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Your home's plumbing takes a big hit during the holidays. Before you open your door to guests, make sure your kitchen is in great working shape. Sure, you'll clean fingerprints off the stainless steel and vacuum the floors, but don't overlook that dirty sink drain. You'll be glad you cleaned out the food scraps and minor clogs before your friends and family arrive.
Clean drains are free of clogs and odors. Fortunately, regular drain cleaning isn't that hard, and you can do it with a few simple household ingredients or homemade drain cleaners.
"A clogged drain can cause some serious problems and can be tricky to remedy on your own," shares Deborah Albero-Darata, franchise owner of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Virginia Beach, a Neighborly company. "According to a 2023 consumer survey from Mr. Rooter, 22% of homeowners would call a plumber before trying to fix a clogged drain themselves."
How can you freshen your kitchen drain before hosting company?
- Use the popular baking soda and vinegar method. This DIY drain cleaner tackles smelly drains and drain pipes. Put a 1/2 cup of baking soda into your drain, then pour a half cup of vinegar on top. Plug the sink with a drain cover and allow the vinegar reaction to infuse the inside of the disposal. The fizzing reaction eliminates built-up food particles and cleans clogged drain pipes. After an hour, flush the pipes with hot water (never boiling water).
- Disinfect with citrus. Freeze a tray of citrus peels in ice cubes. This is a great reason to save your lemon rinds and orange peels! Once frozen, you can put 2-3 cubes into your garbage disposal with a cup of cold water. As it runs, the ice and citrus oils will help cleanse food waste and unpleasant smells from the inside of the disposal, replacing them with a faint citrus smell.
- Try bleach. A few days before your event, mix a cup of bleach into a gallon of water. Pour the entire volume into your sink and let it go down your drain. We suggest doing this days before your guests arrive because harsh chemicals affect the air in your home, too. *Never use bleach and white vinegar at the same time during your drain cleaning efforts. When they combine, the chemical reaction produces a toxic gas.
- Use a drain snake. If you have a slow drain, you might have a stubborn clog. You can work to clean your kitchen sink drain with a drain snake.
- Use an enzyme drain cleaner. Clear food particles, soap scum, greasy clogs, and other drain blockages from your kitchen pipes with a splash of this cleaner. It even works on coffee grounds, hair clogs, Follow the directions on the product you choose, then flush the drains with hot tap water.
- Hire a pro for a deep clean. "For deeper cleans, consider scheduling professional hydro-scrub cleaning services to remove any built-up debris or grease clogs in the drain lines," advises Albero-Darata. "This promotes efficient drainage."
