Does Vinegar and Baking Soda Really Unclog a Drain? I Tested It.
Does Vinegar and Baking Soda Really Unclog a Drain? I Tested It.
I am always on the lookout for a truly green and non-toxic way to unclog the drains in our old home. No matter how many mesh traps we place in them, the pipes still get clogged regularly. And I really hate having to use harsh chemical drain openers. Then I saw people raving about this supposed miracle way to open your drains with nothing but vinegar and baking soda. Sounded great, but I wondered, does vinegar and baking soda REALLY unclog drains?
Vinegar and baking soda are great for lots of things, including as cleaning agents and to kill weeds. But I had also read online comments from some who claimed that the hot water used before and after applying the baking soda and vinegar was the real declogging force. My tub is currently running slow again, so I decided to do a little experiment.
(Recently I also tested out dish soap as a way to unclog drains, using Eco Punch Drain Clog Dissolver and Bio-Clean enzymatic/bacterial drain opener.)
Testing Natural Drain Openers
First I applied a little bit of masking tape to the side of the tub as a water level guide to make sure all my tests are equal. Then I plugged up the drain with a stopper and filled the tub up to the line.
I set my phone to the stopwatch app and removed the plug, timing how long it took for the water to drain. It was 2 minutes, 47 seconds. Okay, so let’s see if we can speed that up.
Test 1: Plain Hot Water
For the first test, I decided to simply use a tea kettle full of piping hot water, poured that down the drain, and then plugged and refilled the tub to the tape line again. I timed how long it took for the water to drain out this time. Drain time: 2 minutes and 41 seconds. That’s an improvement of 6 seconds. Not too impressed. I would have to use a lot of hot water to get this drain really moving again.
Test 2: Baking Soda + Vinegar + Hot Water
So then I dumped a 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain. FYI, a bunch of it sat on top and I had to use a little bit of water and my fingers to get it down in there. Per instructions I found online in one of these drain opener recipes, I left it in there for a few minutes. Then I poured in about a cup of white vinegar. It definitely creates a nice satisfying bubbling and fizzing. I put the drain plug over it. This is supposed to create some pressure that will dislodge the blockage.
After about 8 minutes, I removed the plug and flushed everything with another tea kettle full of piping hot water. I put the plug back in and refilled the tub.
I removed the plug and timed the water draining again. Drumroll please….
Drain Time: 2 minutes and 39 seconds. So…an improvement of 2 seconds over the previous test? Wow. Definitely underwhelmed.
Recap of Results
Plain Hot Water = Improved drain time by 6 seconds.
Baking Soda + Vinegar + Hot Water = Improved Drain Time by 2 seconds.
I would have expected to at least get the same amount of benefit from the vinegar/baking soda test as I did from the first test, because they both use hot water, but the difference is probably just due to the fact that it’s impossible to be sure that I am draining EXACTLY the same amount of water each time. It’s probably to be expected that each test might be off by a few seconds here or there. Or maybe the hot water has the greatest effect the first time you use it because it can eliminate some easy gunk, but then is less effective after that because what’s left in the pipes is tougher to break down.
Takeaways on the Vinegar + Baking Soda Drain Opener
My conclusion: I did not find that vinegar and baking soda actually worked to unclog my drain. Plus which, I should have taken a before pic of the metal ring around my tub’s drain hole. It’s an old tub and has been a little rusty for years, but it looks like the vinegar ate away some of the metal coating and made it worse. But like I said, I didn’t take a “before” pic to compare it to. I just don’t remember it having quite so many large rusty-looking patches. I wish I had used a funnel to keep the vinegar away from the rim. But it also makes me wonder if using this a lot would eat away at my old pipes too?
Anyway, I won’t be bothering to try this trick again. On the other hand, plain hot water may have some effect in helping unclog a drain, but it seems limited in what it can do.
3/11/2022 Update: Check out the results of my Bio-Clean bacterial/enzymatic drain cleaner test here.
Thanks for all your research. Saved me a lot of frustration and baking soda and vinegar and time.. Have a great day.
Hmm. I”ve been happy when I’ve used vinegar/baking soda. But then I use is when I first notice drains getting sluggish. I combine the soda and hot water just to make sure it all gets into the drain. For more difficult clogs, a plumber’s snake is chemical-free and non-toxic.
Thanks for this, David. I know a lot of people swear by this technique. I don’t know why it just didn’t work for me. Our bathtub has constant clogging issues and we have tried snaking it ourselves too without much success. I have seen a few other home remedies online and may try some of them. I’d really like to find a natural solution that works.
Glad you did this experiment. I’ve always wondered whether it really works. Saved me some effort!
Yeah, I wish it did, but it wasn’t very successful.
We had a problem shower drain for years. I finally opted to have the plumber run a video line and discovered the problem.
Just outside the house the drain joint had cracked, letting water seep out. The water attracted roots into the drain, catching hair, clogging things and causing a backup.
Started flushing Root Kill every six months and never had a drain issue again.
Interesting. We had someone come out to snake our drain years ago, I don’t think they sent a camera down there.