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?
A few years ago I was in the middle of prep for a colonoscopy. Sometime in those couple of days I misplaced my cell phone. A week or two later, the toilet in our extra bath started working really strange, and the finally clogged where we could NOT unclog it. Called the plumber, they pulled the toilet to find my cell phone….stuck….and so stuck that we had to replace the toilet. It was a sad day that my phone cause so much trouble. Moral to the story – keep your phone out of your back pocket and truly…out of the bathroom!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My daughter has super long hair and my hair falls out very easily. We are all the time having to clean out the shower. The sink got so clogged up that it would barely drain at more than a trickle. We had to try every trick we could think of to get our sink working again!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I can’t tell you how much money your tips have saved me in the past, Jillee. Wish I had it all in hand. LOL Drains are the biggie around here since my son and his family are living with us now. His hair is very long and with 6 people using the same shower I am in constant fear of a drain back-up. I have weathered many back-ups, but at my age, I would prefer not to have to deal with any more. I seriously need this give away!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have wanted to try these now for quite some time!! My worst clog was in my son’s shower. He played w toys in the shower and unbeknown to me, the drain cover had been pushed off. I was quite surprised when I finally pulled out several Legos
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We have the hair in the tub drain problem too. But the worst was in the kitchen sink due to our old pipes and the garbage disposal. Over time the pipes have corroded and things don’t go down like they should. It’s so bad we have had to dishes in the bathtub. Our plumber has said he never allows his wife to have a a garbage disposal, even in a house with new pipes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.As a woman alone (with Long hair that sheds alot) you can imagine my concern when day after day my shower water was taking more and more time to drain….sometimes hours later there was still water S L O W L Y trickeling out of the tub. This is a rental duplex, but I didn’t want to call my landlords, surely I could figure this out. Well, I tried ‘potions, lotions, and magical notions’ for weeks until I finally came across a less toxic product to try, but things still were a mess. I finally used the product one last time and felt like it would help to wait the suggested time and then begin pouring huge pans of boiling water into the drain.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thus began the boiling marathon. I filled my
dutch oven soup pan, brought the water to a rolling boil and poured it right over the tub
drain (after removing the metal stopper). Time after time. After about the 8th pan full of boiling water (can you imagine how carefully you have to walk through the house with a Full Dutch oven of boiling water?) the blockage gave way and I was dancing for joy!!!
One of these little items would be a great
asset in this house.
Thanks, Jillee, for bringing so much light and joy into our lives. Where were without
all you help? Blessings.
i have hairy dogs that like to roll in nasty things. need i say more? :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is kind of awesome. Now, I already know that I’m weird, but I find the process of pulling hair out of a drain and then having a *clean* drain…therapeutic? Weird, I know. Believe me, I know.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We had just moved into a new house SO of course we hosted Thanksgiving dinner. I was so excited and everyone was busy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My son volunteered to peel potatoes and it was great.
Just before we started to eat I decided to clear the sink, so I ran the water and turned the garbage disposal on. Then it happened everything started coming up out of the disposal. It looked muddy and gooey yuck (and just before dinner) I noticed the Potatoe peelings coming up and yep it was clogged.
The only thing I had was a plunger. IT Took US Half An Hour AND A LOT Of Plunging TO GET It cleared.
But dinner was good!.
we have 2 dogs and myself that loose a lot of hair. I have to clean my drain every 2 weeks to try to keep it clean. I tried the drain covers to stop it but they don’t let the water do down the drain. I could really use a DrainWig.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Clogged showers are a regular occurrence as my daughter and I have long hair. I dread the periodic maintenance when the back up starts. The traps we’ve used in the past never seemed to work and became pretty gross, too, after a bit.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.These sound amazing!! Thanks for sharing!
