Unclogging a sink or bathtub: There are many options here. Plunging is one option, but more than likely it is just a temporary fix. Using chemical pipe cleaners is another option, but if you are like me you shy away from harsh and dangerous chemicals. To be honest, even those chemical un-cloggers (yeah- I just made that word up) don’t always work as well as promised, at least in my experience, and I end up using the whole bottle for, at best, weak results. Of course you can always call a plumber. However, the most effective method, and most natural way, to unclog your sink or bathtub is this quick and easy method:
Get approximately one cup of borax (I get mine in the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart, but it is a common item so look around your favorite store). Shove and stuff the borax down the drain in question. Really pack it in as best you can. On top of that, add approximately one half cup of regular ol’ table salt. Get it all in the drain as best as you can, but if it is overflowing don’t worry about it- salt and borax are perfectly safe so no worries. Next, add boiling (and I stress boiling) water. I find it best, safest and most precise, to use a tea kettle. Pour the boiling water over the drain and salt/borax mixture. Use at least four cups of boiling water, more if you wish. This mixture will gurgle and go down the drain, cleaning out the U-bend. Run water from the faucet for a minute or two to make sure you really clean it all out.
You’ll note that I use the word “approximate” a lot in the above paragraph. Because both borax and table salt are perfectly safe for your pipes and septic tanks (read the labels!) you can use more if you want to, or less if you wish. These are the general measurements that I find work the best for me. As a man with long hair, I get clogs in the bathtub fairly regularly, and as the husband of a wife who refuses to believe that we don’t actually have a garbage disposal, I am constantly using this method for the kitchen sink.
If your sink or bathtub is full of water and won’t drain enough to use this method, plunge first until the water is drained enough that the drain is exposed and then begin this method. You will be amazed at the results. I also believe you’ll be pleased with the total cost of using this method, keeping in mind that borax is a lot like baking soda in the sense you can use it for darn near everything: laundry, scrubbing, carpet cleaning, etc.
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