My husband recently decided to trim his beard and he did so over my sink. Now, this might not have been a big deal if it was just stubble, but he had a beard, like a two reed lengths from being on Duck Dynasty beard. It was the kind of beard other men envy and women flee from! It was the kind of beard that clogged my dang sink!
I decided instead of spending money on Drano and have chemicals draining into the Earth near my home, I would turn to Pinterest for a safer and cheaper alternative, so I searched "Diy drano" and lots of pins emerged, but all basically called for the same two ingredients: 1/4 of a cup of baking soda followed by 1 cup vinegar.
After much debate, I decided that I would fix the clogged sink all by myself with baking soda and vinegar. I have to admit I was a little scared. I have two sons and we've done experiments with vinegar and baking soda, you can really make quite the explosion with those two ingredients. I did not want anything to explode. I did not want a huge mess. I have had so many things explode in my house that it isn't funny and I did not want to cause one myself. If that happened, I would never hear the end of it. But I finally decided that I didn't think there was any way that small of an amount could cause too much trouble and that I would try it.
First, I measured out my baking soda and poured it into the sink then I slowly poured the vinegar on top. It bubbled a lot and almost looked like it was going to create a fountain but it never did. I waited three to five minutes until my sink completely stopped bubbling and fizzing and making strange noises and then I turned on the warm water.
It was still clogged.
Since we were going to town later that day, I decided to give it one more try before I gave up and added Drano to the grocery list.
I repeated the exact same thing one more time and waited, then ran the warm water, but nothing. It was still clogged.
We opted to buy Drano and we used half of what the bottle called for to unclog our drain.
I was really disappointed. Maybe I missed a step, but I would say you need more than these two ingredients to unclog your drain or at least when that clog involves, Duck Dynasty worthy beard hairs, you need more umph than baking soda and vinegar.
I decided instead of spending money on Drano and have chemicals draining into the Earth near my home, I would turn to Pinterest for a safer and cheaper alternative, so I searched "Diy drano" and lots of pins emerged, but all basically called for the same two ingredients: 1/4 of a cup of baking soda followed by 1 cup vinegar.
After much debate, I decided that I would fix the clogged sink all by myself with baking soda and vinegar. I have to admit I was a little scared. I have two sons and we've done experiments with vinegar and baking soda, you can really make quite the explosion with those two ingredients. I did not want anything to explode. I did not want a huge mess. I have had so many things explode in my house that it isn't funny and I did not want to cause one myself. If that happened, I would never hear the end of it. But I finally decided that I didn't think there was any way that small of an amount could cause too much trouble and that I would try it.
First, I measured out my baking soda and poured it into the sink then I slowly poured the vinegar on top. It bubbled a lot and almost looked like it was going to create a fountain but it never did. I waited three to five minutes until my sink completely stopped bubbling and fizzing and making strange noises and then I turned on the warm water.
It was still clogged.
Since we were going to town later that day, I decided to give it one more try before I gave up and added Drano to the grocery list.
I repeated the exact same thing one more time and waited, then ran the warm water, but nothing. It was still clogged.
We opted to buy Drano and we used half of what the bottle called for to unclog our drain.
I was really disappointed. Maybe I missed a step, but I would say you need more than these two ingredients to unclog your drain or at least when that clog involves, Duck Dynasty worthy beard hairs, you need more umph than baking soda and vinegar.
Salt and vinegar maybe? Thats what i used to clean the brass on my antique chest and it worked way better than the store stuff.
ReplyDeleteWell, the best thing to do is not pour them in at the same time. First pour in the vinegar to dissolve those pesky blockages, and then a solution of baking soda in warm water to dilute the leftover vinegar, so as to not damage your piping in the long run. This way, it wouldn’t bubble up as much as putting them at the same time or in the reversed order. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteKelvin
For some, the combination of baking soda, vinegar, and hot water really does wonders. The same procedure not working for you only means that you have a more serious clog than what others experienced. There's nothing wrong with trying to use some alternative solutions on your clogged drain then fail. At least now you know that there are types of clogs that need more than just baking soda and vinegar.
ReplyDeleteJaye @ All Hours Plumbing and Drain
It’s nice that it was able to work for you! Some people say that it didn’t work for them. Most likely the clog is either too thick or far gone for the vinegar and baking soda to do its magic. As for minor clogs, I’ve even read that using salt and hot water often works. But I guess I’m more confident with the vinegar’s acidic properties than dissolving it using a saline solution.
ReplyDeleteLovella
I don’t think you missed a step. Vinegar and baking soda is simply no match for your husband’s beard! Haha! But seriously, for situations like that, it’s a good idea to have an industrial-strength drain cleaner. Or maybe a plunger to scoop out the hairs out of the sink.
ReplyDeleteLovella