Q&A for How to Clear a Clogged Drain with Vinegar

You might need to get a zip-type clog remover, sometimes called a drain snake. The zip-type snake can be just a few dollars from your local hardware store. The metal ones up to about 25 feet can range from $10 to $30 USD or so. If a 25-foot snake won't reach the clog, then you probably need to hire a professional.

Yes, you can, but the vinegar need not be to hot. Use it with baking soda for the best results.

No. Pour soda down the drain, then follow with the vinegar. Flush the mixture down the drain with hot water. If you mix the basics together in a cup, it will start to foam and lose its effectiveness.

While you could use just vinegar, it's not likely to be anywhere near as effective. It is better to use baking soda with the vinegar. It is the chemical reaction between the two that helps clear the gunk that is blocking the pipe.

First, make sure that the toilet has very little water in it. In other words, if the toilet is completely clogged, then manually take as much water from the toilet as possible. Put about 4-5 squirts (about 1 inch) of Dawn or similar detergent into the toilet. Take a bucket of hot water and pour it quickly into the toilet. This method works 95% of the time. In rare cases, you may need to repeat the process. In that case, increase the amount of detergent.

Yes.

Pour bleach down your drain and flush it out with hot water. Do this several times and in all drains if needed.

If you can get on the roof safely with a garden hose, and you understand where the main plumbing vent pipe is (over the bathroom commode drain), you can run a hose pipe down that vent stack pipe and turn it on full blast to blow clogs through the main drainage pipe. Have a person inside watch the sinks and commodes for overflow.

You cannot run a snake through the disposal; but rather than remove it the better solution would be to remove the p-trap to snake downstream through the opening thus provided. In this case with the p-trap removed you will be able to view directly and find that it is gummed and clogged. If it is you may find that snaking further is not necessary. Clean it and reinstall to determine if normal flow is restored.

Yes of course, just be safe and make sure the room is well-ventilated.

If you have bubbles coming up in your toilet and have a septic tank that could be two things. Best case scenario, your tank is full and should be emptied immediately by a professional. Not so great scenario, your septic drainage field is having issues.

Never use caustic drain solutions -- you or your plumber could get burned. Preventive baking soda with vinegar or lemon monthly are the best additives.

Repeat the steps a few more times. You might need to do it several times.

On most of them, you just pull up and maybe twist a bit, but there are some that are more permanently affixed. You would need to find specific directions for your stopper in order to figure that one out, unfortunately. You could bypass the stopper and open the pipe under the sink to run the snake through there instead.

I'm assuming you mean that you have, say, a bathroom sink with one of those plugs with a lever and find it hard to get the baking soda in. What I've done in a similar situation is to detach the lever mechanism from the plug (unscrewing it under the sink). Once you've done that, you can lift the plug out of the drain. Then you can add the baking soda down the hole and pour in the vinegar afterwards.

You shouldn't use hydrochloric acid to clean pipes, as it may corrode the pipes. It also might not be legal, depending on the amount and solution concentration. There are better alternative listed above.

On its own, pure vinegar will do very little, as it's merely a weak acid, but combining it with equal parts baking soda for a chemical reaction will work much better.

You could try a plumber snake or coat wire in conjunction with Drano. Vinegar and baking soda work better than vinegar alone. If you have any experience with plumbing, you could unclog the pipes manually by taking them apart. You could also call a plumber if you have the money.

No. Baking powder contains baking soda as well as other ingredients, so while it could be used, it won't be as effective as straight baking soda.

If it is silt, it should be light enough to move naturally with the water pressure alone. Try plunging the sink with hot water. If that doesn't work for you, try vinegar and baking soda, let foam and wash out with hot water. If it is still a problem, remove the trap and clean it out.

Yes, vinegar is a natural substance, non-fatty (think salad dressing without oil.) Baking soda won't kill anything and in this case is just part of the chemical reaction to make foam. Neither will hurt the "good bacteria" in your septic tank.