Just came across your site while stumbling. It’s pretty awesome. I’ve bookmarked you for later visiting. :D Totally jealous over your design ;)

Baking Soda and vinegar ARE chemicals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_soda

JJ, you beat me to it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_soda

Sodium Bicarbonate, to be exact (baking soda)

Everything is a chemical…water is a chemical for Christ’s sake. Please be informed before sounding like a dumbass.

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!

@ Jenny – Thanks, and welcome to the site!

@ JJ – haha, of *course* they are. I was, of course, using the vernacular definition as opposed to the literal. But you knew that, didn’t you?

@ Jum @ Jack (who is the same person) – I edited the title, hopefully that will clear up your confusion. =)

@ Casey – I’m not sure who that’s aimed at, but please try to keep it civil. You don’t have to agree, but try to be respectful.

@ Robsteranium – They are the most excellent, all-purpose, cleaners!

haha, love the ingredients. Baking soda, baby, and a liberal splash of vinegar. where will I find a baby?

AKA Jack and Jum (explanation should arrive shortly)

I think this title’s better (it’s crystal clear).

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!

@ Robert

She said “Baking soda, baby!” Not… baby as one of the ingredients…

It works! Thank You

Finally, someone who loves baking soda as much as I do!!

What does “Bonzai” mean? That’s not a word…it’s either “bonsai” or “banzai”.

Why must people criticise her every single word?

Thanks for the great tip/’recipe’.

@ Robert – I think you have to make those, recipe takes about 9 months to brew! =D

@ Mr. Man – Glad it’s more clear for you now.

@ Nadia – haha, no need to boo and hiss. How about woo-hoo and kiss instead? *smooch*!

@ felicia – So glad you tried it! Thanks for the testimonial!

@ Miss Miranda – It truly is a wonder chemical. ;)

@ mik – haha, well it’s definitely not a tiny tree, and it’s certainly not a Japanese battle cry, so . . .

@ Becky – No worries, Lady. My website is awesome and that makes some people uncomfortable, I guess. It’s all good!

“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!

10 points for use of word “janky”

@ Celeste – Thanks Lady! Welcome to the site, and I hope to see you around again. =)

@ Emily – Can you believe spellcheck tried to tell me it wasn’t a word?? Hmmph!

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.
:(

Thanks for the tip. I stumbled upon this and, coincidentally, my sink needs unclogging, but I don’t have any Drano handy.

yes, beautiful design!!

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 ..

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.

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.

Lifehacker’s featuring your article, so I dropped by. Looks really useful! I’ll be sure to test it out later! =D

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!

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! =)

Our plumber told us that boiling water was the best thing for clogged pipes so you could eleminate the vinigar and baking soda.

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!

…And don’t forget, this will also take the funk out of your disposal! ;)

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

Thanks everyone for all the responses, tips, and testimonials. It’s so awesome hearing from everyone!

@ PantiesInAWad – *snort* That was really funny, you almost had me.

@ Sarah – I usually wait for the drain to get totally dry, then use a piece of paper rolled up like a funnel. But I like the chopsticks idea for when it gets sticky! I’ll have to try that! =D

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!

How do you get it down the toilet??

Flush it?

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.

What do you mean by “omit for toilets” and how do you “siphon” it.

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? :)

@ Everyone asking about toilets: For the toilet I just pour in the baking soda, then pour in the vinegar. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so, and then add the boiling water. Then flush!

I meant ‘omit’ as in . . . please don’t stick your hand in the toilet to block the hole to make the fizz go down. ewwww.

@ Margaretha – hey darlin’!

@ bo – This may or may not work on hair clogs, dependent on a lot of factors. It’s certainly worth a try! My tup also has the middle plug that won’t come out. Very annoying. I waited until it was very dry in there and then used a funnel made out of paper. Also as someone else suggested. you can use a chopstick to jam the baking soda dow there. But really, waiting until it’s dry (if you can) helps a lot.

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.

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.

Just worked on our very slowly draining bathtub/shower. Thanks for the how to (and to Lifehacker for the reference).

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………….

thanks to you, i just unclogged my drain! thank you so much. enjoying your blog very much.

