
If I were to write a love ballad, it would be all about baking soda. It might go something like,
“White as snow/ and powdered fine/ clean anything/ to make you mine
I didn’t know/ we’d never start / ’cause vinegar/ has got your heart“
But seriously, this stuff is out of control. Baking soda and vinegar are the foundation of DIY cleaning. Don’t be fooled – it really is that simple.
And this recipe is easy enough, but I swear it works like a charm. You don’t need complex, carcinogenic compounds lurking around your cabinets! Baking soda, baby, and a liberal splash of vinegar.
That’s powdered gold, my friends, white gold from cleansing heaven.
Drain De-Clogger Recipe:
1/2 cup baking soda
1 cup vinegar
1 gallon boiling water
Carefully siphon all the baking soda down the drain. Pour in 1/2 of the vinegar, covering the hole so the fizz is forced down, not up (omit this for toilets, please!). Add the second half of the vinegar, following the same procedure. Allow to sit for 15 minutes or so, and then flush with an entire gallon of boiling water.
I have used this method in my shower and my toilet, and it has never failed me. For particularly troublesome stoppage, you may have to administer multiple applications. For instance, I recently had to go three rounds with my janky bathtub drain. It was a mighty battle, but my baking soda came through for me!
The magic is in the fizz.
Enjoy, and happy green cleaning!

Jenny
24 June, 2009
Just came across your site while stumbling. It’s pretty awesome. I’ve bookmarked you for later visiting. :D Totally jealous over your design ;)
JJ
24 June, 2009
Baking Soda and vinegar ARE chemicals.
Jack
24 June, 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_soda
Sodium Bicarbonate, to be exact (baking soda)
Casey
24 June, 2009
Everything is a chemical…water is a chemical for Christ’s sake. Please be informed before sounding like a dumbass.
Robsteranium
24 June, 2009
Vinegar is an acid, baking soda an alkali. They combine to create carbon dioxide – fizzy! I knew you could power bottles around the bath with the mix – I never thought of cleaning with them!
Robert
24 June, 2009
haha, love the ingredients. Baking soda, baby, and a liberal splash of vinegar. where will I find a baby?
Mr.Man
24 June, 2009
AKA Jack and Jum (explanation should arrive shortly)
I think this title’s better (it’s crystal clear).
Nadia
24 June, 2009
I loved the pics and the how-to. Boo & Hiss to the nay-sayers. You can’t do a good thing on the internet without someone getting their panties in a wad. Well done, ma’am, and thanks again!
~__~
24 June, 2009
@ Robert
She said “Baking soda, baby!” Not… baby as one of the ingredients…
mik
25 June, 2009
What does “Bonzai” mean? That’s not a word…it’s either “bonsai” or “banzai”.
Becky
25 June, 2009
Why must people criticise her every single word?
Thanks for the great tip/’recipe’.
Celeste
25 June, 2009
“stumbled” across your site and I love it! Don’t understand why people go out of their way to criticize, rather than take the good or just move on! Constructive criticism is one thing, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Anyway, justwant to thank you for reminding me of the 2 best cleaning products in the world! They’re inexpensive, natural and do a great job. I keep a spray bottle of white vinegar to clean my granite countertops. No chemicals near my food either. :) I’m looking forward to your other blogs and will be back often. thanks for sharing this!
Dan
27 June, 2009
I’ve tried this many times, and it’s only ever had a slight impact; always had to go to draino or some other high powered chemical.
:(
Wobbuffet
27 June, 2009
Thanks for the tip. I stumbled upon this and, coincidentally, my sink needs unclogging, but I don’t have any Drano handy.
Johl
27 June, 2009
HAHA
Baking soda, baby, and a liberal splash of vinegar.
after thorough search still couldn’t find the second ingredient lurking around in my cabinets ..
melissa
28 June, 2009
hey hey. I stumbled to your site a week ago and loveee it. i noticed some people were commenting that it didn’t always work. I this approach with sucsess, only difference is i add salt (i;ve used kosher and sea salt) just siphon salt down with the baking soda and follow the above method. works like a charm.
