How to unclog a sink drain without harsh chemicals

Kitchen and bathroom sinks get clogged all the time by a variety of things. Here is a handy way to unclog your drain with household items you may have around your house.

1. Take ½ cup of baking soda and pour it down the drain. (Remove the stopper if you can.)
2. Next pour ½ cup of white vinegar down the drain.
3. After it is done bubbling pour the boiling water into the drain.
4. You should begin to see things coming out of the drain so you know it’s working.
5. If your drain is still clogged after completing the process, call your plumber for professional help.

Hi I’m Julie Edelman, the Accidental Housewife, here on howdini.com, and today we’re going to do a little science experiment which I call, or I should say my son calls, Mount St. Helen’s, and it’s a great way to unclog your sinks. All of that hair, all of those contacts that I throw down there, and anything else that will go its way. Very simple to do. All you need are three things: baking soda, white vinegar, and while you’re boiling up a cup of tea for yourself boil up some extra water cause you’re going to need that too. All right let’s get going.

Very simple. You take half a cup of the baking soda. You pour it down. Now if you have a stopper that you can remove terrific. This one you can’t so you pour it down as best you can. Then you’re going to follow it with a half a cup of good old white vinegar and this is where the Mount St. Helen’s gets really fun. Watch what happens: look at that! Isn’t that cool? I love it too; I’m like a little kid when I do this. So you’re going to let it continue to bubble. When it’s all done what you’re then going to do is take that pot or kettle of boiling water, pour it down, it’ll continue to fizz a little, and then you’ll see a little bit of debris coming up—all that yuck that you’ve thrown done there. So there you have it. I’m Julie Edelman, the Accidental Housewife, here on howdini.com helping you unclog your sink, and if it doesn’t work pour yourself that cup of tea with the extra water and call your plumber pronto.