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.

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!

bless this post with love,peace and success.

just let love be

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.

Who is the chick on your shoulder?

BTW: Your are great.

@ Alex – Ha! That is Miss Petunia Blue. =)

Excellent! It worked! Thanks for the help and for us avoiding a poopy mess! I said poopy!

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!!

@ Cynthia – YAY! That’s so great!

@ susan seres – Awesome! I love all the success stories. =)

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!

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.

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

@ Tholo – Yay, thanks for the awesome review! So glad you had success.

@ Token – Oh no! Oh my goodness that’s awful, I hope you’re okay!

But yes, you do have it right. Baking soda, then vinegar, then water. It sounds like what went wrong the first time was that you left out the vinegar? That part is important!

I’m so sorry that happened to you. Better luck in the future!

@ mj – YES! Yay, I’m glad you had success. It DOES work! =D

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!

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…..)

@ Sarita – You’re welcome, and congrats on the green conversion!

@ Nikki – Thank you! I’m sorry to hear about your divorce, but it sounds like you are spinning it positive and that’s the most important thing. I have not done a makeup review yet, but it’s on the list for sure.

I’m so glad you like the site! Welcome! =)

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.

I’ve been cleaning with baking soda, vinegar and lemon for some time now. I don’t have nearly as many migraines as I did before and it’s amazing what you can do with these three things!

Be careful what baking soda you use… Arm and Hammer tests on animals. Not every one cares about stuff like that. But if you do, it’s best to check.

Let me fix my statement before it gets my butt kicked: I am NOT suggesting for a second that you all don’t care about whether or not a product does animal testing. I’m just putting the word about Arm and Hammer out there for anyone who may not know. I hope I haven’t offended anyone.

Do you think baking soda, vinegar, and hot water would unclog a floor drain in a basement? We have a clog that is backing up water into our basement area.

@ hazeleyes – Thanks lady! Glad it worked for you!

@ Kimberley – Yup, it’s crazy how spectacular these cleansers work, without all the noxious fumes. Everyone’s always skeptical, but they’re never disappointed!

@ Kei – Thanks for the reminder, I totally overlooked that. No more Arm & Hammer for me.

@ Angel – It’s worth a try – it certainly couldn’t hurt! And it’s a lot cheaper than any other option. =)

I’d been putting baking soda and vinegar down my drain to no avail — came across your post and realized I should be plugging the drain so that the fizz would be forced DOWN the pipe instead of up and out the pipe. Of course! As soon as I did that my drain cleared up! Thanks for the advice :)

Comment for Angel and the basement floor drain: A lot depends on how old the house is and where the drain pipe goes after it leaves the basement. If it daylights to the outside(meaning it just runs out onto the ground in a low area),it may be clogged with leaves or other organic debris. I have even seen pipes clogged with acorns from chipmunk nests (seriously). If the pipe drains into a drywell or septic tank, and is very old, it could be collapsed or be partially filled with soil or tree roots. If a previous owner used the drain as a waste disposal it could have any number of things in there from cement dust to wood shavings to used oil to… Baking soda and vinegar isn’t likely to work if any of these scenarios exist, but I would still give it a try. But before I called a plumber or a sewer rooter service I would rent a “plumber’s snake” to try to open it up (you can get manual and power assisted snakes). Good luck with the vinegar and baking soda.

And to Sayward: Good site and good suggestion, but I am surprised you didn’t mention prevention. If you successfully limit only water and soap going down the drain you will almost never have a clog. Regularly pouring fat, grease or large food particles down the drain is a sure way to invite a buildup and eventual clog. But if you must, incorporating your method into a regular maintenance schedule would prevent a clog.

@ Larry – Very true, prevention is always the best medicine!

This does not work if you have long hair. Which we do. I use straight lye. Pour 2 TBSP down drain, pour in 2 cups COLD water, then 20 minutes later flush. Works.

@ Jeanne – I’m sorry this didn’t work for you. A lot of my long-haired readers have been quite successful with it!

