Sunday, January 13, 2013

DIY Drano

We are what's known as Corporate Gypsies. In some major corporations there is limited career growth if you stay in one place.  In order to progress in your career you have to bounce from one business site to another while staying with the same company.  This is why we move every 2-3 years.

In our (almost) 12 years of marriage we have lived in 6 states.  There have been good things with each one but North Carolina will always be one of my favorites.

While we lived there I became close friends with a women who is about 25 years older then me.  She is very much a southern women and she taught me many wonderful southern things such as what yonder means and how far a tator chuck is.

She had some fantastic cleaning tips, but the one that has been the most useful is homemade drano.

Homemade Drano
You will need
Baking soda
vinegar
boiling water.

Pour some baking soda in your sink. Pour in some vinegar until it stops bubbling.  Let it sit awhile.  Pour the boiling water down the drain.

The southern folk don't measure things.  They have this gift of knowing exactly how much of something they need, so I can't tell you how much baking soda and vinegar you need, but here is what I do.

I grab a box of baking soda and just pour it in.  It usually comes out to around 1/2 to 1 cup. 

 Then I slowly pour in the vinegar a little bit at a time until it stops bubbling. 

I boil about 3 cups of water then pour it down the drain. 

The Verdict: This doesn't work great for really clogged sinks.  It's more of a preventative item, but I have had success on drains that are slow and getting close to clogging.  My friend told me she does this to all her sinks and tubs/showers once a month and she has never had a clogged drain. 

So if you have drains that are off like a heard of turtles then this drano will help the water get through faster then green grass through a goose.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?





4 comments:

  1. Hi! Love your blog!

    My husband and I live in a house that is 60 years old with 60 year old pipes, connected to a 60year old septic system lol. That being said we have to be very careful with what we put down our drains.

    We use the same combination of ingredients just a little differently.

    do the same thing with the baking soda. (pour it in till it piles up) I then rinse it very slowly down the drain as a slurry (you will need to whirl it around a little to make it drain)

    let it sit as long as it takes to boil a huge pot of water. We use our biggest sauce pot. I think it's 2 qt. Fill it as full as you feel comfortable carrying it. Add 2-3 cups of vinegar to the boiling water. (careful of the vinegar fumes) Pour it all in and watch the fun (bubbles)

    If that doesn't clear it, it's probably worked it loose enough for a plunger to work.

    Here's why (I know I'm a nerd lol)

    The baking soda slurry eats through grease and sludge in your pipes and loosens everything up. The boiling hot vinegar water breaks all the loose grossness up and helps wash it away.

    PLUS it's septic safe :-)

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    Replies
    1. This sounds like it would work so much better. THANK YOU!!!!!! I have two sinks that need attention right now so i'm excited to see how this works.

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  2. This is ingenious! Imagine saving money not having to buy such products every time and just using some household materials that we already have in the kitchen! I think another useful tip would be to do this every 3 months as a regular maintenance practice to avoid getting the sinks really clogged up.

    Lovella Cushman

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  3. I love this post! This will definitely help in saving from having to deal with clogged sinks, since it maintains the pipes by periodically cleaning them. This is a lot cheaper than having to call the plumber every single time as well. Thank you so much!
    Don Bennett

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