Clear a Clogged Drain the Environmentally Friendly Way for Free

Pouring chemical drain cleaners such as Drano, Liquid Plumr, and other brands into your drains is very toxic to the environment. These chemical drain cleaners can also be a big drain on your pocketbook.

Water is a finite resource. The water that is being contaminated by toxic chemicals is the same water that must be treated and reused in the future. If your drains are clogged or slow to drain, consider trying the following environmentally friendly way of unclogging them before running out to purchase any toxic chemicals. You will be saving money and the quality of the water supply at the same time.

The Free Wire Hanger Method

Some drain clogs are close to the sink drain. In this case, simply pulling out the debris that is causing the clog is the most effective way to clear the drain.

Choose one of the old wire hangers that has seen better days from your closet. If necessary, bend it into a shape that will fit into the drain of your sink or bathtub. Remove any drain plugs or fittings so that you can freely reach the wire hanger down into the drain.

Once the wire hanger is into the drain, move the wire around so that it catches any debris such as hair that is clogging the drain. Pull out the hanger and throw the debris into a trash can. Be sure not to rinse the debris down a sink because then it is likely to cause another clog. In order to get the water flowing freely down the drain again, it may be necessary to use the wire hanger to pull out debris from the drain several times.

Putting the Wire Hanger Method to the Test: The Stubborn, Slow Draining Bathroom Sink

My husband and I have a very stubborn bathroom sink drain that used to continually become clogged. I had tried pouring boiling water down the drain as well as other environmentally friendly methods of clearing the drain. Unfortunately, I even resorted to using toxic chemical products such as Liquid Plumr. These methods would temporarily help the water drain more quickly, but over time the drains would inevitably become clogged again.

We finally tried the simple, mechanical method of using an old wire hanger to physically pull out the debris. This method worked wonders. The drain has been clog-free for a longer period of time than when we tried other drain clearing methods.