Say Goodbye To Kitchen Sink Clogs With This Baking Soda And Vinegar Fix

Whether you're washing a few dishes or draining some ditalini for your latest batch of classic pasta e fagioli, a clogged kitchen sink is the last thing you need. While these can usually be prevented by keeping solids out of your drain, buildup from grease, starches and several other foods that don't belong in your drain may still cause the occasional clog. However, that doesn't mean you need to call the plumber or break out a caustic bottle of Drano. In fact, the solution to your clogged kitchen sink may just be in a nearby cabinet. 

Baking soda and vinegar have been used as a fix for everything from tough stains to clogged drains since time immemorial. Housewives of yesteryear were well-acquainted with this hack, and with good reason. They understood that baking soda makes an excellent leavener and an effective cleaning agent for the same reason: It's all in the bubbles. Baking soda is just powdered sodium bicarbonate, which contains carbon dioxide as part of its chemical makeup. When combined with an acid (like vinegar, for instance), that carbon dioxide is released as vapor, creating a fizzy, foamy substance. 

While hardworking homemakers may have been unaware of the chemistry behind this cleaning method, they knew that fizz was helping to dislodge and dissolve whatever was blocking up their drain. After rinsing with super-hot water, most minor clogs should clear, leaving you free to make the rest of your kitchen smell lemony fresh (with an actual lemon, if you so choose). However, more major, stubborn clogs may require professional intervention.

Cleaning your drains with baking soda and vinegar may seem pretty simple and, for the most part, it is. Maintaining your drains weekly with this method not only helps keep your pipes clear, it also kills bacteria responsible for making these areas stinky, leaving your home clean, fresh, and functional. However, there are steps you can take to make this hack as effective as possible the first time you do it, which will save you both time and money.

First, it's important to make sure your sink is relatively dry. If you try to sprinkle baking soda into a damp sink, it will cling to the inside of your sink instead of getting into the pipes, where you need it. The second thing you can do is make a disposable funnel from wax paper, and slide the tip into your drain. The paper is smooth and water resistant, which makes it effective for guiding the baking soda into the right place.

Next, once you've poured vinegar on top of the baking soda, you want to keep all that good fizz in the drain for maximum effectiveness. Be sure to plug it with a rubber stopper, or even a heavy pan for 30 minutes to an hour. The last tip is to flush the clog with VERY hot water; boiling from a tea kettle is best. The heat and steam will help dislodge any remaining residue, leaving a clean drain behind.