Can Bleach Clear a Clogged Drain? | Cambridge Plumber

Kitchen, bathtub, shower, and bathroom sink drains all require regular maintenance to keep things moving smoothly. Unfortunately, drains don’t clean themselves, and for drains to be clog-free, homeowners need to stay on top of their drains by using preventative measures and by cleaning them out regularly.

When it comes to drain clogs, it’s not a matter of “if” they’ll happen, it’s a matter of “when.” Of course, if you’re extra careful about not putting the wrong things down the garbage disposal like grease, and if you’re good about cleaning out your bathroom drains regularly, the “when” can be delayed and sometimes by a long time. But let’s say that day comes and you have a clogged drain, what do you do?

1. Do you use a plunger?
2. Do you use a Zip-It tool?
3. Do you use a harsh chemical drain cleaner?
4. Do you use a green solution that’s safe on the environment?
5. Do you call a plumber?

What about bleach? Can you use bleach to unclog a drain?

Bleach Down the Drain: Will it Work?

Clorox® bleach is a household name. If you go to the Clorox website, it talks about how the product reduces soil adhesion to surfaces, delivers brighter whites, disinfects, and kills 99.9% of germs and bacteria. In other words, bleach is used for sanitizing and washing laundry, but clogging drains? Nope, that is not one of bleach’s uses.

Although you can use 1/5 to 3/4 of a cup of bleach to clean and deodorize drains, followed by a good flushing of hot water, it will not clear a clog. Bleach is amazing at sanitizing and killing germs, but it won’t eat through hair and soap scum that’s trapped in the pipes and causing a clog.

If you have a clog and you already tried a plunger and it didn’t work, the next step is to try to unclog the drain with baking soda and vinegar, which is much safer for your pipes and your health than a chemical drain cleaner. To learn more, read, “Unclog a Toilet with Baking Soda and Vinegar?”This article may about toilets, but it can apply to drains too!

If you need a Cambridge plumber, call 617-221-5899 or
contact Winters® Home Services today!