How to Clean a Sink Drain

Is your drain sluggish or backed up? It's a good idea to clean your drainage pipes to keep them free of odors and clogs. Here are a few simple steps to keep your drains odor free and draining properly.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Lemon Juices
• Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Drain Cleaners
• Rock Salt
• Measuring cups

1. Every few days run very hot tap water through the drain. This is one way to keep a drain free of odors. Treat any partially clogged drains promptly.

2. Put a tablespoon of baking soda into the kitchen drain about once a week, then slowly pour in 1/4 cup of vinegar or lemon juice and let it stand for 30 minutes. Next run run hot water through the drain to eliminate minor buildups and odors.

3. Pouring a strong salt water (brine) solution down the kitchen sink drain will eliminate odors and keep grease from building up.

4. Consider buying a drain cleaner solution if you have drains you can't clear out naturally. Be sure to read the label regarding the product suitability safety for your drain pipes.(Some chemical drain cleaners will harm plastic drain pipes). Make sure the solution is safe for plastic pipes or a garbage disposal. Be sure to follow the drain cleaner instructions.

5. Alternatively, consider a natural drain cleaner even for blockages. Remove any standing water then pour 1/2 c. baking soda into your drain. Follow this with 1/2 c. white vinegar. The baking soda is basic and the vinegar is acidic, so they will react with a churning action should break up the blockage without using any chemicals.

6. Call a licensed plumber for anything beyond regular drain cleaning and simple unclogging of drains.

Tips & Warnings

• Help keep tree roots from growing into house drains by flushing either 2 cups rock salt or 2 ups of copper sulfate down the toilet during the last flush of the night. (You may have to flush a few times to get the material down). Don't use both products at the same time. Repeat the process two weeks later, then wait at least six months before doing it again.
• Use drain insert strainers to help prevent any vegetable matter going down a kitchen drain. If you have to put some grease down a drain follow it with a lot of hot water to clear the drain pipes.
• Clean hair out of bathroom or shower before they can go down the drain and possibly cause a blockage.
• If you decide to use a chemical drain cleaner, be very careful. Follow the directions and react immediately if you get the drain cleaner on your skin, eyes or even clothes. Follow the flushing instructions on the container.

[STEIGER]

on 11/24/2008 if you live in ventura I have a snake that i could run
for you ,RON'S HANDYMAN SERVICE . 805 320 4887
CELL PHONE LOVE TO HELP.

[cakenoodle]

on 10/9/2008 The Baking Soda and Vinegar worked like a charm within 1 minute, the drain just burst open and drained immediately. I put the solution in the side opposite the disposal. Thank you for this gem of a fix.

[Cattrfly]

on 6/16/2007 Please don't pour bleach, ammonia, or other harsh chemicals down your drains... especially not on a regular basis! The use of "a gallon of bleach in every drain" each month "for years" or monthly doses of ammonia is shockingly irresponsible - these poisonous chemicals will not only damage pipes over time, they needlessly pollute our water supply, wreaking further havoc on our fragile ecosystem. There are plenty of effective, non-toxic & environmentally safe solutions for drain cleaning and maintenance, a few of which are mentioned above; many others can easily be found using a search engine - Googling "non-toxic drain cleaner" brings up an excellent list of products & references. Even if you're insensitive to environmental concerns, keep in mind that anything you pour down your drain eventually finds its way into the water that you, your children, and all of us must drink.

[jasonharrison]

on 3/2/2007 We had a double sink with garbage disposer on the left, with the dishwasher output into the garbage disposal. On the right we had a sink with an overflow outlet, T-junction from the garbage disposer, and then down to the trap.

After trying bleach, vinegar, boiling water, foaming drain cleaner, bleach in the dishwasher cycle, bleach down the over flow drain, etc, we could not banish the stench.

We finally disassembled the drain pipe, and the right hand sink over flow connections. Lots of stinky sludge (bacteria slimes) which we scrubbed out and hope to have "banished" for a year or so. None of the "clingy" areas could have been reached by cleaners or brushes.

on 5/22/2007 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of salt mixture. Pour into drain, followed by boiling water. This worked for me after spending several hundred dollars on plumbers to come out and fix a clogged shower drain. Absolutely amazing - never had a problem since. I do this about once every six months for regular maintenance.