Got a blocked drain? It grinds your home to a halt, stinks, and mucks up even more of your plumbing if you don’t get on top of it – quickly. But what if you’ve already tried boiling water, baking soda & vinegar and a plunger? Because the usual DIY tricks just don’t cut it, we’ve got the inside scoop on some lesser-known yet highly creative methods for unblocking a drain using tools and items you’ve probably already got lying around.
Ready to get your drains flowing freely again? From your trusted Brisbane blocked drain cleaning experts, here’s how to unblock a drain – the slightly different way!:
1. The wet & dry vacuum method
If you’ve got a wet and dry vacuum, you have in your possession a powerful tool for unblocking drains:
- Set your vacuum to wet mode
- Ensure the hose is sealed around the drain opening with an old plunger head or rag
- Turn the vacuum on full power.
2. The wire coat hanger technique
A simple wire coat hanger, hanging innocently in the wardrobe, can be transformed into a handy amateur drain snake for even stubbornly blocked drains:
- Straighten the hanger, leaving a small hook at one end
- Go fishing in the drain
- Carefully pull out the blockage.
3. The alka-seltzer & vinegar solution
Otherwise known as Gaviscon or Eno, you can use this recipe not only for a drain blockage, but also to leave your normally-stinky drain smelling of roses:
- Drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into the drain
- Pour a cup of vinegar in there immediately after
- Let the mixture fizz and bubble for 10 minutes
- Finish up by flushing the drain with boiling water.
4. The dish soap & hot water trick
If you’re pretty sure you’ve got a particularly greasy clog down there, this method works surprisingly well:
- Squirt a good amount of dish soap into the clogged drain
- Follow up with boiling water
- It’s likely you’ll need to repeat the process once or twice to fully break up the grease and flush it all away.
5. The coke drain cleaner
Surely you won’t miss just one 2-litre bottle of Coke from the fridge, right? It may be delicious, but it’s also handily acidic:
- Pour the whole thing down the drain
- Let it sit for up to a full hour or more
- Flush with boiling water.
6. The magnetic retrieval method
Have you accidentally dropped something metal down your drain, causing the blockage? A magnet can be your best friend:
- Use a strong magnet, which you can easily get online or from hardware or hobby shops
- Attach it to a string or flexible rod
- Lower the magnet into the drain and wiggle it around to catch the metal obstruction
- Pull it out – slowly.
7. The plumber’s snake substitute
A plumber’s snake is something else you can get from a hardware store, but if you don’t have one, perhaps you’ve got a zip tie – or cable tie – in the tool shed:
- Cut small notches into the sides of a long cable tie to create ‘teeth’
- Insert into the drain and twist it around
- Pull the cable tie out, hopefully with plenty of drain blockage gunk with it.
How to unblock drains the professional way
Believe it or not, these easy methods using everyday stuff can be surprisingly effective for resolving even stubborn clogs – but always remember, the real experts at S&J Plumbing and Gasfitting don’t rely on household hacks. Instead, we use advanced tools and techniques like hydro-jetting, professional-grade plumbing snakes and augers, CCTV inspection cameras, and much, much more. So before stealing that last bottle of delicious Coke from the fridge, why not skip all the fuss and instead get in touch with Brisbane’s best plumbers?
We’re always full of tried-and-tested as well as fresh ideas for tackling drain blockages of every type and severity, so get in touch to give S&J Plumbing and Gasfitting a try today.