry room upstairs and drain pipe clogged and it overflowed… I was in a downstairs room and saw a plastic bag moving slightly and thought…. what could be in it. Mouse? Rat? Ghost!!!??? Then I went to CAREFULLY pick it up and saw water… it was dripping from the ceiling!!! I ran upstairs and saw a huge flood. We spent hours cleaning up that mess and then I investigated… very long hairs had plugged up this drain…. Sheesh…they were mine. So we finished laundry and drank a bottle of wine as I packed for a honeymoon. Knowing it would make for a great memory someday…. still waiting.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We really need this little gadget..With me getting older and my hair falling out and my granddaughter with long beautiful hair, we deal with a drain clogged with hair all the time..Thanks for the opportunity to win one of these little DrainWig’s..
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My worst drain stories happen with my hair. I have really long hair and once the shower clogged up so bad that it took a hour or more for the water to drain. Nothing worked so finally I had to take off the drain cover and use long tweezer things to take the hair out. Turns out there was about 1/4 lb of hair stuck in the drain. Gross!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Two Stories.
1. One, when my son was little and in cloth diapers, I used to rinse them in the toilet. One time I was dipping it up and down and then flushing to clean it off. The diaper got away from me and went down the toilet. Miracle of miracles, it never clogged up!
2. Recently the bathroom my husband uses didn’t completely flush. He finally got it to work and then the toilet I use down the hall started to back up. I tried the soap and hot water, vinegar and baking soda, plunging, blah, blah, blah. We finally had to call a plumber. He opened the clean out that was outside and asked me to flush. A big wad of TP came out and that was all it took. My hubby uses a lot of paper!! We’ve been here almost 20 years and this is first time it happened. but it was awful. It took days to get plumber as we are in the boonies, so my husband had to use other people’s toilets. My toilet started working, so I used that. Whew!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When I was newly married we rented a little cottage house that was on a septic system. The landlord made sure we knew that only the “right kind” of toilet paper could go down the toilet. We were very careful. Then my younger teenage brother came to visit with my mom. He plugged the toilet so bad that literally everything came back up in the shower drain. It smelled so bad we had to eat out for two days. (The bathroom was just off the kitchen.) I was terrified because I was the one who had to go tell the landlord.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When I was a little girl, my parents built a new house with bathrooms and running water, we were used to having family reunions at our place with 60-70 people during the day for meals and around 25-30 staying overnight. The basement drain backed up so there was 3 inches of sewage on the floor. Something had not been put in right during building, what a mess
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use “Zip-It” — it is the best invention ever for $2.99 at Wal-Mart or True Value Hardware, etc.
It is yellow flexible plastic, 22 inches long, with little barbs along the length. Poke it down a drain, and it will catch all the hairs.
This is VERY simple to use !!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have really long hair to my low back (thanks to my husband’s request) and due to having hypothyroidism it’s always falling out! I have to clean the drain everytime I take a shower. So this device would be awesome!
The worst drain clog I’ve ever experienced was when I worked at Walmart. Someone or a group of someone’s, smeared the woman’s restroom with excrement and stuffed the toilets with feminine hygiene pads. They left water running in all the sinks and reoetatively flushed the yucky clogged toilets. It was a lake of excrement in the ladies room. And it just happened to be my day to clean it. I took another girl with me and we both threw up before we got very far. It took abot 15 of is to clean up that mess. I’ve had my son throw up in my hair and it wasn’t as bad as that! I hope to never experience anything g like that again!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love, Love, Love this idea!! Pulling hair out of the drain is the worst thing EVER! I MUST have this :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I flushed my toilet before leaving the house one day. I came back after running errands only to find out water kept running because of a clog. It flooded into my living room and what a mess! I guess the moral of the story is to always look behind you after using the toilet. I always do now! Thank you so much for taking the time to give us good tips!
Mary, CA
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is exactly what I need. My bathroom drains–sink and tub–have a contest to see which one clogs the fastest.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I used to work in the 3’s and 4’s room of an early education center. The kids were still all learning about going potty and flushing and some of them got “backed-up” themselves. It wasn’t uncommon to have the toilets flood due to clogged pipes. The water would be all over the floor, along with whatever else was in the toilet. I was often the one with the plunger, trying to get the toilets to flush again. Can’t say that I miss that aspect of the job. :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What a great device! This sounds like the answer to my constant slow drain problems due to hair clogging it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We lived in and managed motel for years, this is the cleanest story I can tell out of several:
Please log in or create a free account to comment.One morning the maid said a toilet was clogged. So the maintained man plunged it.
Still clogged he removed it to the grass area and rolled it over and over while slushing it with a hose and water pressure it a SET of false teeth fell out! The guest never came back or asked for them.
I have hypothyroidism and my hair is always falling out. It’s also so long that it’s down to my l
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