Eco-Friendly Drain Cleaning

My mother-in-law recently made a confession to me: She is a vinegar freak – and has been for many years. It started in the 80’s when her daughter’s participation in the huge hair/bangs trend was wreaking havoc on their bathroom drains. Her dilemma – she really did NOT want to use the typical drain cleaners sold at stores. It seemed to her that anything containing chemicals strong enough to heat up the pipes was not something she wanted sitting around the house. Sound familiar?

About the same time, her mother sent her a couple of books describing all the different uses for vinegar (there are many such books). In one of these books she found the following recipe & instructions:

** Drain Cleaner: Begin by sprinkling 1/4 cup baking soda into the drain. Immediately pour 1/2 cup vinegar into the drain. Allow it to foam and sizzle for a few minutes. When the action has stopped, pour at least 2 quarts of boiling water down the drain.

Honestly – this works like a charm. She hasn’t bought another bottle of that nuclear waste dump stuff that’s sold in stores since. In fact, she even used this concoction to unclog the toilet in the rv (after a little grandkid toilet paper mishap) and it was the only thing that worked.

Although there are a million uses for vinegar, this is my mother-in-law’s all-time fave and I’m filing this information away for the next time I find that we have a clogged drain. Yay for mother-in-laws!