How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

Chemical Drain Cleaners are not nature-friendly and can be dangerous to use as well as being poisonous to your skin. They can leave your sink or shower drain clogged with harmful chemicals in the drain water. To substitute these harmful drain cleaners you can use baking soda and vinegar`s natural drain cleaner recipe to unclog your clogged drains.

Do you have a clogged drain? Did you know you could fix it by spending less than ten dollars using natural homemade drain cleaners?

Most drain cleaner labels can make you dizzy with all the terminology. Lucky for you, we have there’s a whole DIY that made it easy to unclog a drain by yourself using Homemade Drain Cleaner Recipes.

These recipes are both time and money-saving. You will learn a little chemistry along the way, keep reading for the tips you need to know!

How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

WHY USE HOMEMADE DRAIN CLEANER TO CLEAN STUBBORN CLOGS?

There is no doubt that chemical acid drain cleaners have the strength to clean the clogged drains faster. It contains sodium hydroxide or sulfuric acid which makes them harsh chemicals that can damage your home drain pipes over time.

To unclog a soft clogged drain, Natural Homemade Drain Cleaners are the best drain cleaner for you. You can make them by yourself at home as it is easy, safe, environmentally friendly, and less expensive than any other Commercial Drain Cleaner.

In this article, you will learn how to prepare a Homemade Drain Cleaner and how to use it to unclog drains at home.

INGREDIENTS, EQUIPMENT, & STEPS TO PREPARE HOMEMADE DRAIN CLEANER RECIPES

Before making the best DIY drain cleaners, it’s best to have a list of ingredients, which we will require for our drain cleaner-making recipes. Start by searching the baseline supplies you may already have in your home for the drain cleaner, then supplement your list to your needs. Here are the basic ingredients that you’re likely to buy.

How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

Baking soda (a base substance called sodium bicarbonate) is one of the best natural drain uncloggers that you can buy from any local store. It can perfectly clean sink drains in minutes. Composed of sodium carbonate, baking soda is full of sodium that helps break down dirt and grime.

Baking soda is reactive, meaning that if you add an acid such as vinegar, it will become excited. This compound can jostle and break down grime that’s built up in your drain.

Borax + Salt

The trick is starting with sodium. This means you can use salt or Borax instead of baking soda just as well. Anytime you combine a sodium base with an acid you will get a halfway decent cleaning solution.

You can think of Borax as a concentrated form of baking soda. It contains a few extra chemical chains that make it a cleaning alternative and not a cooking formula. If you decide to use Borax make sure to keep it away from any sensitive body parts, children, or pets.

Vinegar + Baking Soda

Vinegar is a great acid (acetic acid) for your home drain-clearing mixture. You can add it to any of the sodium listed above to get quick results.

Lemon Juice + Baking Soda

Lemon juice is a weaker acid that works just as well. However, lemons have less acidity than vinegar, meaning you will have to add more lemon juice than an average drain cleaner recipe.

You can add 1/2 cup of baking soda with the lemon juice to prepare a decent chemical reaction homemade drain cleaner for drain cleaning.

Cream of Tartar + Baking Soda + Salt

Cream of tartar is another option that is derived from tartaric acid. This makes it a viable acid that you can add to baking soda and water to get a great cleaner.

Pour and combine 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar 1/2 of baking soda with salt in a jar and seal it. Shake the jar to mix the ingredients properly. Pour half of the jar into the drain and save half for later use.

Now pour boiling water following the mixture and after it waits for an hour to let the mixture break down the clog. Then, drain some water into the drain to check if the drain is unclogged properly.

Equipment You'll Need:

Equipment / Tools

  • Cup
  • Bucket
  • Drain stopper

Materials

  • Boiling water
  • 1/2 cup Baking soda
  • 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar

METHOD TO UNCLOG DRAIN WITH BAKING SODA And VINEGAR

Now you know the cheapest and most simple ingredients to make homemade drain cleaner. For this section, we’ll be talking about how to mix and apply your ingredients to your clogged drain.

PREPARATIONS

First, get all of your ingredients in the right order. For example, you will always add your sodium before you add your acid solution. You might have some blockages at the surface of your drain, clean these out before moving forward.

1: Clear Out Any Standing Water

Clear out the water in the bathroom sink (tub or shower) using a bucket or mug, so the mixture of drain cleaner can easily reach the drain. It's not a problem to leave a certain amount of water near the drain opening itself so the drain cleaner can easily reach the clog as much as possible.

How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

2: Use Boiling Water

If you are willing to clear the clogged drain of the sink, tub, or shower, then remove the pop-up stopper or tub stopper to clear the access to the drain. Start pouring a small amount of boiling water into the drain.

How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

3: Add Some Baking Soda

Now begin to pour 1/2 cup of Baking Soda solution into the drain. Remember, you can use any of the contents listed above. If you choose to use a drain cleaner powder like baking soda, borax, etc. You can use a funnel to pour it down the drain.

This fills your drain with the base to your draining reaction. It makes a foundation for your acid, leading to the dissolution of gunk and grime.

How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

4: Add Vinegar

Now it’s time you add your vinegar. You can use any of the acids present in this post, just make sure to always add them after your sodium. Doing any of these steps out of order will make the process useless.

After you add something like 1/2 cup of vinegar or cream of tartar to your powdered sodium you must wait up to one hour. It’s advised that you plug your drain while you wait.

How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

5: Add Some More Boiling Water

Add a pot or two of boiling water to your drain. The hot water has an easier time passing through your drain and pushing the dissolved gunk through.

How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

6: Repeat The Steps

To recap: add your powder sodium and acid then pour a pot or two of boiling water down the drain.

This DIY homemade drain cleaner recipe will work for almost any clogged drain you have in your home. If you are dealing with a larger drainage system you might want to buy a professional solution or call a plumber you can trust.

How to unclog bathroom sink with baking soda and vinegar

PLUMBING DONE RIGHT 

There’s no question that DIY home repair can have a positive outcome. After all, it’s your home so why can’t you be the one to fix it?

After reading this post you are well-equipped to unclog your sinks and bathtubs using a homemade drain cleaner. The formula is simple and most importantly, everything on this list is affordable.

Still, sometimes a drain is harder to fix than with baking soda and vinegar. In cases like these, it’s best to hire a professional.

If you can’t do it with storebought items, please contact us at Fischer Plumbing. We are happy to take your call and feel free to, start a dialogue with us and get your house back to its old self!

How long does baking soda and vinegar take to unclog sink?

Drop in 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain. Pour in 1 cup of vinegar, cover the drain with a plug and let sit for 10 minutes – you will hear fizzing. Rinse with more hot water.

How do you unclog a bathroom with baking soda and vinegar?

Key moments.
1/2 CUP BAKING SODA. 0:44..
1/2 CUP VINEGAR. 1:02..
POUR VINEGAR INTO DRAIN WITH BAKING SODA. 1:10..
ALLOW MIXTURE TO SIT FOR 5-10 MINUTES. 1:18..
BRING WATER TO A BOIL. 1:22..
POUR BOILED WATER DOWN DRAIN. 1:33..

Can you leave baking soda and vinegar in drain overnight?

If it's still clogged, pour one cup of baking soda and one cup of vinegar down the drain, followed by two cups of boiling water. Let it work overnight to clear the drain.

Does baking soda and vinegar dissolve hair?

Combining baking soda and vinegar is a natural way to dissolve hair clogs, without resorting to harsh chemicals. Pour a cup of baking soda down the clogged drain first, and then after a few minutes add a cup of vinegar.