***Just an FYI to everyone else, I do NOT endorse pouring lye down your drains.***

I just stumbled across your blog and finding many of your cleaning items to be intriguing. I have been using baking soda and vinegar for years to clear my drains. I first learned the trick from a plumber of all people. He was very adamant of not using liquid drain cleaning. The one thing he added to the method was to pour a hot tea kettle full of water down the drain after letting the vinegar/baking soda mixture sit overnight. Also if the clog is stubborn, you can use a plunger along with the hot water to clear the drain. Works like a charm every time!

She said “HARMFUL” chemicals! CASEY, you should read carefully before sounding like a “dumbass.”

Anyway, I tried this before without any success. Had to buy draino as well.

Stumbled across your website and I love it. I am always looking for new recipes and ideas and I found several on your site that I can’t wait to try.

I just did this like POW. I like it. Volcano in my sink. Also, it might have worked, but it’s too early to tell. I hate putting the _harmful_ chemicals down the drain, but what I hate more is pouring something I bought right down the drain, regardless of what it is. This stuff, I already have.

Also, once that box of Baking Soda is “finished” in the fridge, this is a good thing to do with it: blow out your drains (on a regular basis)!

I was amazed how well this worked. My drain was clogged up with hair and scum, and my super tried his best, but to no avail. I thought I would have to call a plumber and shell out big bucks for just a clog. But I tried this method for the hell of it–since the cost was nominal–and it rocked the show. I went 2 rounds of your recipe: after the first round, the drain was noticeably better, and after the second round, it was as clear as day. Thanks!

I used this concoction in my bathtub. I couldn’t exactly figure out how to “siphon” the baking soda down the drain so I just sort of jammed it down there instead. I only got 1/4 cup to go in. Then I poured the vinegar over it and when it it started bubbling, I got hopefull. I stirred the drain with a wire to help it along a little and it worked!!! I finished it off with boiling water as directed and the drain was so clean it was amazing!! Yeah!! Thank you for the info!!

sounds convincing huh??OMG!i will present those tommorow in my show and tell assignment for my law and society course.its all about ways to keep our home green.but i will specify that on ways to have a green kitchen.actually, i never try it out.but, its like worth the effort!i cant wait!!wish me the best =)

[...] Marcos, Texas I found a really great recipe for homemade dish soap and homemade laundry detergent here. It’s extremely [...]

Just used this on the bathroom sink. 1 tablespoon baking soda and a dash of vinegar 2 times and clog removed. Thanks for the tip!

i tried that method my sinks are still clogged
i’ll try them again. my sister uses that she says it works

I tried this method and it worked very well! Thank you!

Thanks a ton! Just fixed my bathroom sink.

The vinegar and baking soda sounds great. Im hearing different comments. But that wont stop me from trying it. Right now I only have apple cider vinegar, will that also work?

@ Rashtone – Cider vinegar is not ideal, but it should work. Luck!

Just tried it on my hair-clogged bathroom sink and it worked perfectly! Cleaned all the black goo off the drain pull as well. Thanks so much for this tip!

I just tried this on my tub drain this morning! Amazing is all I have to say! Thanks!

Thank you soooooo much for the tip! Our kitchen drain was clogged for about two weeks. We tried everything except those horrible chemicals one buys in the store to remove the clogs. We have two pet parrots, ourselves and the septic tank to consider so we don’t like to use them.

I was doing dishes in the bathroom! I was really becoming angry over the situation. We were just about ready to take the counter out and really get at the plumbing even if it meant taking a lot if it apart. Then I went to the computer to see if anyone out there had any ideas besides hiring a plumber which we can’t really afford right now. I finally came across your tip and I am forever grateful to you for putting it out there for us. I put the baking soda down the drain then poured the vinegar down and weighted down the stoppers in both kitchen sinks for about a half hour. Then I poured a kettle full of very hot water down and it just stayed there. I was ready to siphon the water out with the shop vac and try again but instead I had my husband hit it a few times with the plunger and wham! that clog left loose and down went the water. We flushed it really well with hot water afterward and wow, what a whirlpool it forms.

I will always use the baking soda and vinegar on all of our drains and I am going to tell all of my relatives, neighbors and friends.

