How to clear a clogged drain without chemicals
The drain in my bathroom sink has been draining more and more slowly for a while now. (I’m embarrassed to admit even to myself how long this has been building up.) In my bathroom sink, I realize it’s probably clogged with a lot of hair. I’ve used chemical drain cleaners before and I don’t think they work very well. They might make a small difference for a short period of time but they don’t actually “Clear” the drain. Can you imagine a chemical that was strong enough to dissolve hair? What environmental impact that would have being flushed down our drains? I’d rather not! I found a tool that lets me clean out a drain without the use of harsh chemicals!
It’s a disgusting job but you can use a hooked plastic wand thing-a-majig and clear it out. This one is called a Zip-it and costs $2.50 at your local hardware store.
It’s super easy to use — but you might want to put on a pair of gloves and maybe cover your nose and mouth with a bandana – old time western movie style.
- Pull out the drain plug
- push the Zip-it down into the drain
- pull it back out –the hooks grab onto whatever hair and crap have clogged the drain
- you might give it a couple goes to get ALL the gunk.
Did I say disgusting? It is SO gross, I almost threw up!
Seriously — D I S G U S T I N G!
But that sucker worked like a charm!
Have you ever used one? Did you throw up? uuuhhhhhhh (shudder and gagging again just thinking about it.)
Hmmmmmm. I got stuck at “pull the drain plug”. Mine won’t come out. Is there some secret to it?
I guess you don’t even need to pull it out. I did but the snakey thing is really skinny so it would fit without pulling the drain stop out. That’s what about 10 people have mentioned today so I believe it would work. Try it with the drain stop in.
Who knew?! I have always used the needle-nose pliers trick too – what a pain! Perhaps we should all buy stock in Zip-It now that it’ll be sold out in stores! 😉
LOL I just saw a WHOLE bunch at Home Depot today when I was there…but that’s not a bad idea! 🙂
thanks for the tip!! oh yeah and the gag reflex works good now also.!! hahaha
my turn to go and get that drain thingy. had one that had like a bottle brush on the end but now can find it ugghhh.
Oh goodness. I’ve gotten into the habit of cleaning the bath tub drain every few months. I just use some needle nose pliers to pick up the hair hanging onto the drain. Funny enough, hair balls don’t bother me one bit, blood is a different story. Anyways great post! I love that you posted photos of the nasties in your sink. 😉
Hair balls! I can handle blood but not hairballs. I seriously did gag. A LOT.
I think I have to stick with Draino. I would definately puke and I seriously doubt my wonderful husband would be willing to dive in to do that job for me. He’s not THAT wonderful. He just got done remedying his electric toothbrush issue. He is giving the “condom-thing-a -ma-jigey” (amazon?) a try. I about puked at the sight of that grossness! We ARE talking bathrooms…one thing leads to another…black gunk/toothbrushes 🙂