6 Natural Homemade Drain Cleaners That Actually Work

If you are fed up with your smelly drain or you unexpectedly encounter a blocked drain at your home, there are some household items that can help you in a flash!

Most likely you’ve got them stored under the kitchen sink.

What’s great is that natural, homemade cleaners are safer for you and your family than toxic chemical or synthetic cleaners. They also will not damage your pipes!

In this article you will learn all about:

1. Cleaning A Smelly Drain
2. What Is A Blocked Drain?
3. Common Causes Of Most Blocked Drains
4. 6 Natural Homemade Drain Cleaners
       4.1 Bi-carb and vinegar
       4.2 Bi-carb and salt
       4.3 Hot water and dish soap
       4.4 A Plunger
       4.5 Borax, salt and vinegar
       4.6 A wire hanger
5. What are the benefits of using natural, homemade drain cleaning solutions?
6. Why Should I Stay Away From Chemical Drain Cleaners?
7. What are the best ways to prevent smelly and blocked drains?
8. When To Bring In A Professional
9. Why Choose VIP Drains – Our Promise To You

CLEANING A SMELLY DRAIN

Firstly, why do drains start to smell?

Your home’s drains carry a lot of water, debris and dirt away from the bathrooms, laundry and kitchen. They are the veins of your home’s plumbing system and they need to be treated with regular maintenance and care.

When you neglect your drains – by putting the ‘wrong’ things down the drain – you will start to see some ‘symptoms’ arise.

One of the main symptoms is a distinctive smell.

Smells come up through the drain due to debris like food scraps, fats and oils getting caught in the pipes and over time will create a very smelly drain.

Mould, drain flies and old pipes that have started to deteriorate can also cause a drain to smell.

If you have a blockage further along your pipes (maybe even a cracked pipe or a logged tree root) then, a smell will sooner or later make its way up your drain.

A professional opinion: If you know that you don’t often put the ‘wrong’ things down the drain and your pipes are generally pretty clean BUT you still have a stinky smell hanging around, then it might be time to call the pro’s and get some expert eyes to inspect what’s going on.

WHAT IS A BLOCKED DRAIN?

A blocked drain is basically any drain in your home or property that has debris, foreign objects or organic matter ‘stuck’ in the drain and/or the pipes below your drain so much so that it has ‘blocked’ your drain.

This blockage inhibits your drain to work properly and instead of water and waste flowing freely through your pipes and into the public main system, it gets stuck, flows slowly and could even come back up through your drain.

Your kitchen sink, laundry sink, bathroom sink, bath, shower, stormwater, toilet and garden drains can all become blocked and you will most likely encounter at least one blocked drain a year.

COMMON CAUSES OF MOST BLOCKED DRAINS

1. Bathroom Drains: Think about all the *stuff* that goes down your bathtub, bathroom sink and shower drain. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, so-much-hair!
2. Kitchen Drains: A block in your kitchen sink drain usually occurs at the trap. Things like: food scraps, fats and oils, coffee grounds, vegetable cut-offs, cooking twine and string are big offenders. The only thing that needs to go down the kitchen sink drain is water and suds from washing the dishes and your hands.
3. Blocked toilets: Blocked toilets are drains that require immediate attention. If foreign items that don’t belong in a drain: “flushable” wipes, sanitary pads, nappies, kitty litter, make up pads, etc get flushed, there is a high likelihood they will cause a blockage in the trap that needs an expert to unclog.
4. Accumulation: A blocked drain can also occur from an obstruction further ‘along the line’. Usually, this is a fatberg that has accumulated over time from oils, fats and materials like ‘flushable’ wipes getting caught together and clumping up, creating one large mass of material. For more information on fatberg’s check out this video for a short explanation:
5. Tree Roots: A blocked drain from an obstruction can also be caused by an infiltration of aggressive tree roots, which use tiny cracks in your sewer line to grow in the nutrient-rich water and grow through your pipes.

Bottom line, any blocked drain can be a sign your Main Drain is clogged. If your main drain is clogged, ANYTHING you flush down a drain will end up getting stuck, not able to pass through the pipes. When this happens, your water, waste and any other material getting passed down the drain will start to come back up through the drains.

6 NATURAL HOMEMADE DRAIN CLEANERS

With world toxicity levels reaching an all-time high, it’s time we all do our part in using safer, more natural and homemade cleaning solutions. Here are our top six natural, homemade drain cleaners which you can use to clean your smelly or blocked drain.

1. Bi-carb soda (baking soda) and vinegar

Mix one cup of vinegar with one cup of hot water and pour down the drain. This creates a chemical reaction with the bi-carb and you hear a fizz. Leave drain covered for a few minutes. Pour another cup of hot water down the drain to clean the bi-carb away.

You can always use an old toothbrush with some bi-carb to clean around the drain opening and pour the vinegar and water solution on this also. (You can ditch the toothbrush after this!)

Why does this method of cleaning your drains work?

An amazing thing happens when you mix bicarb and vinegar together; they form carbon dioxide and sodium acetate which bubbles and cleans the drain walls as it’s flushed down the drain, taking with it any loose debris.

