How To Clean Drains With Baking Soda And Vinegar
Drains in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room and other areas of your house can get dirty and smelly fast.
These fixtures are repeatedly exposed to dirt, dust and minerals and when bacteria feed on these contaminants, the foul smell of rotting eggs is produced.
Dirty drains are not just unpleasant, they also have reduced functionality. If these fixtures remain dirty for long periods, they get clogged and start backing water.
As a renter, this problem can make you to lose your bond money at the end of a lease or add to your household expenses as a homeowner because you need to pay for repairs.
You can use store-bought products for cleaning the fixtures, but most drain cleaners contain corrosive and dangerous chemicals.
They impact the environment and your health adversely, which is why you must know how baking soda and vinegar clean the drains.
Hence, here is your complete guide outlining why these products work and how you can use them to clean drains and sanitize them.
How To Clean Drains With Baking Soda And Vinegar?
Why Baking Soda and Vinegar Work?
Baking soda and vinegar are on the opposite sides of the pH scale because the former is basic and the latter is acidic.
However, these products are both excellent cleaners and work equally harshly on grime, dirt and dust.
They are non-toxic and natural cleaners, making them suitable for end of lease cleaning and green house cleaning in Maryland.
Besides being great cleaners individually, baking soda and vinegar are great when used together.
The acid in vinegar breaks down the soda and the reaction releases carbon dioxide gas which lifts dust, grime and other contaminants.
The key is to keep never keep the combination neutral, meaning one ingredient should always be more than the other to have a mix that is slightly more acidic or basic.
You should also read: 6 Things You Should Never Clean With Vinegar
How To Use Baking Soda And Vinegar to Clean Drains
For sanitizing drains like a professional end of lease cleaners in Maryland, you must first unclog the fixtures.
Remove the cover and using a flexible drain brush, dig into the opening to remove hair, threads, gunk and odor-causing blockages.
The aim is to avoid water or any cleaning solution from backing up or remaining above the clogs.
Once you have unclogged the drains, use the following method to sanitize the fixtures with baking soda and vinegar.
In addition to these natural cleaning products, you will need boiling water and dish-washing liquid to get the best results.
- Boil at least two liters of water in a pot.
- Squirt a few drops of dish-washing liquid into the drain and its cover.
Pour one liter of water into the drain. The dish-washing liquid and boiling water pre clean and degrease the drain by washing down grime and dust. - After pre-cleaning, perform the main clean by pouring a cup of baking soda into the drain.
- Wait 2 minutes then pour a cup of white vinegar.
- Both ingredients will react together to neutralize one another and cause a lot of fizzling.
- Let the reaction happen, as it releases the carbon dioxide gas
- That sanitizes the drain along with the natural cleaners.
- Once the bubbles subside, pour a liter of boiling water again down the drain to wash down the residues.
- Repeat the process if the drains are still smelly and grimy.
You can use this method to sanitize drains once every week or when you need to deep clean the drains during end of lease cleaning in Maryland.
This method also helps when you want to clean your kitchen garbage disposal. Since all the ingredients used in this method are non-toxic, you don’t have to worry about polluting the water or land.
When to Take Professional Help To Clean Drains?
While baking soda and vinegar are great green cleaners, sometimes drains need thorough cleaning which only professionals can do.
You may need assistance during end of lease cleaning in Maryland or under the following circumstances.
- Your home’s drains keep clogging repeatedly even after regular sanitizing. The professionals have the right tools and products to tackle severe clogs that you cannot manage with in-house cleaners.
- If the drains and house are extremely old, you can cause damage to the plumbing with DIY drain cleaning. Therefore, in such cases taking professional help is better.
- If you are incapable of sanitizing drains due to a disability, injury, pets, small children, demanding job or any other reason. You can hire a weekly house cleaning service in Maryland and also include drain cleaning in their task list. Most reputed house cleaners offer personalized services.
- Cleaning drains is icky for some people and even the idea of sticking a brush or sanitizing them can cause severe nausea. If you are among them, let the professional cleaners handle the task and other icky house cleaning chores.
Wrapping Up
Keeping drains sanitary is essential to prevent clogs and bad smells. However, these fixtures are often overlooked during regular house cleaning.
Therefore, use this guide to learn the best method to clean drains with baking soda and vinegar.
It also outlines how these ingredients work together to eliminate dust, dirt and grime from the fixtures.