What a great tip! However, it took about 6 runs before it worked. But when it did it looked almost weird because the water was going in the wrong direction…down! =P So Thank you! I do however have two questions. One, can it ever be done too much? You mentioned 3 as your magic number and my 6 wasn’t that far off, but could it be damaging to the pipes if it took many more?
Thanks again and I hope you’re having a great day!!! =)

OH DAMN
IT WORKS LIKE HELL

Now I won’t scratch my arms again trying to poke the dirt through the sharp pipe tunnels.

Well, I also gained a good impression from my mom-in-law, thanks to my ‘scientific brain’.

Not only did you help clear up my wife’s drain, but you also ‘cleared up’ my name in my wife’s mom’s eyes. Thanks a heap.

SAW THIS ON LIFEHACKER SITE I WILL NEED TO TRY THIS OUT! Also your very cute :)

I’m actually quite tempted to try this out on the sink in my break room at work. It’s been clogged for weeks and the company is too broke to either call in a plumber or give us some drain opener. Shame I don’t have any distilled vinegar, but I DO have apple cider.

This worked wonderfully!! Thank you!! I can’t wait to try other recipes from your site!!

This worked wonderfully! Thank you!! I can’t wait to try other recipes from your site!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It took 3 applications but it worked and now I can finally run my dishwasher!

Just wanted to say, even though there have been those who don’t believe it, this does work. I had been wading in water when taking a shower for quite a while. Then I found this site. I even forgot to add the 2nd 1/2 cup of vinegar! I let it sit for quite a while, like hours because I actually forgot about it! Then I added the boiling hot water. Yay! Clog is all gone! Thanks!

Amazing! I could only get about 1/4 cup of baking soda into drain because clog was so bad….added about 1 cup vinegar…covered drain…waited about 5 minutes…and poured a gallon of boiling water….it went right down! Will be sharing with my friends!

I tried it once so far and it’s cleared up a lot, but not totally. Im about to try it again, but I only have 3/4 cup of vinegar left. Can I use something else in place of the vinegar if I need to go a 3rd round? Please advise (and thanks for the tip btw).

Realizing I got to this a little late, but for future reference, there’s not really an adequate vinegar solution. You could use another type of vinegar, like apple cider vinegar, but it needs to be vinegar.

That is a tasty looking chicken. …and you too…

Worked great on sink, but a bit unclear how to do toilet. Do you reduce the amt of water in the bowl (by not letting it refill from the tank) or just pour gaily away?

I used successfully baking soda and then citric acid powder and then boiling water. Don’t know whether it works worse or better than the recipe with vinegar, but it worked well enough for me :-)

That must have been awful, but it made me laugh, i’m sorry =p

Reducing the water would be ideal, for sure.

[...] Natural Homemade ‘drain-o’, or How To Unclog Without Harmful Chemicals | Bonzai Aphrodite [...]

I just tried this and now there’s a gallon of hot water sitting in my sink that won’t drain. :( Any suggestions?

Oh no! At that point it may be plumber time. DIY can only do so much – sorry!

Oh no! At that point it may be plumber time. DIY can only do so much – sorry!

I had a grade school teacher who taught us that Baking Soda emulsifies grease in water, but I don’t think I’d ever tried it… I’m so glad I remembered that when I bought a little HUD house, big time fixer-upper. I mean, the sink would not drain an ounce! I called a plumber, “pipes ran uphill…run a snake… repipe… $1200!!!” GADZOOKS! I ran to the nearby Wally World and bought 6 boxes of Baking Soda (Arm & Hammer, but any should do). I dumped it down all of the drains. Filled the sink with water and….nuthin! THEN!!! I went to work on other things trying not to cry. Bout a half hour later, the sink was miraculously empty! HURRAY! Then completely clogged again instantly. Gadzooks! Back to $1200! I ran to get 6 more boxes of Baking Soda… put it in all of the drains (laundry too) and after a 2 hour soak… clear as a bell! No problem since! I’m also using Baking Soda and water to clean the heavy grease build up off the varnished cabinets. IT DID STRIP the varnish though…. but that will make them easier to paint! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!! Saved me the trouble of calling a plumber. More power to your site.

