Never Buy Drain Cleaner Again!

If you are a girl, or just live with one (or even if you don't!), you know that cleaning the shower drain is a quarterly requirement. Even when I'm faithful about not letting that hair get down the drain, it still happens. And then, there you are enjoying your shower when you notice you are standing in water. Gross. Time to clean the drain!

To avoid the nasty chemicals that are in industrial drain cleaner, try this easy alternative! I bet you already have what you need in your own kitchen. Do you have baking soda and vinegar on hand? I understanding so. So grab them and head to the bathroom. Those drains need a deep down scrub-a-dub-dub.

Our stand up shower has a grate over the drain, so this one is easy to clean. If you have a tub that has a drain cover, it's easiest to take off that before you pour down your drain cleaning ingredients. So, all you need to do is pour 1 cup of baking soda down the drain, consequent it with 1 cup of white vinegar, (cover the drain, if possible) and let that volcanic chemical reaction erupt for 10 minutes or so! While the chemistry experiment is happening in your drain, boil a pot of water on your stove (I use our tea kettle). When it gets to a boil, pour that down the drain to do a final clearing of the nasty drain debris. I wish I could have posted a photo of the action packed drain cleansing process, but the camera doesn't capture much of that from the surface. You get this lively photo instead...

So what is going on here and why does it work? Well, when baking soda, which is a base, combines with vinegar, an acid, it reacts to form sodium acetate and carbon dioxide which works as the scrubbing bubbles in your drain. As this reaction expands in your drain, it works to push the clog down as it's dissolving the gunk that caused the question in the first place. Do not effort to use our recommend clarification if you have very recently used a industrial drain cleaner! Mixing chemicals can have perilous outcomes!

I hope this works as well for you as it did for us. Just someone else easy, inexpensive, and green tip to keep your home in tip top shape!

Have you used any green alternatives instead of a industrial drain cleaner?