DIY Drano for Toilets
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It worked! This all-natural DIY Drano for toilets really worked. Not just once, but it did the trick several different times on my completely clogged toilet. (Yes, we have really crappy toilets–no pun intended.)
Why I Love this Home Remedy for Unclogging Toilets
Let me tell you, I was one happy homeowner upon discovering this simple, cheap, and safe DIY Drano solution! That’s because a plumber visit costs at least $150 and Drano and Liquid Plumbr scare the snot out of me. Seriously, listen to the warnings from the Liquid Plumbr company itself about the dangers of its product:
“…Never use Liquid-Plumr with other drain-cleaning products. The bleach contained in Liquid-Plumr can react with other chemicals, such as ammonia, to create toxic vapors. Also, use of a plunger can be dangerous, as the product can damage skin, eyes and mucus membranes on contact…Handling lye in any form can cause chemical burns and skin damage, and ingesting it can result in permanent injury or death.”
Do I want a chemical compound like that in my house, near my babies, in our water system? No spanks.
The best part, besides the fact that this all-natural DIY Drano for toilets actually works, is that it only requires two CHEAP ingredients out of my kitchen cabinets and perhaps a pot of boiling water. I know you’re curious now.
My Test Results of This Home Remedy for Unclogging Toilets
Original Test Results from May 2013: The toilet was VERY clogged, as usual. I tossed in the DIY Drano and let it sit for a couple of hours. When I returned, the standing water was gone and the toilet flushed right away!
However, the first time I used this recipe, I had to let the concoction sit overnight in the toilet. After a good plunging, it began to work a little better. I used the DIY Drano one more time, and after a few hours, the toilet was completely unclogged.
Since my original test years ago, I’ve used this recipe countless times to unclog my toilets. You can see from all the comments that it’s worked for many other people, too!
Can You Use Drano in a Toilet?
One question I originally asked was “Will store-bought Drano unclog a toilet?” (This also happens to be why I ended up making my own homemade version!) It turns out that the manufacturer, SC Johnson, doesn’t recommend using Drano in a toilet. Not only will it act very slowly on tough clogs, if it all, but it will be dangerous if you decide to try to plunge it later. If you splash the Drano on you while plunging, it could harm your eyes or skin. So, please do not use the store-bought Drano in your toilets. Just use my safe, all-natural drano recipe that works!
All-Natural DIY Drano Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup baking soda
- 2 cups vinegar
- 1 gallon boiling water (optional)
Instructions:
1) Into a clogged toilet filled with standing water, dump 1 cup of baking soda. Let it sink to the bottom.
2) If the toilet doesn’t have much water, add 1 gallon of boiling water to really get things moving.
3) Next, add 2 cups of vinegar slowly, so it won’t fizz over onto your floor. Ickkk!
4) Let it sit for a couple of hours and see if the water has drained. If it has drained, then try flushing. If it has not drained, then do this…
What If My Toilet Is Still Clogged After Using the DIY Drano?
Do not fear! Just let it sit overnight and then plunge, if needed, before flushing. If that still doesn’t work, you may have add more of the solution, let it sit again, and plunge again.
Now, if it still doesn’t work after a few tries, then call a plumber. Years ago, one of my kids flushed a toothbrush unbeknownst to me and it was the issue. No amount of DIY Drano was going to fix that problem!
Is This DIY Drano Safe to Use in Sinks?
From my research, it sounds like this recipe is safe and effective to use in kitchen and bathroom sinks and drains, as well. One tip I read was to hold something over the opening of the drain so the fizz goes down it instead of back up and out. Obviously, I didn’t do this for my toilet!
May the toilet unclogging force be with you next time you give this DIY Drano a try!
