You don't need a chemical laden, toxic drain cleaner. Try this cheap, green alternative for blocked drains or horrid drain odours. This method can be used in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry sinks and drains without danger to health or the environment.
Just the fumes from chemical, off the shelf drain cleaners is enough to make anyone feel sick, not to mention possible dangers with kids and pets. If you don't believe me, just read the label. If the blockage is serious, you then have a problem of how to safely plunge once the drain is full of caustic substances, hazardous to skin, eyes and lungs. For odours, many people recommend adding bleach to your drain, but this is not the most eco friendly option and certainly not necessary.
Many cleaning products can be dangerous to our health and are not as essential as we are led to believe. Marketers have been fooling us into believing we need all kinds of products for years, and as more and more is manufactured, the marketers must find better ways of convincing us to buy more and more products to keep the wheels of production and profits turning.
These ingredients are likely already in your pantry or laundry, and readily available at any supermarket. These items really should be a staple in any household wanting to reduce their chemical load, or become more eco friendly and low waste. For years, I have been using this green alternative, so if you haven't yet tried it, what are you waiting for?
HOW TO
1/2 Cup of Bicarb Soda
1/2 Cup of White Vinegar
(For troublesome drains, I recommend doubling the quantities above!)
Put the Bicarb Soda down the drain first (as you can see, my puppy is helping and I didn't have to worry about him being poisoned or getting hurt)
If the drain is small, you may want to use a butter knife to poke it in, this is the floor drain in our bathroom, being large it's easy to put in.
Now, add the Vinegar......
These two substances react and fizz, to dislodge and clean whatever is in your drain.
If this is the first time you are trying this, or your drain is partly blocked, be prepared for it to fizz up out of the drain and onto the floor, possible with black yucky stuff. You may also have a really really bad smell occurring during this and I recommend putting a bath mat over the drain or use a plug as soon as the vinegar is poured in.
For this drain, I didn't bother as it isn't blocked and I just wanted to deal with the odour and was fairly confident nothing would emerge.
Leave for 30 minutes to an hour, then pour in about a litre of very hot water.
The hot water will help flush away the contents, smells and debris, along with any grease and soap residues.
Note: Be cautious of using too many products bathroom containing solid coconut or other oils, and aim to use liquid oils that wont return to a solid state once cool . The same goes for the kitchen, don't deliberately put fats and oils down the drain.
If the drains are regularly causing you problems, then perhaps schedule this once a month, otherwise just do on an as needs basis.