Does Eco Punch Unclog a Drain? I Tested It.
Does Eco Punch Unclog a Drain? I Tested It.
Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I am on a quest for a non-toxic, environmentally-friendly way to unclog our constantly-clogging bathtub drain. A while back I tried the vinegar and baking soda drain clearing trick. Then I tested the Dawn dish soap drain hack. Neither one was effective for me and my tub. This time I am trying a commercial drain opener I found at my local Lowes called Eco Punch.
A couple readers of the blog have recommended that I try an enzymatic/bacterial drain cleaner. Apparently these have microorganisms that actually eat the nasty stuff in your pipes. It sounded pretty interesting, and this Eco Punch brand makes an enzyme cleaner, but I ended up just buying the regular Eco Punch Drain Clog Dissolver to try first. Why did I choose this brand? Really just because it was in stock at the store and also it was the only brand I could find locally that claims to be environmentally friendly.
I have to first note that I am not sure what makes this drain opener “eco-friendly” as claimed on Lowe’s website. The term “eco-friendly” is not regulated, so what does it even mean? The product is listed as non-corrosive, but I was unable to find a Material Safety Data Sheet for it, which all chemical products need to have to comply with OSHA in the United States. That sheet would at least tell me if there are any hazardous ingredients in this. Some companies make these data sheets public on their website, but this one doesn’t seem to.
I might have spent more time trying to track that information down if this drain opener worked really well for me and I wanted to recommend it to you, but spoiler alert, it did not, so I’m not going to bother. Read on for the details.
Testing the Eco Punch Drain Clog Dissolver
I like to do things scientifically, so I ran this experiment the same way as the last two times with the vinegar/baking soda and then with the Dawn dish soap.
The Control Test
I created a mark on the side of the tub with some masking tape.
I plugged the drain and filled the tub with water until it was level with the bottom of the tape marker.
Then I used the stopwatch on my phone and started it as soon as I pulled out the plug and timed how long it took to completely drain. It took 4 minutes and 31 seconds to drain.
Pretty slow. Let’s see if we can improve that.
The Eco Punch Drain Test
The instructions said to shake up the bottle well, pour about a cup of the clog dissolver into the drain and let it sit for an hour. So I did that. After an hour, I flushed the drain with a bunch of hot water as directed. I put the plug back in the drain, refilled the tub to the same line, and timed how long it took to drain out this time.
Final result: 4 minutes and 27 seconds. An improvement of four seconds. Not too impressed.
Since the directions also said you might need to use more on a tough clog, I decided to give it another try. So the following night, I did the test again. Here are the results:
Control time: 2 minutes and 53 seconds (I set the tape line lower this time to waste less water)
After Eco Punch: 2 minutes and 48 seconds
So another improvement of 5 seconds.
Conclusion:
I guess if I wanted to use this over and over, eventually I could unclog the drain with it, but I wasn’t too impressed. Are my expectations too high? I can’t ever seem to find any drain opener that really makes a significant difference in clearing out this drain. Maybe it’s just the curse of living in a house that was built in 1922.
3/11/2022 Update: Check out the results of my Bio-Clean bacterial/enzymatic drain cleaner test here.
If it’s a bathroom tub it’s probably hair, so you would need to pull it out (recommend), or use something that dissolves hair which wouldn’t be non-toxic.
Yeah, I’m sure there is hair in there. This stuff claimed to dissolve grease, paper, soap and hair, so I was hopeful, but was disappointed again.
(NOT YELLING/CAPS R EZR 2 READ) THAT’S WHAT THIS GENTLEMAN IS TRYING TO FIND OUT, THAT’S WHY IT’S “HIS THOUGHTS”, ANY SUGGESTIONS THAT ARE POSITIVE-INSTEAD-OF NEGATIVE! C’MON MAN!!!
Buy the big plastic hair removal tool looks like a big zip tie. Then very carefully snake the tub drains. Padding your tub so I doesn’t scratch. Last resort liquid fire will clear a clog if it can be cleared
I think that also the cleaner would have to pass through the “S”-trap or “P”-trap under the tub (the pipe-bend that prevents sewer gasses from entering your living space). It’s possible that most of that one-cup of cleaner just displaced the water in the S-trap, and sat *there* for an hour, while a small amount actually attacked the clog(s). I know you followed directions; just sayin’.
Good to know, thanks Jim!
Your old house could have cast iron pipes. When they rust they create something like plaque. They probably are pretty clean of scum, but you won’t be able to do anything about the corrosion
Good tip, thanks!
Dawn? Baking soda/vinegar? No idea why you tried those. Dawn is just a surfactant. Baking soda and vinegar merely produce carbon dioxide and a salt – cute foaming experiment for kids .
There are plenty of other products directed at drain cleaning – why didn’t you use those..
I know you’re limited to just that tub – but maybe the assumed blockage is not typical – something requiring physical removal.
This “Ecopunch” is bleach (“1-10%sodium hypochlorite”) – prob with some thickener. Here’s SDS
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/816FomTyuCL.pdf
Instant Power drain cleaner at Home Depot keeps our drain pipes clear by using it once a month. No more plumbers at $200 + per visit. No harmful chemicals.
It seems like the improvement after the first application was not as significant as you had hoped. A four-second difference may not feel like a big change after following the recommended steps. However, it’s interesting to see that there was a bit more improvement on the second attempt, even if it was just 5 seconds. Thanks for sharing your experience with Eco Punch. It’s always helpful to hear real-world results before deciding to try a product.
https://indigoplumbing.com/