Do you have slow drains? Who doesn’t at one point or another have a sink, tub or shower that starts to drain slow? If you are anything like me you don’t want to spend too much money fixing the problem. Drain cleaners are not only expensive, they are bad for the environment and sometimes bad for your plumbing.

Before you try anything else, I suggest you put a tea kettle or large pot full of water on the stove and get it really boiling. Remove sink or drain stoppers. Take your boiling water and slowly pour it down the drain. This may not work with the first pot of boiling water or it may. I always boil a large pot of water and repeat the process three times just in case I have a really stubborn drain.

Did that work? Don’t fret if it did not! There is another way. You will need baking soda, a rag or some sort to stop the drain, vinegar and another pot of boiling water. For this method, remove drain stoppers, pour about half a box of baking soda into the drain, follow with 1/2 cup vinegar, and IMMEDIATELY stop the drain with the rag. Leave this to work in the drain for about 30 minutes and then slowly pour your pot of boiling hot water down the drain.

These methods should work well and once you have got your drain working as normal I recommend at least using the boiling hot water method on a regular basis to prevent future problems. Once a week or once a month are both good schedules.