How Do You Clean a Drain? What Actually Works at Home
Nobody thinks about a drain until it quits. Then it’s all you can think about. The bathroom sink that takes a full minute to empty. The shower that leaves you standing in gray water.
The cause is usually boring. Hair, soap, grease, and food scraps collect a little at a time, and plenty of clogs give way to a plunger and a cheap plastic drain tool. This guide covers what to try first, what to leave under the sink, and how to tell when the clog isn’t really a one-drain problem.
Check how many drains are acting up
This takes ten seconds and saves a lot of wasted effort.
If only one sink or tub is slow, the clog is most likely right there, close to the fixture. If you run the shower and the toilet gurgles, or three drains slow down together, the trouble is probably farther down the pipe. No amount of work on one sink will fix that. Skip to the section on calling a plumber.
Start with what you can reach
Pull the hair out
Most bathroom sink drain cleaning methods you’ll find online start with the same step, and it’s the right one. Take out the stopper or strainer and see what’s wrapped around it. Gloves help. You’ll often find a gray clump of hair and soap that you can lift out with tweezers or a plastic drain tool.
Pop-up stoppers can be fussy. Some lift straight out. Some need a quarter turn. Some are held by a nut under the sink. Look before you pull, because forcing one can break it.
Showers and tubs work the same way. Lift the strainer, pull out the mat of hair, and rinse. If the water still pools afterward, our page on shower drain problems explains what else could be going on.
Use a plunger
A plunger isn’t only for toilets. For a sink or tub, use a flat-bottomed cup plunger and add enough water to cover it. Plug the overflow hole with a wet rag so the pressure goes down the drain and not out the hole. Then plunge hard for several strokes and see if the water moves.
Don’t do this if you’ve already poured chemical cleaner into the drain. It can splash back at you.
Feed in a drain snake
A hand snake is a coiled cable with a handle. Push it in until you feel resistance, then turn the handle. It either breaks the clog apart or hooks onto it. Take your time, because forcing it can scratch the pipe or shove the clog deeper. It will come out dirty.
Kitchen sinks are a grease problem
Bathroom clogs are mostly hair. Kitchen clogs are mostly grease, and that changes what works.
The EPA says fats, oils, and grease are the most common cause of reported pipe blockages and sanitary sewer overflows (Columbia Heights Public Works). Running hot water and dish soap after a greasy pan feels like it helps. In reality it only breaks the grease up for a while, and it can settle farther down the line. A garbage disposal doesn’t keep it out either (LPUD).
So the real fix happens before the sink. Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing, and pour cooled grease into a container that goes in the trash (Washington Dept. of Ecology).
If your sink has a garbage disposal, the clog may be in the unit or just beyond it. A disposal that hums but won’t spin is its own problem, separate from a slow drain. If the sink keeps backing up, our page on kitchen drains goes into more detail.
Toilets play by different rules
Reach for the plunger first, and flush only toilet paper. Wipes labeled “flushable” don’t break down properly, and they contribute to sewer blockages (Columbia Heights Public Works). If a toilet keeps clogging even after you plunge it, see our guide to a clogged toilet.
Baking soda and vinegar
Everyone has heard of this one. You pour in baking soda, add vinegar, wait for the fizz, and rinse.
It can freshen a drain and might loosen light buildup. I wouldn’t count on it for a real clog. If the water barely moves, go straight to the plunger or snake.
Whatever you do, don’t mix vinegar with bleach. The New Jersey Department of Health warns that bleach mixed with acids or other cleaners, including drain openers, can release toxic gas.
Hot water is fine. Boiling water is a gamble.
Hot water from the tap is safe for most drains. Boiling water is a different story. PVC, a common drain pipe material, is rated for lower temperatures than boiling water, so a kettle can soften it (Hunker). It’s worse when a clog traps the water in one spot. If you don’t know what your pipes are made of, use the tap.
What about a store-bought drain cleaner?
People search for the best drain cleaner as if there’s one right answer. There isn’t. The best choice depends on what’s blocking the pipe, and the label matters more than the brand name. If you use one, follow the label exactly, with good ventilation, gloves, and eye protection.
Never combine two products. Keep them away from kids and pets, since some contain sodium hydroxide, which can burn the skin, eyes, mouth, and throat (UF Health). In the US, the Poison Help line is 1-800-222-1222. And if a plumber comes later, tell them what you used. They’ll have their hands and tools in that drain.
Chemical cleaners also do little for a clog far down the line. If one doesn’t work, don’t add a second product. Grab the snake, or call someone.
When a DIY drain cleaner won’t cut it
Some clogs are past what a plunger can reach. Call a drain plumber if:
- the clog keeps coming back within days or weeks
- more than one drain is slow at once
- you hear gurgling from drains or the toilet
- you smell sewage in the house or yard
- water shows up in a tub or floor drain when you run the washer or flush
Those signs usually point to the main drain or the sewer line. A plunger can’t reach that far. Professional drain cleaning can locate the blockage and clear it, and if you think the problem is out past the fixtures, main drain cleaning is where to start.
What a plumber can do that you can’t
What they use depends on what they find. You may hear about a few options.
Hydro jetting uses pressurized water to scour the inside of a pipe. Whether it suits your home depends on the shape your pipes are in, so ask.
A sewer clean-out is an access point on your sewer line. If your house doesn’t have one, clean-out installation can make future cleanings easier.
And if the line is cracked, collapsed, or keeps failing, cleaning may only buy you time. That’s when sewer line replacement may come up. Ask the plumber to explain what they found and why they’re recommending it.
How often should you clean a drain?
There’s no fixed schedule. A good habit is to clear the stopper or strainer whenever you clean the bathroom, keep a hair catcher in the shower, and deal with a slow drain when it first slows down instead of waiting for a backup.
How to Clean a Drain: When It’s Time for Professional Help
You can clear plenty of clogs with a plunger and a hand snake. But if you’ve tried the steps above and the water still won’t move, or the clog keeps coming back, it’s time to let a pro take over. Local Guys Plumbing is a plumber in Spokane that handles everything from stubborn sink clogs to main drain and sewer line problems.
Not sure how deep your drain problem goes? Call us at (509) 808-0713 and we’ll help you figure out the next step.
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