Q&A for How to Unclog a Drain with Salt and Vinegar

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Do you need to use the salt?

Kadi Dulude
House Cleaning Professional
Kadi Dulude is a House Cleaning Professional and the Owner of Wizard of Homes, a New York City-based cleaning company. Kadi has over 10 years of experience and manages a team of over 90 registered cleaning professionals. Her cleaning advice has been featured in Architectural Digest and New York Magazine.

Kadi Dulude

House Cleaning Professional

Expert Answer

No, you can just use baking soda and vinegar. The salt may help, but I've never used it before.

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Question

Can you use brown vinegar?

Community Answer

Yes, you can try brown vinegar if that's all you have. Generally people usually use white vinegar for cleaning because they're afraid of stains from darker varieties, but for a drain that shouldn't matter.

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Question

Why does the water I'm running down the garbage disposal in the left sink of a double sink sometimes come up in the right hand sink while I'm running the disposal?

Community Answer

If you are disposing of a lot of garbage then it will start clogging the drain until the water washes it down the drain. In the meantime, the water will normally come up on the right side. Best to not try to dispose of too much at a time or you may end up cleaning out the drain. I have done this and ended up taking the drain apart and manually clearing out the garbage. Go slowly when using the disposal, and make sure you've got the water running on full blast.

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Question

Is it safe to use the vinegar and baking soda method if you have already used drain cleaner?

Community Answer

I would pour in a good 2 L of boiling hot waterdown the drain to flush the drain cleaner through first. The problem might even be solved at that point. I would use dish soap instead of vinegar and baking soda though. While the fizzing seems impressive, it really doesn't accomplish much and the end result is just slightly salty water.

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Question

If soda and vinegar don't unclog the drain is there anything else you can use?

Community Answer

Drain cleaner or a drain snake.

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Question

How do I unstop a tub that has about 3 to 4 inches of water standing in it? My toilet also won't flush.

Community Answer

If you take a plastic bottle (or something similar) and put vinegar in it, then put some baking soda in and then flip it around and put it right on top of the drain and hold it there for a bit, it should work.

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Question

Do I have to use rock salt or can I use table salt?

Community Answer

Epsom salts, pickling salt, rock salt all work just as well. As long as it is coarse salt, it will work. However, fine table salt dissolves too quickly and has no time to scour the drain.

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Question

Can pouring boiling water down PVC pipes damage the pipes or adhesive?

Beau Stickel

Community Answer

Yes. PVC, especially the cellular core PVC used in drain pipes, has a low maximum temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. (Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.) If you need to pour very hot water down the drain, do so slowly while running cold water from the tap.

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Question

Why do both sides of my kitchen sink fill up and barely drain?

Beau Stickel

Community Answer

Both sink drains are connected with a wye or sanitary tee on the way to the main drain line. If both sinks fill up, you likely have a clog somewhere after that wye or tee.

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Question

I cannot pour any water or vinegar into the sink because the drain is filled with blocked water. What can I do?

Beau Stickel

Community Answer

You can use a tool called a "drain snake," available at most hardware stores. It is a rigid cable that extends deep into your drain to dislodge most clogs.

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