Just tried this method and the water is sitting in my tub, it never did this before at lease when i didnt try it, it was still draining slowly…now gatta get the drano see if it will at least get this nasty water out of my tub..

This totally worked! Kinda like when we made volcanos in science class. We had to do it all twice, but our drain now works fantastic.

It worked great for my shower. But will it work for a kitchen sink? I believe my clog is in the wall not the neck under the sink.

THIS WORKS!! We just tried it for the 1st time yesterday on a stubbornly stopped up bathroom sink. Now the drain works like new!

I also tried this method in both my kitchen sink and bath tub,and I am astonished at how fantastically it worked !!! Better than any other method I’ve tried and that includes all those expensive chemicals from the stores !!

Thanks for the homemade drano recipe! It worked like a charm, and NO chemicals! You go girl!

how sad omg lol…

sorry for laughing…oh thats not funny…

you’re

Can I use this mixture in a drain with a garbage disposal. Also can it be used down a washing machine drain pipe.

my bathroom bathtub is clogged and tried the home remedies, plunger, and coat hanger and wire and still plugged. unscrewing the main pipes is the last thing i haven’t done. too many pipes to tackle and don’t know which one to start with.

Thank you thank you thank you!!! We’re having family over for a get together and now people will actually be able to wash their hands in the sink without thinking they’ve destroyed our plumbing! MUCH appreciated!

I haven’t tried that so I can’t speak from experience. I don’t think I would try it in my garbage disposal . . . but that’s just my 2 cents!

Washing machine pipe would probably work. That I would try. Again, I’m not a professional, but that’s what my gut says!

One word of warning. If you do this and it fails, as it did in my case, do NOT use drano afterwards. I ignorantly tried this and it created a chemical reaction in my sink that ended with a house full of toxic fumes and a sink full of hydrochloric acid. I am not saying this is a bad way of unclogging a drain, but understand that once you do this, drano is no longer an option.

I just want inform you this is, in fact, a chemical reaction using a base and an acid. Both sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and vinegar (acetic acid) happen to be chemicals. Mind you, I’m not dissing the original poster about the use of vinegar and baking soda- I stumbled on here for the reason of finding a home-made solution to stubborn drains- but I wanted to clarify to you, Lisa, about your false statement you made.

I’m sure it’s going to work well for me, and no HARSH chemicals. Thanks for the blog.

Very cool. LOve the ballad. Humor is very helpful when faced with a disgusting mess! You made tackling it seem fun.

As my kitchen sink already had 4 in of hot water, I bailed that out and then added the baking soda and vinegar as directed. No movement. Added some boiling hot water. Still no movement. Got a plunger and voila, everything went down the drain. Still needed to give it another treatment but now it’s perfect. Thanks!

Baking soda is the very best for unstopping a sink. My sink was stopped up so badly that water was running on the floor. I had to use about 6 boxes of baking soda and over a liter of vinegar, but praise the Lord it really worked. I also poured about three tea pots full of hot water down the sink after letting the baking soda and vinegar set for about an hour. I would recommend that to anyone before calling a plumber in. You can really save yourself some money. Please try this.

I just tried it once, the sink is half full of water–do I “dip out” the standing water in the sink before trying it again? Also, how exactly do I get the baking soda to do down the drain, when tbere’s a stopper in the sink that I can’t pull out/

Thank you sooo much for this warning. I just tried this and it didn’t work and I was going to pour drano down the sink next. Thank you so much for the warning!

Would it be safe for Scrubbing Bubbles bath solution to be drained after washing all the solution down with hot water?

I found a long flexible plastic tool with fish hook type protrusions coming off the sides- (about $4.00 at Lowes or Home Depot). Insert it down a shower or sink drain and give it a little twist. Pull up & you’d be amazed how much stuff comes out. No need to dissolve anything. It’s a breeze!!!