Karin
30 June, 2009
Yep, I’ve been doing this for years. I think it works better for kitchens than bathrooms through, where the clogs tend to be grease, not hair.
Rusty
30 June, 2009
Lifehacker’s featuring your article, so I dropped by. Looks really useful! I’ll be sure to test it out later! =D
Lifehacker Reader - DB
30 June, 2009
I have done this in the past and have had great success with it, as well. The only variation is that I use boiling hot vinegar. I have to admit I never tried to cover the drain, forcing the reaction downward instead of upward. Next time!
Steven Rushing
30 June, 2009
I saw your article on Lifehacker and this totally worked! You put in the soda, and then cover the hole with your hand, air tight. Then you put in the vinegar, keeping it separated by your hand. Lift your hand a tiny bit, just a crack, to let the vinegar in, and as soon as the fizz starts coming up clamp it back down.
I felt the pressure building and building and I totally thought that I was going to have a huge mess when my hand gave way, but there was a satisfying pop when the clog gave way first! =)
Pete
30 June, 2009
Our plumber told us that boiling water was the best thing for clogged pipes so you could eleminate the vinigar and baking soda.
PantiesInAWad
30 June, 2009
I’m deeply disturbed by your use of the word ‘magic’ as in “the magic is in the fizz” As a right thinking person, I hope you realize that, indeed, chemistry is not magic. It follows strict, physical laws. Magic on the other hand, is a powerful force unbound by nature, fueled by the bones of the dead, and intensified by the screaming wind from a giant demonic octopus-shaped bellows with itty bitty tongues that go “ia ia! thppth thppth” in the night.
Get your facts straight.
btw, thanks for the tip. I think I’m gonna put the kids to bed early tonight, and go all Arm and Hammer on my bathtub. Yeeow!
blinky
30 June, 2009
…And don’t forget, this will also take the funk out of your disposal! ;)
Sarah
30 June, 2009
I’ve been happily unclogging my drains this way for a few years now…
I do have a question, though-how do you go about ’siphoning’ the baking soda down the drain? I’ve always had trouble with that part since my drain isn’t just open for the pouring. I usually end up stabbing the excess with a chopstick :P
Margaretha
1 July, 2009
THANK YOU, goddess of creativity! I’ve actually been hmmm-ing and ha-ing over my nearly clogged bathroom sink for a couple of weeks trying to figure out what to do about it. Luckily I didn’t buy some harmful chemicals (he he) Can’t wait to try it out when I get back home!
courtney
1 July, 2009
Very very true. It is like gold. I once melted some cosmetic wax all over the microwave and beyond. The ONLY thing that got it off it was baking soda and vinegar.
andy
2 July, 2009
What do you mean by “omit for toilets” and how do you “siphon” it.
bo
3 July, 2009
What about clogging caused by hair? I have a problematic bathroom sink that’s getting clogged more and more every day. I don’t understand what to do since it’s one of those drains with those middle plugs. any suggestions? :)
atyoung
8 July, 2009
Nice write up, I would like to add however that one should use care when putting boiling water down a drain. Most pvc is rated at 140 degrees. Water boils at a nice 212 degrees. You can easily cause leaks you didn’t want. Most abs can handle those kind of temperatures however.
Laiane
11 July, 2009
This worked like a charm on my cat-hair clogged bathroom sink (No, I don’t wash my cats in the sink, but it gets clogged with cat hair anyway). I didn’t use boiling water, just hot-Hot-HOT tap water, letting in run for a minute or two.
Stephen
12 July, 2009
Just worked on our very slowly draining bathtub/shower. Thanks for the how to (and to Lifehacker for the reference).
Betty Tillis
13 July, 2009
I had a kitchen sink that was really clogged, running hot, hot water did not seem to work. So I reached for my baking soda and apple cider vinegar……..It worked! Cleared the Clog…..But the consequence of that was an under-the-sink avalanche of water,vinegar, and baking soda. Word to the wise,here, Make sure the P-trap is tightened…….seems I had an explosion in the P-trap due to the pressure of the stuff and weakly tightened rings………….
burmaball
22 August, 2009
thanks to you, i just unclogged my drain! thank you so much. enjoying your blog very much.
