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Are you having trouble draining your sink because it’s getting dirty or clogged? Your sink needs to be cleaned. Baking soda can be used instead of chemical cleaners to clean your sink naturally.
A natural mineral such as baking soda is safe around small children and animals. Discover how to use baking soda to clean a sink as well as how to use vinegar and baking soda to clean your drains.
Clean the Sink with Baking Soda
Thoroughly Rinse Your Sink
Start by thoroughly rinsing your sink. Get rid of any grease or food particles stuck to the side of the sink. Empty the drain basket into the trash can when you are finished.
Sprinkle With Baking Soda
Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda into the sink. You will easily clean it with baking soda without damaging the finish.
Pour a Dish Soap on a Sponge
As soon as you cover the sink with baking soda, you’re almost ready to scrub it. On a clean sponge, first apply a small quantity of dish soap. Your sink will be easier to clean this way.
Scrub From Top to Down
Use circular motions to scrub the sink from top to bottom. Your scrubbing should end at the drain. Baking soda is a mild abrasive, so even stainless steel sinks won’t be damaged by it.
Rinse the Sink
After you have scrubbed your sink, it is time to rinse it with water. Before you sanitize your sink with vinegar, make sure you have thoroughly rinsed it.
Use Vinegar to Sanitize
Using vinegar for sanitizing your sink requires first soaking some paper towels in vinegar and then covering your sink with these paper towels. It is best to leave these paper towels on for 20 minutes prior to removing them.
Leaving vinegar on your sink will allow it to sanitize naturally. Furthermore, vinegar will get rid of hard water stains on your sink.
Clean Faucets and Handles
Once the 20 minutes have passed, clean your faucets and sink handles with some soapy water. Use fresh water to rinse them thoroughly afterward.
You should then wipe the faucets and sink handles with vinegar after putting a bit of it on a clean cloth. By doing so, the faucets and sink handles will be sanitized.
Rinse Thoroughly
When you’re done, rinse your sink thoroughly. If your sink is stainless steel, you can buff it with olive oil and a paper towel. That will make your sink shine for weeks.
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How to Clean the Sink Drain (Unclog)
Boil Some Water
Start by boiling some water around 6-8 cups.
Run the Boiling Water and Dish Soap
Spray a bit of grease-fighting dish soap down the drain. Next, pour boiling water down the drain slowly. Make sure you don’t burn yourself. Any greasy clogs in your sink will be removed with this DIY combination.
Pour Some Baking Soda
Take 1 cup of baking soda. Pour it down the drain. The baking soda will have to be poured down a funnel if the drain is smaller.
It is also possible to pour baking soda directly into the drain from a measuring cup. Make sure all baking soda that falls into the sink is pushed into the drain with your fingers.
Stream 1 Cup of Distilled Vinegar
Let’s unclog your drain now. Put 1 cup of white vinegar down the drain. Do not be concerned about the noise you hear, as the vinegar reacts with the baking soda to clean your drain.
Cover the drain with a plug. It will help remove the clog by creating pressure in the closed drain.
For best results, let the baking soda and vinegar stay in the drain for at least 10 minutes. Alternatively, you could wait until no more fizzing is heard coming from your sink.
Waiting longer is better than flushing the drain too soon because you want to give the vinegar and baking soda enough time to work.
Use Hot Water to Flush
Flush your drain by boiling two cups of water and pouring it down carefully. To help clear any residue stuck in the drain, run hot water for 3-4 minutes if your drain is not clogged.
Repeat these steps 2 or 3 times if the drain still does not drain.
If vinegar and baking soda don’t work, you may need to clean your drain with salt and baking soda.
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How Often Do You Clean Your Drain
Cleaning your drains on a regular basis is the best way to keep them well-drained. You can do this weekly by pouring boiling water down the drain along with grease-fighting dish soap.
This will remove any greasy suds left in the drain and prevent a blockage caused by buildup.
If you notice that your drains are not draining well, use the homemade baking soda and vinegar recipe to fix the problem right away.
This is something you should do once a month as part of your regular maintenance. It can keep your sink draining properly.
Tips to Prevent Your Drain From Clogging
By following these simple tips, you can prevent your kitchen sink drain from clogging, which will save you the trouble of buying expensive chemicals.
- No Coffee Grounds. The sink should not be used to dispose of coffee grounds. The grounds do not decompose when submerged in water. This leads to clumping together and clogging the sink.
- Pour Hot Water. You can melt any grease in your drain by pouring a kettle of hot water down. Do this at least once a week. Make sure to pour the water slowly so that you don’t get splashed.
- Don’t Pour Oil or Grease. Oil and grease should never be poured down the drain. Rather than washing the pan with the oil and grease, pour the oil and grease into an old can. They can be thrown away once the oil and grease have congealed.
- Paper Towel Should be Used for Greasy Pans. Before you wash greasy pans, wipe them with a paper towel. The grease will be removed, preventing it from going down your drain and potentially clogging it.
- Use Strainer. To prevent food particles and hair from clogging your drain, add strainer baskets to all your drains.
FAQs
Because baking soda is a gentle abrasive cleaner, it is safe to use on stainless steel. Your sink will be clean without scratching it.
Your stainless steel sink should not be cleaned with harsh abrasives, scouring powder, steel wool, bleach, or ammonia.
The chemical makeup of baking soda and baking powder differs, and so you shouldn’t substitute baking soda for baking powder when following cleaning instructions.
