Unclog Your Drains

I’ve been noticing our shower drain has been draining much slower lately and decided I needed to take a look at it. I unscrewed the drain cover and found myself face to face with the most disgusting goo I have ever seen. I did not take a picture. Do clogged shower drains ever happen to anyone else?

I grabbed my Queen of Clean book and here’s what she said to do: Pour 1 cup salt (any salt, I used rock salt because I had a cups worth) and 1 cup baking soda (I buy it at Sam’s because baking soda is a great cleaner) into the clogged drain. Then follow it with a kettle full of boiling water.

I did and it worked!! It loosened up the nasty stuff to the point where I could pull the mass out. I did the whole thing again because I wanted to make sure the drain was clear. She doesn’t say to do it again, but after seeing what I saw, I wasn’t going to stop until I knew the whole thing was working 100%.

For regular maintenance of drains, she suggests pouring a handful of baking soda followed by a 1/4 c. vinegar into them once a month. I suppose you could add a few drops food coloring and let the kids have homemade volcanoes! It’s non-toxic and cheap!

Here’s another little clogged drain story. When we were first married, Bill and I managed apartments. The owner had this little duplex that a couple of foreign guys had rented out for a while. They call us to say their kitchen sink is clogged. Bill calls Roto-Rooter, who comes over to snake the pipe. The Roto-Rooter guy calls Bill back and announces that they’ve struck oil, in the bathtub!! Eew! They had been pouring all their cooking grease down the sink!

Now that I’ve left you with that nasty image, go unclog some drains!