If you have recently noticed that the water in your bathtub is backed up, chances are the tub drain is clogged. While lye-based drain cleaning products do the trick, the toxic chemicals in these products are damaging to your pipes and harmful to your lungs. Next time your tub drain is backed up, try this all-natural and safe way to dislodge the clog:
Baking Soda And Vinegar
Baking soda is a non-toxic household cleaner. It also is a pH neutralizer that can help deodorize stinky odors. Vinegar is an acid. It can help dissolve any mineral deposits that are caught in the drain.
Because baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid, they create a chemical reaction when they are mixed together. When combined, the two ingredients work together to form carbon dioxide and sodium acetate.
Once the carbon dioxide and sodium acetate begin working, bubbles are then created within the drain. These bubbles clean the drain and send the gunk down the drain while dissolving it.
In order to use this method, you will need to make sure your tub is completely water-free. From there, you will want to remove the drain cover. Manually remove the visible gunk from the surface of the drain.
Next, take a bit of baking soda and pour it down the affected drain. Immediately after pouring the baking soda, pour a couple cups of boiling water down the drain. The baking soda and boiling water will work to break down the sludge that is causing the buildup inside the drain.
You then will want to pour even more baking soda down the drain and then pour some white vinegar along with it. Take your drain stopper and plug the drain immediately after pouring both of these products.
While the drain is plugged, you will begin to hear a soft fizzling sound. You also will begin to see bubbles foaming up under the drain stopper. This is the natural chemical reaction going to work! Allow this process to continue for a couple of minutes.
Once you have noticed that the fizzling sound has stopped and the bubbles have died down, take a pot of boiling water and quickly pour it down the drain. You can then test out your results.
Simply turn on the faucet in the tub and allow the tub to get filled halfway. Notice if the water is now properly draining. If it is, you have successfully completed your task. If the water is still having difficulties draining, you will want to repeat the above process.
The method above is a chemical free and natural way to fix a slow tub drain. If you believe you have a more complex problem, call a reputable plumbing company like Advanced Plumbers.
Share15 September 2014
My homes have always had either copper or PVC plumbing pipes. But when my plumbing system needed an overhaul last spring, I wanted a piping system for my home that I could work on myself when needed. There were a lot of good reasons to choose PEX piping, but my favorite thing about the PEX piping is that it's easy to work with, even if you're a beginner like me. Now I can make small repairs myself instead of calling the plumber every time I have a minor leak or other small problem. I still call the plumber for the big stuff, but it's more affordable now that I can take care of small issues myself. I started this blog to help others learn how they, too, can do DIY plumbing repairs at home.