In last week’s blog post, we discussed how you can do your dishes in a sustainable way. This week, we’re all about baking soda and vinegar as we explore the exciting topic of keeping the drains clear. We well remember the cantankerous nature of the AvB drains, so hopefully these tips will help those of you who still live there, although we haven’t tried them out there personally. Luckily for you, our third year accommodation still has weird plumbing, so keeping drains clear in a sustainable, eco-friendly way has been something we’ve been trying to figure out.
First, some obvious things: clear your shower drain of hair regularly! We don’t have any sustainable alternative to this, so be sure the drain is free from obvious debris (and yes, this will always be disgusting, but adult life is disgusting as whole) before using the tricks below. If you’re dealing with a kitchen sink, be sure to remove any small bits of food before as well.
Now, onto the recipe. To do this, you will need baking soda at the very least. You can get this package free at Lekkernassuh, or in a compostable bag from levenzonderafval.com. It is possible to do this trick just with baking soda and hot water, so we’ll explain this way first.
Take two-three tablespoons of baking soda and put it on the drain. Basically, you should put enough baking soda there so that you can see a good amount perched on the top of the drain. Next, gently pour some boiling water over the plug hole. This should wash the baking soda down and allow it to clean the drain as it does so. The boiling water will also help to kill bacteria in the drain, which will reduce any bad smells.
The second option involves a combination of vinegar and baking soda, and is frankly much more amusing than the first trick because it involves fizz. Put the same amount of baking soda in the drain as before, but this time wash it down with vinegar. The advantage of this tip, apart from the amusement factor, is that it allows you to check all the baking soda has gone down. If you add more vinegar and a second bout of fizzing occurs, the baking soda has not yet completely washed down the drain. Leaving baking soda to sit in the drain will, in fact, increase the chance of it becoming blocked rather than reducing it.
If you have a proper drain blockage— that is, no water is flowing down the drain at all— you will need to take some different steps before bringing out the baking soda. First, use your hand— gloved if you prefer— to dig around in the drain. Most likely, you will be able to catch hold of hair or gunk of some kind. Pull it out and put it in a bin. This is disgusting, but also very satisfying.
If this fails to get water flowing, invest in a plunger. WikiHow has a great tutorial on how to use one, so I won’t repeat it here. At all costs, avoid buying chemical treatments to clear drains: if they’re strong enough to clear debris from a pipe, they’ll be sure to clear any living creatures in the water system they end up in as well. Fish are friends, not victims of chemical attacks.
Act Aware 