Baking Soda Drain Cleaner: 4 Recipes and Methods!

Welcome to my article all about baking soda drain cleaner!

When used in cooking, baking soda reacts with acidic products like lemon juice or vinegar, which causes your baked goods to rise for light, fluffy results.

Of course, there is another use for baking soda that not everyone is aware of, which is as a drain cleaner for your kitchen and bathroom.

Using this kitchen staple as a drain cleaner has a variety of benefits, plus it is easy to do.

For more information on baking soda drain cleaner, including recipes, cleaning methods and more, keep on reading!

Benefits of Using Baking Soda as Drain Cleaner

Baking soda, formally known as sodium bicarbonate, is an alkaline powder, so it reacts when it comes into contact with acidic materials.

These include mineral deposits that can form in your drain, as well as organic materials, like grease or oil.

As it eats away at these materials, it leaves the metal of the pipes in the drain alone, so you don’t need to worry about any damage occurring.

There is also a reason why people put baking soda in their fridges. It’s because this powder can eliminate odors, leaving a fresh scent behind.

Putting baking soda in your drain has the same effect, removing any nasty smells from any food, grease, or liquids that have collected there.

It also has disinfectant qualities that eliminate fungus for an even cleaner drain.

Baking soda is cheap to buy, much cheaper than manufactured drain cleaners, so you can save some money using it on all your kitchen and bathroom drains.

Since it is a naturally-occurring mineral, it is also environmentally-friendly, so you won’t have to worry about any chemical residue on your sinks and counters that could be dangerous for your family.

Methods for using Baking Soda as Drain Cleaner

Baking soda on it’s own

As we discussed above, baking soda can eliminate odors, so you can use it in your drains if you notice any particularly nasty smells emanating from them.

It works well for this on its own and the longer you leave it, the better it will work.

To get rid of those unwanted drain odors, just pour some baking soda into the drain.

This is best done before you go to bed since this will ensure that you won’t be using the water again for at least a few hours.

You can also do this before heading out for a weekend vacation to give it more time to work.

While you’re asleep or away from the house, the baking soda will do its magic, dissolving much of the grease, grime and residue.

When you wake up or return from your trip, use hot water to flush the drain.

This will remove any of the residue that the baking soda has loosened, as well as the powder itself.

Once done, your drains will smell fresher and cleaner.

You can repeat this process whenever needed to eliminate any stinky drain odors.

Baking Soda and Hot Water

If the odors are especially bad, there could be some greasy residue left behind that the baking soda can’t dissolve on its own.

You can add hot water to the process to reduce this residue and get the water flowing freely again.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Boil some water and pour it down the drain. This will loosen up any greasy residue.
  2. Add the baking soda to the drain.
  3. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes, though you can also leave it overnight for a more thorough cleaning.
  4. Pour more hot water down the drain to rinse away the baking soda and anything it has loosened up from the pipes.

Baking Soda and Vinegar

Sometimes baking soda doesn’t work well on its own, requiring something a bit stronger to clean out the gunk from your drains.

Luckily, adding some vinegar to the process can help since the alkaline properties of the baking soda react with the acid properties of the vinegar.

When combined, these two products create carbon dioxide and water, which fizzes around everything in your drain, dissolving it quickly to clear out the mess.

Using baking soda and vinegar to reduce clogs in your drain is similar to the water method we described above.

Here’s the method in detail:

  1. Boil some water and pour it down the drain
  2. Add about ¼-cup of baking soda.
  3. Leave it for about 10 minutes
  4. Add a cup of vinegar
  5. After a few minutes, pour some more hot water down the drain to rinse away the baking powder and vinegar mixture.

The water should run much more smoothly down the drain after this point, depending on how bad the clog was.

You can also repeat this process if necessary to get rid of any leftover residue.

Baking Soda and Salt

If none of the above methods clean out the food particles and grease that have collected in your drain, there is one more option you can try.

This includes combining salt with baking soda.

When used together, these products have a similar reaction to baking soda and vinegar, creating carbon dioxide.

This method is best used before bed to give the mixture time to do its job.

Here’s the method to follow:

  1. Pour about a cup of baking soda down the drain
  2. Add about ½-cup of salt
  3. Leave it for a few hours or overnight if possible
  4. Boil some water and pour two cups of it down the drain
  5. If the boiled water drains properly, turn on the hot water tap and flush the drain to be sure all of the loosened residue is gone

If the drain still isn’t flowing freely, you can try this method again the following night.

You can even try leaving the mixture in the drain for a few extra hours to give the mixture more time to work.

How Often Should You Clean Your Drains?

To prevent too much build-up, it’s best to flush your drains once a week using the boiling water and baking soda method we described above.

This will eliminate any residue before it can turn into a clogged drain.

You can also sprinkle baking soda alone whenever needed to get rid of those nasty odors for a fresher-smelling drain.

Baking Soda Drain Cleaner: Conclusion

I hope this article has given you some ideas on the best ways to use baking soda as drain cleaner!

With this useful pantry item at hand, your drains will remain clean, clear and fresh for a very long time.

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