Thanks for the info. I will use that instead of my fish hook type stiff coat hanger.

thank you…it worked….no plumber needed

This has been over a month ago, so I sure hope you figured it out, however; it may sound a bit crazy, but it could work. It hasn’t every time for me, but in a few cases it has. Use a toilet plunger to help push whatever is clogging the drain down. Use the hottest water possible to run through your drain if you get it unclogged. My husband is famous for pouring hot grease down my sink. (Wonder where his brain is sometimes…lol) Just a tip for future problems. Good luck in the future

Though I appreciate the effort on providing a method such as this, others should know it may not work as it did not for me. Instead it appears my drain clog is worse. Cannot use drano because it will create chlorine gas and finding a product without ammonia, bleach, hydrochloric acid, hydrochlorite, or the brand the works is difficult (all would not be safe combined with the baking soda and vinegar according to a chemis friend of mine). My chemist friend told me the only things that will work that will not be toxic to [you] are sulfuric acid (hard to find pure in my town), sodium hydroxide, or the brand liquid lightning. Liquid lightning doesn’t seem to be working now because the base of baking soda is neutralizing it. plumber it is.

I did this! It worked! I also used a zip-it tool (3.95 at home improvement store) to help loosen some of the goop before I poured in the boiling water. This is great, though!

I mean, technically you’re right Cam, but you have to realize that Lisa was using the word “chemicals” in a very common, universally understood sense that nearly all laypeople use. When people say “chemical,” they mean “harsh, potentially dangerous concoctions produced by chemical companies.” It’s for this reason we don’t say, “I poured some chemicals into a pan, mixed them up, heated them and put them into my stomach so more chemicals could react with them.” We just say, “I put some ingredients together to make soup and ate it.” If we had to use your overly technical definition all the time, we’d waste a lot of time describing the level of harshness of chemicals to say what we mean. As it is, there’s no native-English speaker on the planet who wouldn’t understand the distinction Lisa was trying to make.

Thank you SOOOO much for this post! Two tries, with some vigorous plunging, and BOOM, my toilet and bathtub were clog free!

Im going to be trying this tomorrow but not with a sink. im trying it with a drain in my floor that the washer drains into down in the basement. Im hopeful it will help…

Amazing remedy! Thank you!

This actually worked! I had to go through the process 5 times, but it worked!

I would insist that Lisa’s statement was pretty terrible.

UGH I just wasted an hour of my time on this. Most of it was spent shoving the baking soda down the sink because it was so extremely clogged. I tried this recipe out on my shower and sink. it went down on my shower, and i thought it was the end to the clogging, but lo and behold when i went to shower, the water was up to my ankles once again. the sink is just ridiculous, as a gallon is just sitting in there, refusing to go anywhere. READY TO PULL MY HAIR OUT!!!

We just tried this on our bathroom shower that has been clogged for quite a while. It totally cleaned the drain where there is no signs of hair soap or any residue!! This was amazing!! Thanks for the post!

My kitchen sink was clogged for over two months….and I knew that the clog was beyond the trap. I could not cook or wash my dishes. Today, enough was enough. I dropped the trap, filled it with baking soda, replaced it and poured vinegar down the sink. The demons therein frothed and I let it set for 15 minutes. Hot water from the tap and everything went down the drain. Two hours to wash dishes. yuk

woop woop!

hmm If it was hydrochloric acid your drain should most definitely be unclogged then. :D

Wow. I have a sink that has been very slow and then clogged completely over the past 2 months. I got tired of waiting for my PLUMBER boyfriend ( we live together) to address the problem so I went to the internet. One treatment and my sink is completely un-clogged. Can’t wait for him to get home….Thanks.

I’ve read some article about unclogging in natural remedy, where ingredients are just inside the kitchen just like this. But I haven’t tried those.

This is the second time I’ve used this recipe on STUBBORN clogs – and the second time it has worked beautifully.

For those of you who have stated they could not get this to work I suggest two additional items to use along with this recipe.

1. A plunger. I use the OXO plunger. It works amazingly well. It was recommended to me by the guy at the Colombia U. hardware store here. Of course, you don’t have to use this one – but be sure to get a plunger that has that extra bit at the bottom.

2. A snake. I use the flexi snake, which is quite small and easy to use. I got mine here: http://www.flexisnake.com

Thank you so much, Sayward! If you had a donate button I would click it!

All the best,

- Rich

This worked the first time I used it. I loved it!!!!