This morning, husband took a shower & came out “‘I’m going to Home Depot for Drano” – I DESPISE paying for drano, because in the past it never worked for me. I cannot believe I used to shell out $5-$6 for that junk because it honestly NEVER WORKED for me. So I took out the vinegar, and put it in his arms.. and prompted me to dig up this old post.
If you knew me, you would know that my daughter and I have LONG hair – my daughter has hair to her butt and me, halfway down my back. So it’s constantly clogging the drain. You don’t need Drano – just a few things from the cabinet and perhaps maybe a plunger and you’re in business.
- Equal parts of Vinegar, Salt, & Baking soda – depending on how bad the drain is, I usually use 1 C. Salt, 1 C. Baking Soda & 1 C. Vinegar.
- First, pour the cup of salt AND the Baking Soda down the drain, let it sit a minute or two. Then slowly pour the Vinegar- it should fizz.
- Let it sit 15-20 minutes like that, at least. Then pour VERY hot water down the drain (be careful – don’t be burning yourself!)
- It should work itself out and if not, then the $3.00 plunger from Dollar General should come in handy.
I have one of those long, white plastic things with “hooks” I got from the Home Depot a long time ago – it “hooks” to the stuff stuck, if you can stick it in that far. It helps quite a bit too… . Doing it yourself is far better than buying any sort of Commercial Drain cleaner – plus, you can use Vinegar around your house for fabric softener, cleaning counters, floors, etc. It’s definitely necessary to have in your house on a daily.
Y’all may have some different solutions for this, but this is mine – so feel free to comment & let us know what works best for you.
I use the same thing as you but I also use a wire hanger with it and it works like a champ! :)
I searched for this post about 2 weeks ago and did the exact same thing!! Drain is flowing great!! Love these post!
omg- if you only saw my tub [2 daughters with looooong hair, and tons of it- and me; we are massive shedders!!] Could not be more timely- will try, thanks Sheryl!!!
Dude, I love this site!
May I know what is the purpose of the salt? I normally just pour 1C of baking soda, follow it with 1C of vinegar. Rest a few minutes and flush it with hot water for several minutes. It works too.
Awesome!!! Just what I needed my bathroom sink drain is s-l-o-w. I have got try this! Thank you so much : )
Actually Home Depot sells this thing that you can put down the drain and it has little edges that grab the hair when you pull it back up. I swear by it!
got this hint written down -may I ask have any hints for getting your tub clean
I didn’t know they actually sold a hook for this purpose, I use a wire coat hanger that I curved the end on just right to dig lovely stuff out of my drains. I also use baking soda & vinegar, but I’ve never used the salt. I also just dump boiling water down all of my drains occasionally to keep them flowing nicely.
Thanks for all of your tips!!
oh i found the white hook thing when hubby was on the verge of drano, and i thought “for a buck, this is worth it” and have had 2 of them ever since. keep them high, they’re sharp, dont need my 2 yo to get into it… but it works fabulous, goes SUPER far down, it’s probably 36-40 ” in lenth
Hey Sheryl! I have pretty long hair also, and my drains were constantly getting clogged. One day, while shopping at Fry’s, I found this little white plastic “basket” thing that fits in the drain. I believe it cost $1.29 It catches all the hair, and at the end of the shower, just empty the basket and toss the hair! I love that little thing!!