Hello! And a big THANK YOU to everyone who chimed in!!! I clog our toilets all the time, :'( I’ve tried snaking it. Didn’t work. Finally had to remove the toilet. The clog was small and attached right where the toilet and wax ring connect. Weird. Anyway, the other toilet was clog not 15 minutes ago. After reading all replies, I went with what I had on hand: Arm & Hammer laundry soda, Dawn dish soap, and hot-not boiling- water. I poured about a cup of the soda, a couple of squirts of Dawn and then the hot water. I had to plunge about five times, and whoosh! Clog is ALL gone. I flashed a few more times, just to be sure. Then I put a few more squirts of Dawn in the bowl and scrubbed it thoroughly 😉
I LOVE Dawn and A&H-soda, both versions, cooking and laundry.
Thank you all again soooooo much!
baking soda is 9 on the PH scale, lye (drain opener) is 12 on the ph scale. When drain opener is mixed with standing water in the drain it’s PH drops, and so a lot of baking soda could possibly have the same ph in the pipes as a little drain opener.
Both are chemicals and one is not better than the other. Both will react with organics in the pipe until their PH is neutral, and both are dealt with by commercial sewage treatment plants.
Boiling water down the commode could possibly melt the wax sealing ring at the base of the toilet and cause a leak. A toilet snake will work much better on a toilet that won’t unclog with a plunger than drain opener or baking soda.
I have had read re this DIY technique elsewhere some time ago, and tried. It worked great. I used it again today and, shezzzaaaam, worked right away. Didn’t even have to add vinegar. Just a cup of baking soda followed by a pale of hot water. Beats costly (and hazmat) solutions to the punch!
For those with (a very valid) concern of sealants getting loose by boiling water, just pour hot water collected from your sink or tub faucet. It doesn’t need to be actually boiling, per se, just hot enough to dissolve caked baking soda, and to break loose organic waste jammed down the porcelain drain.
Liz contact was hilarious. Guess I will be blocked too. Lol.
So interesting! It is so good to know that there is a way to clean the drain with natural, home made cleaners. Thanks a lot for sharing this cleaning recipe! Bickley Carpet Cleaners Ltd.
I have tried the product called ‘Toilet Treatment Pro’ on Amazon and I was impressed that it’s very easy to use and solved my toilet clog problems. I first wasn’t sure if it would work. However, surprisingly, it worked pretty well. Anyway, the seller claimed that it is an all-natural product that has no chemicals, but enzymes from microorganisms to digest the organic objects that clog toilets. So, it takes time to unclog toilets. For my situation, I poured the product into my toilet, flushed it once, and left it there for a couple hours. Then, I flushed it again. The clog was gone after 2 hours. I would recommend that you all try this when you have clogged toilets next time. I hope my experience and information help you all have one more alternative to fight the clogged toilets.
I’ve always used the boiling water with Dawn dish soap in it. I fill a giant stock pot with hot water, and bring it to a rolling boil. Then I turn off the gas, add a big squeeze of Dawn, and take the whole mess to the bathroom. Pour it all in all at once. If it goes down right away, you’re done, if it flushes well. If not, I’ve done this repeatedly up to 3 times.
I’m gonna try the soda and vinegar next time, though, because carrying that multi-gallon pot of nearly boiling soapy water from themitchen to the bathroom is scary.
Oh wow, that sounds like a chore! I hope this one saves you some time and backache in the future. 😉
Hi. Just wanted to share my experience. I had plunged so much the water was moving very slowly but still clogged. I had tried what other sites say works wonders: dish washing soap & hot water. That didn’t do anything. So due to reading the bad comment above I was cautious & only used 1/2 the recipe you provided. I waited over night, plunged a little in the morning, and it worked! Thank you so much for this recipe! Must be the pressure buildup makes things unstuck. Just wanted to thank you & let you know it worked with half too.
Hello Rachel,
I gave a try to your suggestion to declogg the toilet (clogged due to lots of tissue paper). Didn;t see much result. Should I gave it more shot? will it be safe to do it again.
Thanks for your help!
Gosh I don’t know. Sounds like you might need professional help at this point. Sorry!