Here’s the great thing: bi-carb, vinegar, and water are all eco-friendly, natural homemade cleaners and will not harm you or your drains or pipes.

2. Bi-carb (baking soda) and Salt

With this method, you can mix salt and baking soda together. About a 1/2 cup of each ingredient then pour it down the drain. Let it sit in the drain for a minimum of a half-hour or as long as overnight. Once it has a significant time, clear it with a kettle full of boiling water.

The combination of the bi-carb and salt creates a natural, abrasive quality that can help to shift a build-up of organic matter. Bi-carb and salt together are non-toxic and will not harm your pipes.

3. Hot water and dish soap

Boil a kettle full of water, add that to a bowl and mix in a few tablespoons of liquid dish soap. Take this mixture and slowly pour it down the drain.

This method may take a few attempts but it will work great on grease clogs because it is heating the grease back to a liquid so it can travel all the way out of the pipe.

If you unclog a drain with liquid dish soap, it will not cause a corrosive effect on the pipelines, so you can use this method as many times as you need. HOWEVER, if you happened to use any chemical drain cleaners before using dish detergent, then you should not use this method.

4. A plunger

Drain plungers are affordable, and you can find them almost anywhere that sells home items and clearing items (and all hardware stores).

They work! Plungers are great tools and they are always at the top of a plumber’s toolbox for a reason.

Drain plungers are efficient and non-invasive. Using a drain plunger will carry little to no risk of injury – they are an excellent home drain clearing method.

Drain plungers will help in bringing up small blockages and have your pipes working again quickly. For an explanation on how to use a plunger effectively, click here.

5. Borax, salt and vinegar

Start with 1/4 cup of salt, 1/4 cup of Borax, and then a 1/2 cup of vinegar. Add a kettle full of boiling water and let it sit for at least an hour to 1.5 hours, or until it clears.

The hot water is essential here: When mixing Borax with other ingredients, it is the warm water that helps it dissolve.

Finally, rinse with hot tap water to ensure all the ingredients are definitely down the drain.

6. A wire hanger

The good old wire hanger! Basically with this method, you are constructing an apparatus to assist in ‘bringing up’ anything that is stuck in your pipe or drain.

To use the wire hanger method, make sure you straighten the hanger out but leave the hook. Make sure you have a plastic bag, paper towel or old tea towel at the ready to dispose of anything your hanger brings up.

Use the hook end of the hanger to fish in the drain and pull up any food or hair buildup that is clogging the passageway in the pipe. After removing as much as you possibly can, you can run hot water down the drain or try one of the other methods listed above.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING NATURAL, HOMEMADE DRAIN CLEANING SOLUTIONS?

Natural, homemade cleaners are safer for you and your family than toxic or synthetic cleaners. They are also cheaper, and you will most likely have the materials on hand already when you need them.
The best news for your pipes is that natural, homemade drain cleaners will not eat away and erode your pipes.

WHY SHOULD I STAY AWAY FROM CHEMICAL DRAIN CLEANERS?

Some people believe in pouring a chemical drain cleaner down the drain to deal with a blocked drain and avoid the plumber call-out fee.

The truth is that synthetic cleaners and chemical cleaners will usually include an ingredient called sodium hydroxide or sulfuric acid. Whether your property has metal or plastic pipes, these chemicals will erode your pipes over time. Then you’re looking at a big bill for pipe repair or pipe relining.

So not only will your natural, homemade drain cleaning solutions save you money in the short term they could also save you headaches in the long run.

WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO PREVENT SMELLY AND BLOCKED DRAINS?

The best thing to do in preventing a smelly or blocked drain is to be mindful of what you are putting down the drain every day. Food scraps, fats and oil, tea and coffee, hair and debris – they all build up in the pipes and can cause smelly and blocked drains.

WHEN TO BRING IN A PROFESSIONAL

If you find yourself constantly unclogging blocked drains or a blocked toilet, then there may be a bigger issue at play and we suggest using a professional plumber or drain specialist.

Similarly, if you have cleaned or unblocked a drain using a natural, homemade cleaning solution only to find the issue back the next day, there could be a larger blockage that will need to be cleared professionally.

Please note that for any sewer line blockages or suspected mainline blockages you must call a professional team.

WHY CHOOSE VIP DRAINS – OUR PROMISE TO YOU

VIP DRAINS is strictly a Sydney blocked drain clearing and prevention specialist. Our team does not service any other plumbing issues apart from blocked drains. This means we can provide the most competitive prices and ensure our tradesmen are extremely well trained and experienced in dealing with any blocked drain.

We would love to become your local Sydney blocked drain specialist, so we are offering a complimentary $0 Call Out Fee.

Please note, that this call-out fee is only waived on any approved service or quote accepted and completed and is only applicable during normal business hours.

For More Information On Blocked Drains, see these articles:

• Who Is Responsible For A Blocked Drain?
• Why Does My Outside Drain Keep Blocking
• 10 Tips To Avoiding A Blocked Drain
• 7 Ways To Maintain Clean Drains
• The Six Benefits of Regular Drain Cleaning