How To Use Drain Cleaner To Unclog Drain – Here Is Everything You Should Know

A clogged drain can make you suffer if you don’t know how to use drain cleaner. Some unpleasant odor can lead you to an uncomfortable situation. Around your feet, the water may be pooling. This happens after the drain clogged completely. You cannot avoid this situation even after taking precautions.

Solving this problem as early as possible is the best you keep the drain functional. Get your drain cleaner and find out the way to use it to clean the clog. But the important thing is, you should care about the pipe. You may damage it unconsciously. So, applying commercial liquid can be the way if the manual methods fail.

Both methods are effective, according to the clog types and the use of the drain cleaner.

Use Drain Cleaner to Break Down And Dissolve Clog From Drain

Drains are basically designed for letting the wastewater flow to the sewer. But the matter of fact is, all the waste water is not clean. Moreover, with the continuous flow of dirty water, it is pretty obvious to have problems like clogging in the drain. To get rid of these clogging problems, drain cleaning products can be highly effective. So learn the way to use commercial drain cleaner along with home remedies.

Using Different Types of Drain Cleaners

If you are looking for the liquid commercial drain cleaner then you will get only three types of them. The difference is obvious because it depends on the types and location of pipes. Even types of drain clog also influence your decision to choose the right type of drain cleaner. Before you use these types of commercial drain cleaner you have to take some steps to know the condition of the problem.

As an example, a kitchen sink drain is tending to gather grease and food particles. On the other hand, the bathroom sink drain gets clogged due to hair, soap scum, toilet paper, etc. 

Let’s discuss the use of different types of commercial drain cleaner

Enzymatic drain cleaners

These types of cleaner are specially made to prevent clogging. It can serve you for more than a month. This cleaner contains enzyme-producing bacteria. Yes, you heard right. It feeds on clogs. So, soft material like hair, paper can comprise easily. This cleaner is non-corrosive to plastic and metal pipes.

For other types of elements like grease or soap scum, it may take at least 24 hours to clean. The good news is, this cleaner does not have any kind of harmful toxins. It’s not necessary to use any kind of protective gear before using it.

Caustic drain cleaner

The main element of this type of cleaner is alkaline chemicals. That means you will find sodium hydroxide in it. It works well against the soap-like substance. If you are facing a clogged problem because of this kind of substance than caustic drain cleaner is perfect to use. It can easily dissolve them under plain water. Even you can use it to remove grease or food grains from the drain.

After using it, this cleaner will take at least 30 minutes to work. You should know that this cleaner can’t handle paper products of toilet drain. So, don’t use it there. But it cannot handle paper products. So, it will be better if you can use it for kitchen sink drain. If the drainpipe is made of aluminum, chrome, galvanized steer or brass then using this type of cleaner is not perfect. If you do not take proper protection before using this drain cleaner than it can damage your skin. Even it can irritate your nose and eyes.

So, you should use chemical resistant gloves and glasses for protection. To use it, take a mope bucket. Fill it up with ¾ gallons of cold water. Take 3 cups of caustic drain cleaner or soda and mix it with the cold water. Take an old spoon and stir it. When it starts to fizz and heat up, pour it into the drain. Let it work for 20 to 30 minutes. After the time flush the drain. Use boiling water for it.

Acidic Drain Cleaners

This commercial drain cleaner is popular only for cleaning heavy-duty clogs. It’s made as a powerful cleaner that contains sulfuric or hydrochloric acid. This sulfuric acid drain cleaner is needed when other cleaners don’t work well. So, cleaning soap scum, grease, food particles, hair, and paper-based material can be wiped out in a moment.

But getting this type of cleaner is not easy. Because of its toxic nature, they are hardly found in the store. You can easily buy this cleaner from online if you feel its necessity. It’s easy to use in a new drain pipe, but not suitable for the old one.

Before using it, you must take proper protection. It can badly damage your sink and lungs. It also irritates eyes and nose. Read the manual of this cleaner before you handle it.

Using Salt and Baking Soda

This clearer is made of home remedies that are cheap to find and easy to use. Take a ½ cup of table salt & ½ cup of baking soda and then mix them up. First of all, take a ½ cup table salt. This solution is perfect to clean the drain. Pour it the blocked drain and get the result 10-20 minutes later because it will take this time to work.

Grab a jar of boiling water and pour it in the drain. The mixture of these three items will produce some chemical reactions. To dissolve the blockage of the drain it works better.

Detergent

This is another good home remedy to clean the drain. This remedy also considered a good drain cleaner. Take a bowl and pour ¼ cup of dish detergent. Take some boiling water. The mix of dish detergent and the water become a lubricant.

When you feel that the drain is not working well because of the grease residue then this solution is perfect. This lubricant helps to break up all greasy residues. After pouring the hot water down do not waste time. Start to plunge. Your problem will solve soon.

Using Vinegar and Baking Soda

Vinegar and the baking soda act as a good drain cleaner that is also easy to apply. So without wasting time, let’s make a mix of these two home remedies. Take 1/3 of cup vinegar and mix it with 1/3 of a cup of vinegar. Now take this mix and pour it down to the drain.

You have to do this task immediately because it fizzes immediately. This mix works better against grime, hair, and gunk. To get the best result of this mix, give it at least one hour to work. I suggest keeping this mix at least one night to work.

Tips for effective use of drain cleaners

You need a few essential tips that make the cleaning process more effective with these types of drain cleaner. Check out the guideline.