There’s truly nothing more annoying than a slow-draining plughole, especially if your shower is positioned over your bath. When I was younger and pictured adult life, it did not involve this much time trying to fix a blocked drain, but unfortunately it happens all too often.
Recently, after noticing the pool of water at my feet was getting deeper and deeper after having a shower, I knew I had to fix it. The last time this happened, I spent weeks trying different methods and even got a plumber out, only to find the blockage was caused by a tree growing in the pipe outside. This time, it was thankfully easier to solve, all thanks to two simple natural items.
Before you reach for a bottle of chemical drain cleaner, you might want to try a simpler solution first – baking soda and white vinegar. These two products work wonders for cleaning so many areas of your home, and the drain is no different.
I’ve used this before to clear a blocked drain, but I made a slight change to my technique this time after reading Martha Stewart’s tutorial on how to do it.
But in terms of what you need, it’s as simple as a few spoonfuls of white vinegar, a generous pour of white vinegar, and a clean cloth.
How does it work?
Before you begin, it’s worth noting that this method might only work for minor clogs – so if your drain is really bad, then chemicals may be the better option.
But if it’s only a little bit slow-draining, like mine was, then baking soda and white vinegar should do the trick. When these two products come together, they fizz up and create a reaction that can ‘help to break down minor clogs’, according to the pros at Martha Stewart.
All you need to do is pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by half a cup of white vinegar, making sure to do this slowly. You’ll see it start to fizz up everywhere, and to help get the most out of the reaction, use a clean cloth to cover it.
Then, just leave the drain alone for about an hour so that the white vinegar and baking soda can get to work. That’s the best thing about this hack – how little effort is actually involved.
When the time is up, grab a kettle full of warm water – not boiling – and pour this down the sink too. I was disgusted yet pleasantly surprised to see bits of drain debris flowing upwards and out of the plughole, so I knew the trick had worked.
And when I turned on the shower, it was clear to see whatever had been blocking the drain was no more. Water flowed down quickly and there was no dreaded pool of water post-shower.
You might need to repeat this a few times depending on how badly your drain is clogged, but it’s the perfect quick and easy method to try before resorting to other means.
