If you notice water is taking longer to drain out of a sink or basis, you might need the help of a drain cleaner. These products break down gunk, hair and other debris that is blocking a drain.
There are a number of different types of drain cleaner available in Australia. They come in Gel, Pellet and Foam forms. I’ve tested out the different types to see what works best.
The Best Drain Cleaner
After testing the foam, gel and pellet drain cleaners I’ve found that Liquid Plumber is the most reliable solution. I tested out Drano as well – it’s hard to do definitive test as a blocked sink will always be slightly different, but Liquid Plumber seemed to work better then Drano.
Liquid Plumber
Liquid Plumber is now my goto product for cleaning out drains in the bathroom and kitchen. This is a gel formula and you use the entire bottle to clear the drain. You simply pour it down the drain, wait 15 minutes and then rinse it down with hot water (I use water from a kettle that isn’t completely boiling but still very hot).
This products is very effective at removing hairballs, which is usually the cause of blockages in the bathroom.
Some liquid drain cleaners aren’t suitable for certain types of plumbing. For example Drano Kitchen should never be used in the bathroom because it can cause corrosion. Liquid Plumber is suitable for all types of plumbing and it won’t cause corrosion.
Drain Snake
It’s not a very fun job, but using a Plastic Drain Snake can be one of the most effective ways to clear a drain. You stick it down the drain and then pull it back out. It basically grabs onto any blockages so they can be removed. Yes it’s gross, but it works.
If you’ve used Liquid Plumber and found that your drain is still clogged this can be a much cheaper alternative to calling a plumber (who will do the same thing).
Homemade Drain Cleaner
I tested out a commonly repeated “homemade” drain cleaner that uses Baking Soda, Vinegar and hot water. The idea is the reaction between the baking soda and vinegar will create gas that will dislodge the clog. While this might have some effect when I tried it out on my bathroom basin it didn’t seem to make any difference. I then used a liquid drain cleaning gel and it successfully unblocked the drain.
This technique is probably more useful as a sort of regular cleaner rather than a tool for removing a sink that is already clogged.