EricaHope
22 August, 2009
I love your site! I am going to try this tomorrow. Our bathtub drain is draining very slowly… my hubby wants me to just go and buy draino… but not if I can help. All those yucky chemicals, who needs ‘em.
Nea | Self Improvement Saga
25 September, 2009
I just stumbled across this and I love the idea. Luckily I don’t have any reason to try it our right now, but I’m bookmarking this site for future reference. Thanks a ton!
skywind
17 October, 2009
I run vinegar through my coffeepot to clean it once a month. Before pouring out the hot vinegar, I funnel some baking soda down the drain and grab the drain stopper so I can slap it over the drain opening as soon as it starts foaming. Rubber gloves are helpful.
Alex
18 October, 2009
Who is the chick on your shoulder?
BTW: Your are great.
Cynthia
31 October, 2009
Excellent! It worked! Thanks for the help and for us avoiding a poopy mess! I said poopy!
susan seres
1 November, 2009
thank you so much!! it worked!! my plumber told me not to use draino, my pipes are too old, and this worked the first time!you saved me the cal of a plumber (starting rate 120 dollars), and /or a trip to home depot on my day off!! thank you again!!
Tholo
22 November, 2009
In response to Pete’s comment to leave out the baking soda and vinegar: When I tried this, the drain didn’t clear until I poured the hot water down, and I thought maybe all that was needed was the hot water too. Then I saw how the baking soda and vinegar had removed all of the gunky build up on the sink plug and had SCOURED it clean. I had no idea it was white! Clearly that was the work of the (harmless, of course) chemical reaction; hot water wouldn’t have done that. Lord only know how much gunk it scoured off the insides of the pipes further down where I can’t see.
Sayward, might I suggest you mention the paper funnel in the body of your post? That would have really helped me since I didn’t read the comments until after. I resorted to spooning soda a bit at a time and using a Q-tip to shove it down. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the unclogged sink!
Token
25 November, 2009
Thanks for tips on how to avoid having to use Draino. I loathe the stuff and don’t like to have it in the house.
I’m still a little unclear on how you would go about unclogging a toilet safely with this method. I tried it myself yesterday with a stubborn clog. I put a huge scoop of baking soda into the toilet and then poured in the boiling water. I guess I did it in the wrong order because no reaction took place.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but all of a sudden- I had to go to the bathroom really bad. We only have one bathroom so I really had no choice.
When it happened, it was bad. Worse than you could imagine. I like to eat a lot of balsamic vinegar with my pasta. When the reaction finally did take place it forced the water upward and hot gaseous toilet water bubbled up onto me burning my legs and feet. I stood up screamed in pain and in my rush to escape the scalding foam from the toilet I slipped on my linoleum floor and burned my frontside as well.
I hope that my experience can serve as a lesson to those who would attempt this method. Remember- baking soda first, then vinegar, then boiling water. And don’t the toilet while the reaction is taking place.
mj
26 November, 2009
IT W0RKS!! this is awesome. The same thing i used in the third grade to make a volcanoe works to unclog my toilet. hahaha
REally
Sarita
15 December, 2009
Oh thanks for this. I am trying to start going green as they would say by reducing the number of harmful chemicals i use in my home. I am the Bleach and Lysol girl. Don’t think anything is clean without it. So its great to get these tips. Plus it saves money. So thanks!
Nikki
22 December, 2009
Howdy!! Lifehacker mentioned your post about making candles in a crockpot so I started browsing around. I LOVE your site. I am fortunate to have gotten a new lease on life lately (divorce, bleh!) and I’m ready to move on to “greener” pastures.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for the stuff you post.
(Maybe I missed it but have you done posts on make-up recommendations?)
Much love!
(Sorry if the HTML doesn’t work…..)
hazeleyes
25 December, 2009
What is more interesting than a smart woman? Nothing.
Christmas morning and my tub drain is clogged, but not for long!
Thanks for this post.






62 Comments to Natural Homemade ‘drain-o’, or How To Unclog Without Harmful Chemicals