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Cleaning hacks: The $5 laundry staple a plumber swears by for unblocking drains
Kitchen sink drains can become stinky and slow draining after a while as all the greasy residue and food bits build up.
When this happens many of us turn to a popular hack involving vinegar and baking soda (bicarb soda), which leads to a lot of fizz but doesn’t always solve the problem.
There is a reason for that according to Daniel Smith from Cal’s Plumbing who prefers a lesser known but more powerful solution.
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While baking soda is alkaline and can help with grease when used without vinegar, Smith said it doesn’t work as well as a substance best known for its uses in the laundry.
“If baking soda and white vinegar do not work and you want a stronger DIY option, washing soda is the next best option,” he said.
“Sodium carbonate, sometimes known as washing soda, is a common item in cleaning household goods and an excellent do-it-yourself drain unclogging ingredient. Its alkalinity is higher than baking soda’s and is thus a more effective drain cleaner.”
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In Australia washing soda is sold by the brand Lectric. A 1kg bag is available at Woolworths and Coles for $5 and at The Reject Shop for $4.75.
To use washing soda to unblock a drain Lectric advises pouring boiling water down the sink and when that has drained away slowly add a cup of Lectric soda.
Follow that up with a cup of boiling water and let it sit for five minutes before pouring more boiling water in to see if your drain is unblocked and draining freely again.
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“If it isn’t [unblocked] repeat the process until the drain flows freely. You should see the drain rate improve with each treatment. To avoid blocked drains place a cupful of Lectric Washing Soda and hot water down your drains each week and you shouldn’t have a problem,” Lectric Soda states on its website.
However, if this sort of hack isn’t helping to solve your sink drain issue it’s time to call a plumber as something else might be going or you have a blockage that needs to be physically removed.
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The best part about using washing soda for this hack is that you won’t need the whole bag for this task so you can use the rest for other things around the home.
In the laundry you can use it to remove grease from clothes by soaking them overnight, clean your washing machine, soften water in hard water areas and as a detergent booster for brighter clothes.
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Moving to the bathroom, washing soda can clean your bathroom basin drain, shower curtains, grout and tiles.
Back in the kitchen, washing soda can remove brown stains from mugs, clean oven surfaces, replace dishwashing liquid, boost your dishwasher detergent and remove burnt on grease from pans and casserole dishes as long as they’re not made from aluminum.
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