9 Tips For Clearing Blocked Drains Using Household Items

9 Tips For Clearing Blocked Drains Using Household Items

By : Charlotte
Drains are among the dirtiest spots in your home, with millions of bacteria, viruses and fungi. These fixtures also house dirt, hair, food bits and other contaminants that accumulate in the drains over time and cause clogging. To maintain the optimal functioning of the drains, increase their longevity and prevent bad smells, you must routinely maintain and clean the fixtures. If you are a renter, removing an obstruction from the drains and sanitising them is crucial to get your bond back in full. You can hire professionals for bond cleaning in Hobart or specialists for drain cleaning (if they are challenging to clean) and get your bond back completely. However, it’s better to clean the drains in your home routinely to prevent blockage. You can use commercial drain cleaners, but they have corrosive, toxic and dangerous chemicals. Therefore, you must know how to clear and clean blocked drains with things readily available in homes. To get started, look at these 9 tips for drain cleaning using household items.

Use Dishwashing Liquid & Boiling Water to Clear Drains

Dishwashing liquid has a degreasing ability and dissolves dirt, grime and dust more quickly than most commercial cleaners. You can use it to wash drains and remove light buildup clogging the fixtures. All you need to do is pour boiling water first into the drain, followed by a few squirts of dishwashing liquid. Alternatively, you can mix dishwashing liquid in the water before pouring it into the drain. Let the soap dwell for 5-10 minutes before washing it with boiling water. This trick comes in handy while sanitising drains during bond cleaning in Hobart.

Remove Hair, Threads & Lint with a Flexible Drain Cleaning Brush

These things can end up in drains, especially the ones in the bathroom and laundry room, clogging the fixtures and making them a hot spot for germs. Removing hair, threads, and lint is challenging without a drain cleaning brush, a common cleaning product in the household. Just make sure yours is flexible and can get inside the drain with little effort. You can use it to take out the gunk and toss it in the trash without contact.

Sanitise Drains with Baking Soda & White Vinegar

If your drains are heavily soiled, soap and boiling water alone won’t work. Thus, you must also sanitise the drains with baking soda and white vinegar. Their reaction together creates carbon dioxide, a gas that dissolves grime and gunk. Thus, after pouring dishwashing liquid and boiling water into the drain, put in a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar. Wait 10 minutes or until the fizzling settles, then wash all the grime & residue with boiling water.

Plunge the Drain to Agitate Gunk & Grime

Unclear drain back up water or don’t drain at all. One of the easiest and most effective ways to unclog drains is with a plunger. It creates a deep suction that agitates the gunk and grime, blocking the drain & loosens it to restore proper drainage. After plunging the drain, you must pour boiling water into the drain to check its functionality and remove any remaining residues.

Pour Bleach into Drains

Dirty drains not only smell bad, but they also attract pests like cockroaches, spiders, fungus gnats, drain flies, fruit flies and more. These pests can contaminate your food or make household surfaces unsanitary. Therefore, you must unclog the drains and disinfect them with bleach. To do this:
  1. Pour boiling water into the drain, followed by a cup of bleach.
  2. Cover the drain and let the bleach dissolve the grime for 30 minutes.
  3. Uncover the drain and wash with water. The smell of bleach will keep pests away, and you can also keep the fixtures clean longer.

Make a Wire Coat Hanger into a Drain Cleaner

If you don’t have a drain cleaning brush at home, improvise and make a drain unclogged with a wire coat hanger. Open the hanger to straighten the hanger and create a hook at the end to catch blockage. This cleaning hack is handy whether you want to unclear drains during bond cleaning in Hobart or general house cleaning.

Clear & Deodorise Drains with Lemon & Salt

Lemon has citric acid, which dissolves grease, grime and dirt. When combined with salt, it becomes a powerful house-cleaning essential. To use it to sanitise drains, get a lemon juice concentrate, mix it with salt and pour it in the drain. Let the solution dwell for 30 minutes or more before washing it with hot water. Not only will lemon and salt clear the clogs, but they will also deodorise the drains by preventing bad odours and having a fresh-smelling home.

Unclog Drains With Hot Water & Ammonia

Ammonia is a common household cleaner and one of the best products for clearing clogs and sanitising drains. All you need to do is boil a litre of water and mix one cup of ammonia. Pour this solution into the drain and let it dwell for 30 minutes. Using a plunger agitate the clog if it’s not draining the solution. Afterwards, rinse the ammonia with ample water to have sanitary drains. This method is the most effective for drain sanitation during bond cleaning in Hobart.

Remove the Clog with a Toothbrush

Usually, the drain trap is the root cause of the clog that is preventing the drain from functioning adequately. You can quickly clean this part of the fixture with a toothbrush because its narrow head can get inside the crevices. Use a bendable toothbrush to get the best results. Also, use a dishwashing liquid to scrub the gunk, and the brush will also collect hair, lint and other things clogging the drain trap. This is an old-fashioned cleaning tip that actually works.

Wrapping Up

Dirty drains are unsanitary, smelly and function properly or not at all. You have to clear them regularly to prevent buildup that clogs the drains. Thus, use the tips above to clear blocked drains using household items instead of commercial cleaners or expensive tools. These tips come in handy for cleaning drains during routine house sanitation or bond cleaning.