Effective pipe cleaning with vinegar and soda

Sewerage in the house is a clearly calculated, detailed system. It works stably and comfortably only when all its links are working, and the user follows the rules of operation. The simplest, but very unpleasant problem that happens is blockage. Fortunately, in most cases, it can be dealt with on your own at home.

Causes of blockages in sewer pipes

To avoid problems with blockages, you should understand why they appear at all. Failures in the sewerage system can occur both for technical reasons and due to improper operation.

• The system works due to differences in the levels of pipes, the difference in their diameters. There are no pumps that create pressure in it, everything happens by gravity. Therefore, the slightest miscalculation can lead to stagnation. If during the repair or rearrangement of kitchen furniture the drain pipes are displaced, this can also cause the sewage system to malfunction, and blockages can form over time.
• The most common cause of sewer blockages is large debris. In the toilet, these are rags, hygiene products, in the kitchen — for soluble large food waste. Sometimes even small objects can become a source of problems. For example, if there are nicks and scratches on the inner surface of the pipes, debris can get caught on them and not pass further.
• Another problem that is always there is the so-called silting, which mainly affects metal sewer pipes. Fats, all kinds of suspensions envelop the inner surface of the pipeline, their inner diameter gradually decreases until it is completely clogged.

Problems can be avoided by following basic preventive measures. But if they arise, you can use vinegar and soda to clean the sewer pipes.

Folk way to clear blockage — a combination of soda and vinegar

On the shelves with household chemicals you can find a lot of specialized remedies for blockage of the water supply and drain system. Most of them are serious acid-based cleaners. Such compounds should be used with extreme caution, strictly following the instructions. This is especially true for plastic products that have low resistance to chemicals. In addition, the price of such funds is quite high.

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If the blockage in the sewer has just formed, has not yet compacted, it can be removed by folk methods. Acids and alkalis, various chemical and mechanical methods are used. All from the field of elementary physics and chemistry. The most reliable way is to clean the sewer pipe with baking soda and vinegar. These funds are inexpensive, everyone has in the house and are relatively safe.

The method is based on the chemical reaction of acid neutralization with soda ash, which releases a significant amount of gas. Its pressure is used to eliminate blockages in the sewer.

If the blockage is superficial and insignificant, it can be removed as follows:

In this situation, baking soda with acid will start working from the surface, gradually penetrating deeper. Gas plugged from the outside will break through the pollution inside. This method is effective for fresh «loose» blockage in the bathroom or in the kitchen. So you can quickly get rid of not only problems with water flow, but also from an unpleasant odor that begins to appear from stagnant liquid and food debris.

When the blockage is far from the drain, it is more difficult to get to it. Especially if it is dense, gathered for a long time and silted up. The algorithm for dealing with the problem will be different:

• Prepare the necessary materials: a glass of hot water, 100 ml of vinegar 9% and 100 g of baking soda.
• Dilute soda with water, pour into drain.
• After a few minutes, pour out the acetic acid solution.
• Close the outlet with a cork for 20-30 minutes. If the problem is in the toilet, close the toilet lid.
• After the allotted time, rinse everything with hot water.

In this case, the dissolved soda will first penetrate the body of the blockage, slightly saturate it. When the acid enters the drain, the soda is already mixed with a dense medium. The reaction will take place in the entire volume of the cork. The released gas will destroy the blockage from the inside. Thus, it is possible to effectively clean the sewer with acetic acid and caustic soda.

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In the kitchen sink, you can reverse the procedure: first spill the drain with acid. And you should take it a little more than soda. Some of the vinegar will react on its own with the fats, removing them. The rest will work with the main problem as described above.

The «soda and vinegar» method is effective, but may not work the first time if the scale of the problem is significant. You can try again immediately. When using specialized chemicals, re-treatment in a row cannot be carried out, only after some time, so as not to damage the pipes. These products are absolutely safe for sewage construction. In relation to plastic, they are inert, and in order to cause corrosion of cast-iron pipes, the concentration of acetic acid is insufficient. You can also increase the exposure time to blockage. It is convenient to clean with folk remedies before going to work or at night.

Blockage Prevention Tips

If the entry of foreign objects into the sewer most often comes as a surprise, then the appearance of blockages from silting can be prevented by 100%. If we summarize all the measures that can be taken to prevent blockages, then the list will look like this:

• It is necessary to control the compliance of the sewerage system with the design parameters. If «wet» points (plumbing or kitchen sinks) are transferred from the outlet of the sewer riser, special sanitary pumps designed specifically for such drains should be used.
• Sewers are not intended for waste disposal. Large objects can clog it. Do not allow personal hygiene products, rags, cleanings and other food debris to enter the drain. Leftover food should be disposed of in a bucket rather than in the sink. Modern sinks are often equipped with built-in trash shredders. It is very comfortable.
• During the repair and cleaning of the sewer, you should use professional tools and tools. For example, polyethylene pipes can only be cleaned with soft synthetic brushes that will not scratch their inner surface. Any scratches, chips, transitions of complex geometry can become “thresholds” even for small debris. The blockage can begin to grow like a crystal — from one grain stuck to the pipe.
• To avoid silting with fats, prophylaxis should be carried out regularly. In principle, if this is done often, then it is enough to simply spill the system with boiling water. Some experts argue that, theoretically, too hot water can burn through plastic pipes. But in practice, this experience has not been recorded. On sale there are specialized tools designed to remove fat deposits on the pipes. They can be used as needed.
• There is a theory that one should not fanatically clean dishes before washing them. It is believed that small insoluble food residues, like brushes, will knock down fat settling on the walls, thereby cleaning the pipes.

According to experts, the most common cause of blockages is the «human factor». These are randomly thrown large objects. If the sewer is operated carefully, but still constantly clogged, most likely there are problems in the design itself. It is necessary to look at the construction schemes, change the levels of nodes. It is even more reliable in this case to install a sanitary pump. The device costs about 10 thousand rubles, but it is bought once and forever solves the problem of blockages.

The proposed folk methods of getting rid of blockages in the riser and plumbing will help you avoid the big problems and financial costs associated with replacing the entire sewer system.