Try the product called ‘Toilet Treatment Pro’ on Amazon next time. It can digest toilet paper. Hope it’s helpful
In one of the more terrifying moments of my life, I woke up with a big black spider in my bed. Screaming nonsense, I grabbed a fistful of paper towel, closed my eyes and took several lunging grabs at the eight-legged offender. When I felt brave enough, I picked up the paper towel, saw a leg start to move and folded the towel in on itself. Desperately avoiding the feeling of actually squishing the spider, I ran in a crazed fit trying to figure out what to do as the spider frantically tried to free itself of its Bounty prison. So I did the first thing I could think of – which was, unfortunately to triumphantly throw the wad of paper towel and arachnid into the toilet.
In a premature sense of triumph, I flushed the toilet, cursing the monster as he swirled to his watery grave.
If only this were the end of the story.
In his last attempt to terrify me and ruin my morning, the toilet is now clogged.
I am assuming that most people are using this method to unclog a toilet of human waste, and I was wondering if you knew if I would have any luck using this recipe on a toilet clogged with about three sheets of paper towel (and a terrible, disgusting spider).
Either way, I’m still making it for my bathroom sink! Thank you in advance!
-Erin Joy
Hi Erin,
This is hilarious (sorry to laugh about your terror, but the way you wrote it cracked me up). This is probably too late (sorry we were out of town), but this recipe has worked on the mounds of toilet paper my kids have used. So, I’m guessing it couldn’t hurt to try it on paper towels before calling the plumber. The thing I’ve learned after using it many times is that you have to be patient. Sometimes, I let it sit overnight. You’ll know it’s time to try a flush when the water level finally goes way down (leaving room for a flush). A few times it’s taken a couple of rounds, but every time it works so far! Good luck!
So I tried this remedy on a toilet that wouldn’t go down. We had tried the plunging, no good, just got higher, scooped the water out, turned off the water at the wall, added my ingredients as told and left the room. An hour or so latter my son had me come look at all the black stuff EVERYWHERE! It had blown out of my toilet hit the walls and gone all over my floors, (which I had used 8 towels on already from it flooding over.) I had blown all the water out of the toilet onto the floors, soaking thru my hardwood floors, with this ash like looking stuff left on my floors. My toilet bowl looked like you had dumped ashes in it. I’m not trying this one again.. Beware if you try it!!
I’m so sorry to hear that! That’s awful. We just used this again this past week and it worked like a charm. I let it sit over night. Then, plunged. Didn’t work. Added another round and let it sit for one hour. Plunged and it worked. Do you think a kid flushed it by accident?
It sounds like you have some pipe issues that could possibly be caused by earth, roots having penetrated them, or a break somewhere. I manage rentals and in one very new home the plumber pulled out a huge 4′ long mangle of root out of the toilet. I highly recommend having your toilet snaked to check it. Vinegar and baking soda cannot cause the dark matter you describe, and act essentially like alka seltzer together to unclog drains and toilets. I am sorry you went through such a mess. For the home we pulled the root from the toilet on, the neighbors tree was the culprit.
This works amazingly well in any drain! It seems that when the toilet runs slow and a plunger won’t work it’s because the clog is way down deep in the pipes.
After we had a big party at our house both toilets were running slow. Even the shower stopped draining and water was backing up into the other bathtub! Plunging the shower drain didn’t help. So I poured the baking soda and vinegar down the shower drain and plunged some more. It didn’t seem to be helping but a few minutes later I heard the clogged toilet gurgle and drain. The shower and backed up bathtub drained too! Baking soda and vinegar fixed everything and was way cheaper than any declogger. Thanks!
Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that it worked for you too! Thanks for letting us know.
I’m about to get the vinegar and baking soda and try this. Right now my toilet won’t flush, but when you plunge it, the water goes down. Must be a partial block way down in it. Crossing my fingers that this works!
won’t boiling water crack the porcelin bowl?
I’ve done it a few times (adding it to the already standing water in there) and had no problem. It mixes with the other water and isn’t boiling at that point. Be careful, though, that you don’t burn yourself!
You’re getting marked as “spam” from here on out, Liz…just saying.
oops, here is the webstie
http://thegoodhuman.com/2007/03/21/naturally-unclog-drain-with-vinegar/
found this version to unclog drains (bathtubs, etc) courtesy of Molly Cover. I will be trying these!