While those bubbles might knock a loose piece of debris loose, they are too soft to scour pipe walls. You are essentially pouring expensive, flavored water down your drain.
When you mix an acid (vinegar) and a base (baking soda), they neutralize each other. You are left with salty water (sodium acetate) and carbon dioxide bubbles.
The real powerhouse combination is .
When you combine them with , you add thermal energy and convection. The heat melts congealed fat, the salt scrubs the pipe walls, and the baking soda breaks the fat down into soap. The "Deep Clean" Protocol Do not use cold water. Do not use vinegar (save that for your countertops). Here is the method that plumbers (who aren't trying to sell you a hydro-jetting service) admit works for maintenance.
Give your drains a dry salt scrub tonight. Your future self, standing in a dry shower with no standing water, will thank you. Have you tried the salt-and-baking-soda method? Or are you still loyal to the vinegar volcano? Let me know in the comments below. baking soda and salt for drains
Salt accelerates rust. If your cast iron pipe has a tiny pinhole leak, the salt will find it and widen it. For old, corroded metal, stick to boiling water only, or call a professional. Baking soda and salt are for maintenance and minor organic clogs (grease, soap scum, toothpaste, food residue).
If you’ve heard the internet hack of pouring baking soda and vinegar down the drain, you’ve only heard half the story. In fact, that fizzing reaction neutralizes both ingredients, rendering them mostly useless for cleaning. While those bubbles might knock a loose piece
is a mild alkaline. While it isn’t as strong as lye (sodium hydroxide), it is excellent at saponification. That is a fancy way of saying it turns sticky fats into soap. Once the grease turns into soap, water can wash it away easily.