A clogged drain is one of the most common plumbing issues you may experience in your San Antonio, TX home. When it happens, you’ll probably look for ways to solve the problem yourself. That will undoubtedly lead to discovering a common DIY solution to a clogged drain: using baking soda and vinegar. However, you may wonder whether such a simple trick can actually open up a clogged drain. Here’s how the unclogging process allegedly works, whether or not it does, and when to call a professional local plumber.
How to Unclog a Drain With Baking Soda and Vinegar
Although different sources have slightly differing approaches to the baking soda and vinegar trick, most share some basic similarities. Most often, the first suggested step in the process is to pour a pot of boiling water down your drain. Next, you pour one cup of baking soda down the drain. After a minute or two, prepare a two-cup mixture of half water and half vinegar. Then, pour the mixture down the drain and immediately cover it with a drain plug.
Most proponents of this drain-clearing approach advise letting the solution work for at least 10 minutes. However, the longer you wait, the better the odds it will work. Remove the drain plug once you’ve waited as long as you deem necessary. Then, follow up by pouring another pot of boiling water down the drain. If all goes well, the water should go down the drain quickly, taking whatever’s left of the clog with it. Just take note that if your pipes are PVC, boiling water can melt them. That’s why you should only try this if you know that your pipes are made of metal.
The Science Behind the Remedy
If you’re wondering why combining baking soda and vinegar might clear a clog, a science lesson might help. Baking soda is the common name for a substance called bicarbonate soda. It’s a compound of salt and bicarbonate. It is also a base. A base is any substance with a pH above 7, and that’s capable of absorbing hydrogen ions.
Vinegar, the other part of the drain-clearing concoction, is an acid. To produce vinegar, you first start by adding yeast to fruit juice. The yeast converts the sugars in the juice into alcohol. Then, you expose the resulting liquid to oxygen and a bacteria called Acetobacter. The bacteria oxidize the remaining sugars and alcohol, producing acetic acid as a byproduct. Like all acids, vinegar has a pH below 7, typically closer to 2.
What’s most important, however, is what happens when you mix an acid and a base in a water solution. The two substances cancel each other out as they react to one another. In the case of vinegar and baking soda, the reaction releases heat and carbon dioxide. In other words, you get an active, fizzy substance. If you trap that substance between a clog and a drain plug, a few useful things happen.
One thing is that the bubbles in the solution work their way into a clog, breaking it up while expanding. The other is that the carbon dioxide produced in the drain line builds up pressure behind the clog. That can help dislodge and move the clog along and out of the drain. The follow-up with additional boiling water helps complete that process.
Does Vinegar and Baking Soda Work To Remove Clogs?
The answer to whether vinegar and baking soda make a good clog buster is a resounding maybe. In truth, the efficacy of the approach depends on a few things. First, if you’re dealing with standing water because of a clog, you can’t use the method at all. The water will dilute the mixture too much and keep it from reaching the clog. You can, however, attempt it for a partial clog that’s still letting some water pass.
Even with partial clogs, your mileage may vary. For example, if your clog is in a bathroom drain, it may have resulted from hair entering it. Hair forms pesky clogs because it gets caught on your pipes’ twists, turns, and joints. And hair clogs don’t always resolve when you increase the pressure behind them. They’re more apt to let the gases pass and remain where they are. However, the vinegar and baking soda trick may remove soap and grease trapped inside a hair clog. That may improve your drain’s performance a bit if nothing else.
The vinegar and baking soda method may be more effective against grease clogs. So, it can be helpful for unclogging kitchen drains. However, even then, it may not be necessary. The boiling water used at the beginning and end of the process may be sufficient on its own, and even then, you can’t use boiling water with PVC pipes. It will liquefy the grease and let it pass, but if your pipes are plastic, it could liquefy those as well.
What to Do Instead
Plenty of surefire ways to fix clogged drains exist. But first, you should know that although store-bought drain cleaners may work, you shouldn’t use them. Many contain caustic chemicals that do more long-term harm than good for your plumbing. Instead of drain cleaning solutions, there are a few safer options to try.
First, you can use another common household item to try to fix a slow drain or toilet: dish soap. Dish soaps work best against grease clogs but may work against other common clog types. To use this method, pour a half-cup of dish soap down the affected drain. Then, wait for up to a half-hour. If you’re dealing with a clogged sink, follow up by pouring a pot of boiling water down the drain. For a toilet, use a pot of hot tap water instead. You should never pour boiling water into a toilet, as it may crack its porcelain. The soap’s grease-cutting abilities and general slipperiness may help your clog pass harmlessly down the drain.
If the dish soap doesn’t work, you can turn to more direct methods of removing clogs. One is to use a plunger. Plungers use mechanical force to push water through a clog, breaking it up in the process. Your other option is a drain snake. They reach down to the clog and break it up through direct contact. However, never use an ordinary snake on a toilet. It will scratch the porcelain and may even get stuck.
Of course, the surest way to fix a clog is to call a plumber for drain cleaning service. When we send a plumber to fix a clog, they’ll arrive with an arsenal of tools at their disposal. Those include motorized snakes, augers, and hydro-jetting equipment. That enables them to clear clogs quickly while safeguarding your plumbing from damage.
The Local Plumber to Count On
For clogged drains and any other plumbing issues you encounter, Rosenberg Plumbing & Air is the plumber you can trust in San Antonio. Our team of plumbers has extensive training and years of practical experience. Plus, we’re a recipient of the Angi Super Service Award and are Better Business Bureau accredited with an A+ rating. We’re also a Nextdoor Neighborhood Fave, so we have your neighbors’ confidence. Many of them have left us glowing reviews online, too! So, if you need help with a clogged drain in San Antonio, call Rosenberg Plumbing & Air immediately!
Tags: drain cleaning, plumbing maintenance