How to Unclog a Clogged Drain
A clogged drain is every homeowner’s nightmare. Once your drain becomes clogged, it requires your immediate attention, and failing to respond on time might lead to flooded floors or worse, damaged walls. Fortunately, there’s almost never a need to call the plumber to fix a clogged drain because you can just as easily solve the problem yourself.
Here are a few tricks that you can try and use to unclog your drain before you consider calling a plumber.
Flush with Boiling Water
This is probably the simplest and most widely known solution to a clogged drain. All you need to do is to run boiling water down the drain for about two minutes to flush out oil and grease. However, it is recommended that you only use boiling water on metal pipes, as PVC pipes can melt if exposed to water that’s hotter than 175 degrees. Normal hot water that comes from your sink is safe for PVC pipes. You’ll also want to wait up until your sink is completely drained before you use this method, as failing to do so may do more damage than good.
Make Your Own Drain Cleaner
Oftentimes, commercial drain cleaners prove to be ineffective when it comes to removing stubborn grease, and although they can be used to successfully remove slight blockages, plumbers only recommend it as a last option. The good news is that you can make your own drain cleaner using the dirt-busting combination of baking soda and vinegar. This method works by pouring half a cup of baking soda methodically down the drain and as far down as possible, followed by half a cup of vinegar. You should immediately and quickly close the sink with a stopper after you’ve poured the vinegar so that the fizzing action works its magic within the clogged drain pipes instead of bubbling out onto the sink. Open the stopper after 30 minutes and then pour hot water down the drain to give it a final rinse.
If you’re trying to unclog your toilet, then flush immediately after you’ve poured the vinegar, and then leave what’s remaining to sit for a few minutes before adding more vinegar to soak for 30 minutes, and then give it a final flush.
Plunge It
This will be the last resort for most people because no one really likes to even think about holding a plunger, much less putting it to use in doing what it was made for. However, it helps to have your average cup plunger on hand and know how to use it in case of emergency situations, like a clogged drain. First, you should cover the overflowing drain with a strip of duct tape to prevent the water from coming out from the drain overflow and send it back down the drain instead.
If you find yourself in an emergency situation without a cup plunger on hand, then you can improvise with an alternative such as an empty milk carton. All you have to do is place the mouth of the carton on top of the drain and then squeeze the air out of it so that it can push out whatever obstruction that is clogging the drain.