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Nobody likes the smell of a stinky drain, but it can be really frustrating when you can’t seem to get the stink to go away. Here’s the trick for you, simply a baking soda and vinegar drain cleaner! That’s it. Before you know it, you’ll have your sink pipes cleared of the stink. (Granted there are a few other things you can add to help add a pleasant and natural smell that I’ll highlight later).
This combination may not be fit for getting a major clog moving in a drain, it can help with the upkeep and help with unwanted smells that sort of build up over time. Adding this to your cleaning routine can help with avoiding unwanted buildup. Do be warned if you have metal piping, that you may not want to follow this trick as consistently because it can start to affect your pipes functions due to the interactions with the metal.
The Recipe:
There’s not a lot of rhyme or reason when it comes to making the combination for this little dish trick. You want to follow the 1 to 2 rule. 1 part baking soda; 2 parts white, distilled vinegar.
For instance my typical baking soda and vinegar drain cleaning combo looks like this. ½ c of baking soda followed by 1 c of white distilled vinegar.
How to:
Before you start, place a big pot of water on the stove to boil.
While your water is boiling, go ahead and dump the baking soda into the drain. I’ll also get around the entrance of the drain too, to help break up some of that mildewy stuff that tends to get in the little drain entrance.
Now, pour your vinegar down the drain. Plug it up with your sink plug, and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Your water should now be boiling. So, remove the plug, and pour the boiling water down the drain. This will help remove any of the leftover baking soda and vinegar left in the drain.
Bonus Tips:
After you have followed through with your baking soda and vinegar drain cleaning routine, you can follow that up with some citrus (if you have a disposal).
Citrus is known to have good cleaning properties, plus you can’t beat the smell. Perhaps you even just finished baking the amazing sourdough lemon muffin loaf, and you have the rinds left over. Simple cut those into thinner slices, put a few slices in your drain and run it through the disposal with some water running.
Voila, not only a clean drain, but a delightfully smelling drain. You can do this with any citrus fruits really. If you don’t have a citrus fruit ready for disposing, you can always run some essential oils through the drain as well. Here are a few of my favorite citrus fruits to use:
- Lemon
- Lime
- Orange
- Grapefruit
