Homemade Drain Cleaner

Learn how to make homemade drain cleaner to naturally unclog your drain. All you need is two ingredients and some water to make this easy and effective recipe.

homemade drain cleaner ingredients on a marble countertop with a blue and white stripped towel in the background

For the last month or maybe two both are sink and shower have been clogged up. Because let’s be honest, it is one of those chores you put off until you have to do it. Anyone else?

This is disgusting in so many ways! If you would have saw our shower you would have been appalled. I felt gross getting in it.

So finally I told my husband the only goal for this weekend was to clean out the drains. 

This natural homemade drain cleaner really helps loosen the goop.

Our drains are happy and working again! And our tub is clean! What a relief!

I love this recipe because it is so inexpensive and effective. Just like my other natural cleaning products: The Best Natural Stain Remover, All-Purpose Spray, Glass Cleaner and more.

Why should you make your own homemade drain cleaner?

Commercial Products Are Toxic:

The problem is commercial products is: they are dangerous, contain harsh chemicals, pollute our waterways, and nasty fumes (source). There is nothing really safe about adding toxic chemicals down a drain.

All those things don’t mix when one you are trying to be “green” and two you own a bird (that’s a story for another time). 

This recipe is all natural:

Made with just baking soda, water, and vinegar, this recipe is as non-toxic and cheap as it gets. These are staple ingredients to make other homemade products like toilet bowl cleaner or shower scrub.

It is super inexpensive

This recipe is so much cheaper then buying the commercial stuff! Save money and it’s natural. My two favorite combinations.

Tips For Making Homemade Drain Cleaner

  • If you are really struggling to get a drain clean, try using a plastic hair snake. They work great.
  • You can also use a plunger and plunge a drain to help unclog any clogged chunks.
  • Always make sure to bring lots of rags or paper towels. It can get pretty messy when trying to clean and unclog drains.

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What you need:

1 cup vinegar

1/2 cup baking soda

about a half to one gallon of boiling water

Plastic hair snake or wire (like this one)- I prefer the plastic hair snake but I’ve used a dissembled wire hanger in the past. Optional, but I would totally recommend this.

two ingredients to make drain cleaner in glass jars on a marble countertop with fresh herbs

How To Use Homemade Drain Cleaner:

  1. Remove any noticeable hair or debris from the drain.
  2. Carefully try and get all the baking soda in the drain.
  3. Pour 1/2 of the vinegar over the hole. So that the fizzes are forced down.
  4. Then pour the other 1/2 of the vinegar down.
  5. Wait 15 minutes then pour the boiling water down the drain. You may need to redo this step a few times. 
  6. Grab a plastic hair snake and place it in the drain, moving it around the inside edges of the drain. Pull out the snake and look in udder disgust of what came out.

Find more natural cleaners:

Homemade Drain Cleaner Recipe:

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back, commented on the post, and give it 5 stars! Please and thank you.

two ingredients to make drain cleaner in glass jars on a marble countertop with fresh herbs

Homemade Drain Cleaner

Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Author: Amy

Ingredients

  • 1 cup vinegar
  • 1/2 cup baking soda
  • about a gallon of boiling water
  • Plastic hair snake or wire optional

Instructions

  • Carefully try and get all the baking soda in the drain.
    Pour 1/2 of the vinegar over the hole. So that the fizzes are forced down.
    Then pour the other 1/2 of the vinegar down.
    Wait 15 minutes then pour the boiling water down the drain. You may need to redo this step a few times. 
    If stubborn clog still exists, grab the plastic hair snake and place it in the drain, moving it around the inside edges of the drain. Pull out the snake and look in udder disgust of what game out.
    Throw out in the trash.
Tried this recipe?Mention @ablossominglife or tag #ablossominglife!

This post was originally published in 2012. Updated November 2019.

7 Comments

  1. I love this way of cleaning drains but thought I should mention that once when my husband poured boiling water down our bathroom sink, the boiling water cracked the cold sink completely in half and we had to replace it! (I guess that’s what happens when you keep the temperature of your home way down in winter to save on oil.) So just a heads up to be careful! You have a very pretty blog and I look forward to visiting it in future!

    1. O my goodness that isn’t good! We only poured the boiling water down the bathtub but I guess that could have been worse! Thank you for the tip though! I will keep that in mind the next time I need to do this again.

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