by Annie M Manzi

Created on: September 05, 2008   Last Updated: October 07, 2008

Your resolve to clean with only green products goes down the tubes (literally) when your drain clogs up. You are so conditioned by drain clearing commercials to use their toxic products that you think only industrial strength drain cleaners will unclog drains. They do work, but at the price of polluting our environment and they are expensive.

There are simple and cheap ways to not only clean the drains, but keep them clog free with periodic use. Let's explore some effective yet green ways to clean and unclog drains and keep them that way.

Baking soda and white vinegar with a very hot water chaser is a very effective method in cleaning drains.

* Pour a cup of baking soda down the drain and let sit a few minutes to work in.

* Pour two cups of white vinegar, into the drain a little at a time. It will create a volcano eruption of sizzling bubbles. That is a normal reaction that is part of the cleaning process.

* Let sit for a while and then pour a kettle full of very hot water down the drain.

* Weekly applications of the baking soda method works wonders with keeping drains clean and fresh smelling.

If a drain is clogged, washing soda with a hot water chaser will effectively get rid of the clog. It is more alkaline and will dissolve the organic materials faster and easier. Just pour a bit of hot water into the drain then add 1/4 cup of the washing soda. Wait until the drain starts unclogging and pour in a pot of very hot water. Repeat as many times as needed.

There are also enzyme based products that will naturally eat away the organic material that is gathering in drains. They can be bought most anywhere and they are good for septic systems. Use as directed.

There are different devices to clean out the drain before adding the baking or washing sodas. A plunger, a short plumbers snake, a Zip-It (found in the plumbers section), and even a crochet hook can all unclog a stubborn drain by pushing the gunk through the drains or pulling it out. It is just a bit messy.

You don't need toxic chemicals to clean out your drains. With weekly applications of the products mentioned above you will keep all your drains clean, free of debris and smelling fresh.

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