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Clogged and slow-moving drains are impossible to deal with. Especially if we don’t want to use harsh chemicals, and calling a plumber to unclog a drain a drain is expensive. In fact, it costs between $100 and $275 for an average call to unclog a sink or tub.

Maintaining a good plumbing system in your home is important for obvious reasons. Being careful of what goes down the drain goes a long way in ensuring a clog-free drainage system at your home.

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How to prevent clogged drains

1.   Use a drain strainer to prevent food scraps from going down the drain.
2.   Don’t pour any oil or grease down your drains
3.   Pour very hot water down your sink weekly to melt away fat and grease that may have collected inside your pipes.
4.   If you have a garbage disposal, run cold water in while in use. This will help solidify grease and oil, so it doesn’t coat the inside of your pipes
5.   Remove hair and soap scum from your drain stoppers on a regular basis in your bathroom sinks and tubs.
6.   Don’t flush any foreign objects such as sanitary napkins or baby wipes down the toilet.
7.   Clean your drains every few weeks with 1 Tbsp table salt and ¼ cup vinegar. Let sit for one hour and then rinse with hot water.
8.   Remover hair from shower and tub drains on a regular basis. (This nifty little tool works wonders to extract hair clumps from your drains)

How to unclog a drain without harsh chemicals

In spite of our best efforts, we will face a clogged drain in our homes at some point. Luckily, there are natural ways to unclog a drain or clean out slow-moving pipes without calling a professional plumber and saving money by doing it yourself.

Unclog a drain with baking soda & vinegar

Bet you thought baking soda and vinegar were only good for cooking and cleaning huh? Nope, when combined together, baking soda & vinegar make a great natural drain cleaner too!

•         Pour a pot of boiling water down your drain
•         Add ½ cup of baking soda and let stand for a few minutes
•         Add a mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup very hot water on top of the baking soda
•         Cover the drain to keep the mixture from bubbling up
•         Let stand for 10-15 minutes
•         Pour another pot of boiling water to rinse all the gunk away

Other easy ways to unclog a drain

If you don’t have any baking soda and vinegar handy right now, there are a few other ways to unclog a drain naturally with items that everybody has lying around the house.

Use a plunger to Unclog a drain

A plunger is one of the best plumber tools to have around the house when you have slow-moving or clogged drains. A plunger forces the clog in your drains to move with air pressure which is as natural as it gets.

Clean out the clogged drain pipe

Cleaning the pipe is also another easy solution, even if you’ve never used a pipe wrench. Simply loosen the U-shaped pipe and then place a bucket underneath. This will collect the water from the sink. Now you can clean the pipe and flush out all the debris.

Use dish soap to loosen a clog

A very simple remedy to battle clogged drains; is a remedy that is under your kitchen sink. Pour some dishwashing liquid down the drain. Then add hot water and leave it for some time, or even overnight. This usually does the trick.

Use a coat hanger to snake a clogged drain pipe

You can use a coat hanger as a make shift pipe snake. Simply bend one end of a coat hanger to form a small hook. Push this through the drain cover and keep moving it around gently. You’ll be surprised at what you may fish out.

Use boiling water to clear a clogged drain

For minor clogs, boiling water may be all you need to clear a clogged drain. Boil a full kettle of water and pour it down the drain slowly. Wait a few seconds to allow the hot water to soften the debris.

Then again slowly pour twice or thrice more. Hot water will expand the clog material and then when you flush it with tap water, the clog will cool down and will lose its grip on the pipe surface, which can then be dislodged with a flush of water.

That is how to unclog a drain naturally without any harmful chemicals. Give these DIY remedies to unclog your sinks tubs and make sure you do whatever you can to prevent a clogged drain in the future. 

Here are more DIY tips that will save you a bunch of money every year.

DIY Laundry Detergent

DIY Natural Dryer Sheets

20 Uses for Vinegar

DIY Chemical Free All Purpose Cleaner

DIY Foaming Hand Soap

Want to know how to unclog a toilet? Check out this great infographic on 6 Ways to Unclog a Toilet Without a Plunger or Plumber provided Legendaryhs.com