Our apartment plumbing is configured so that if there is a clog in the pipes, the kitchen will back up into the bathtub…gross. Last night I was handling a burnt, greasy pan and not wanting a clog to occur, decided to use your baking soda/vinegar method. But, I spilled the baking soda; almost 2 cups landed in the drain. Didn’t think it mattered since a small amount of vinegar would handle it, right? Wrong. I poured a little vinegar in, it would bubble and froth and then stop. I ended up using the whole quart of vinegar to clean the drain of baking soda. On the plus side, I’m sure the grease is gone too.
If the hair can be stopped before that spot just below the place where the kitchen drain enters, I will sing your praises forever!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Three years ago, we moved to our new house (It was built 5 years prior). My grand daughter (age 6) had a BM and flushed. She started yelling about the toilet and I rushed in there just in time before it over flowed. After a while the water level went down and I saw the LARGEST BM EVER. I looked at her then the BM and I couldn’t believe that could ever come out of her!! I thought about it for a moment and got a knife and CHOPPED UP HER BM then flushed it down. Washed the knife and my hands and stored the knife in the bottom drawer in the bathroom. I also informed Jersi that from now on when she has a BM not to flush, but get G-MA and I will deal with it. No more problems………….
Please log in or create a free account to comment.At my old house, the only bathroom was upstairs, above my living room. My bathtub got a horrible clog no chemicals would touch, so I had to call a plumber (which I couldn’t really afford, but ran out of options!). The clog was so bad, and so far down into the pipes, he had to cut a hole in the ceiling of my living room to get access to the pipes, open them up-nasty water went all over my floors!!- and he had to use a snake to get the clog out. Apparently, my hair is so strong that the plumber couldn’t pull it off the snake but had to cut it off. Took him a couple hours before he was done and I finally had a clog free bathtub again!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.And the hole was still in the ceiling when I left that house.
Hmmmmm…..like all amazing ideas, simple!! And I think one could make a pretty reasonable facsimile with dollar store flowers, chain from the hardware store and zap straps (cable ties) for the little “arms”. I bet you could make them for pennies, which could be a real saving for a household full of women!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We had just bought our first home. I took a shower and the tub filled up and wasn’t draining. Hubby took the drain apart and it was filled with hair and food. It was really gross!!! The people who owned the house before us told us there was a family that rented the house and they never had trash on trash day. We made sure all the pipes where professionally cleaned after that.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have fine but very thick,dark hair that falls out at a rate that would make one think I am going bald. I have lived a life of clogged drains due to this. But, the worst one was when one of my children ,toddler age, decided it would be fun to flush their toothbrush….. more than once. After having to pull the toilet up, retrieve said object, and replace the ring about three times, the toothbrushing became a highly supervised activity for many years.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I don’t have a horror story, but I am tired of removing the pipes in my bathroom sink to clean out all the hair and other build up every few months. It’s so gross! And I realized yesterday it is time to do it again.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Lately my kitchen drain is a problem…… so I’m the culprit… I know its greasy stuff, from washing pans after frying bacon. I’ve tried soda/vinegar, lots of hot water, it still doesn’t work well, so will try your suggestions.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When my son was little he flushed his toy boat down he toilet. We had to remove the toilet to fix.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When my niece was about 3, she put an entire package of baby wipes in my toilet one by one on Thanksgiving day. Then she flushed several times because they wouldn’t go down. Flooded the bathroom and the hallway, and I had to dig out the wipes by hand after I finished mopping.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When my oldest was a toddler, he was playing in the tub and two Weeble Wobble people went down the drain. What a mess trying to fish them out. After that he was only allowed extra large toys in the bath.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I can’t remember any really bad clogs, but I have super thick, super long hair that goes all the way down to my hips. Needless to say, I could really use something to catch all that thick long hair.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My tub was clogged up and I put the shop vac hose in the drain hole and turned it on. Within a few minutes the clog was sucked up. Water drained quickly out of the tub.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The worst one I can think of was the toilet when we first moved in. Fortunately nothing nasty was in it but I was home alone and was freaking out since nothing was unpacked and I didn’t even know “the lay of the land” as far as shut offs. Panic!!
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