Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I saw a tip using baking soda to unclog a bathtub drain. I didn't bookmark and now can't find it. Can anyone recall the tip?
I use a small box of baking soda, I spoon it (if you try and pour it it will usually clump up) down the sink and then follow it with a medium or large sized bottle of white vinegar. it really foams up. Let it sit as long as you can without running any water in your sink so it can get the gunk out of your pipes.
Another hint: Run another box of baking soda and a bottle of white vinegar through one of your wash cycles in HOT water, you'll be surprised at how dirty your washer really is!
For clogged drains or just to freshen drains I put about half a cup of baking soda down the drain then pour in about a cup of vinegar. It will foam and bubble for a minute, then I pour boiling water from the kettle down the drain until it stops foaming. Works great.
Forget using baking soda and smelly vinegar. Go to Walgreens and buy a 'Zip-It' drain cleaner. Slip it down into the drain and pull all the slime and hair out in less than 30 seconds.
I am looking for the idea posted in the Reader's Digest on how to declog the bathtub drain. It mentioned baking soda and some other stuff and said it really worked.
I clean my coffee maker with vinegar, then use the hot vinegar and pour it into my bathtub drain where I have put 1/2 cup of baking soda. I clean two for the effort of one!
I tried and failed to find the link, but there was a Reader's Digest article (October 2008) where a family went on a spending fast. The first big hurdle was sludge coming up in their tub.
Editor's Note: Here it is: www.rd.com/
From that article..."On a website called thriftyfun.com, thousands of users posted tip after penny-saving tip on conserving cash. There wasn't a crisis on earth, it seemed, that couldn't be averted with some combination of baking soda, white vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and a certain dishwashing liquid. I squirted a shot of Dawn in a kettle of boiling water, poured it into the shower, and the goop slrrrrged down the drain. Materials used: 10 cents. The look on Ruth's face after I actually fixed something: priceless."
Baking soda and vinegar react together to produce Carbon dioxide and salt water. They do create a vigorous bubbling effect, but this on its own doesn't do any cleaning, and I wouldn't call it explosive. It is also used by kids to create fake volcanoes for science class, and is absolutely benign. Baking soda on its own, with boiling water, could be a good drain cleaner as most clogs are grease, and baking soda, which is a base, reacts with grease to create soap.
A bathroom drain may very likely be clogged with hair. Try removing the cover and seeing if that is the case. You can just pluck the wad of gucky hair out. If this is your clog, you will not do anything with baking soda or vinegar, alone or together. Drano, or some other brand, will get rid of it, but it is more effective to manually pluck it out.
Cleaning drains with vinegar, baking soda and hot water. What's the recipe?
Empty about 1/2 box of baking soda into your drain.
Follow that with about 1/2-1 cup of vinegar.
It will boil for a few inutes.
Follow that with about 2 cups of boiling water out of a kettle.
I gave my suggestions for cleaning drains a few days ago, but maybe you missed them. I use about 1/4 cup baking soda, a cup of vinegar, and follow with a couple of cups of boiling water.Let set for a few minutes, then flush drains with cold water.
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Baking soda is touted as an amazingly frugal cleaning product and it is. But be careful when you rinse it down the drain or the toilet. Baking soda, especially when mixed with hot water, solidifies.
