Trust me; I totally get it. You exist in the dawn of the 21st century. Even when you’re not busy, you’re busy.
Doesn’t matter what it is, there’s always something keeping you from doing important household chores, like cleaning your kitchen sink drain. It just doesn’t seem important enough.
But it is. When you let food, debris collect in the sink drain without turning on the incinerator, you’re basically allowing things like unpleasant odors and clogged pipes to happen.
Therefore, cleaning your kitchen sink drain should be a weekly chore. Let’s find out how to do it.
Things You’ll Need
Before you get started on this all-important task, you must first ensure that you have one of the following cleaning combinations.
- Hot water and dish soap;
- Baking soda and white vinegar.
Additionally, if you have some extra time and also want to clean your incinerator, you’ll be needing some ice, salt and lemon (but more on that later).
Start by Sanitizing
The first thing you need to do is to clear your sink completely of any and everything. Once you’ve done this, turn on the tap and treat your sink to a preliminary little wash. Let the tap run for about 10 seconds, then turn it off.
Now read on to find the particular cleaning methods using your chosen ingredient combination from the ones I’ve mentioned above.
Using Hot Water and Dish Soap
This is the most popular method because it’s also the easiest. You’ll be needing approximately 1400ml of hot water and 700ml of cold water.
Your first task is to boil 700ml of water. Use your stovetop, or an electric kettle if you have one.
Warning: If your sink has plastic pipes, then let the water cool for about 10 minutes after boiling before using it. You might damage the pipes otherwise.
Now take your dish soap and add just a little bit into the hot water, giving it a little stir. The soap is important as it will have the effect of breaking down any grease inside your pipes.
Now, pour the hot water down the drain, but be careful to do this slowly and cautiously. Spilling it too fast will leave you without the desired cleansing effect.
Once you’ve finished pouring the hot water down the drain, take a 5-minute break while the water does its job.
Now, you must use cold water to flush out the drain again. Measure out 700ml.
Then the final step: one more hot water wash. Once again, use 700ml. Using dish soap, this time is optional.
And that’s it! You now have cleaner drainpipes.
Using Baking Soda and White Vinegar
Baking soda and vinegar are a great combination because not only do they clean the drain, but together, they also work as a great deodorizer. However, this is a more time-consuming method; it will take about 1.5 hours, so prepare yourself accordingly.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 250ml of baking soda
- 950ml of white vinegar.
First, take the recommended amount of baking soda and simply send it down the drain. Let it stay like that while you boil the recommended amount of white vinegar.
Next, you have to pour the boiled vinegar down the drain. Do this very carefully. You’ll probably notice some sizzling sounds as the vinegar, and baking soda comes into contact.
Now, leave the mixture to sit for an hour–the mixture will need that time to clean and deodorize the drain. Make sure not to let anyone go near the sink during this time.
Once the hour is up, now you must flush the drain out with boiled water, about 700ml. And that’s it! You’re done.
Using Ice, Salt, And Lemon to Clean Incinerator
Your incinerator is an important contributor to what goes on in your drainpipes. While it’s important to clean the pipes weekly, you should also clean out the incinerator once a month to prevent excess dirt buildup.
For this method, you’ll need:
- one whole lemon cut into 4 pieces
- ice cubes–about a cupful
- 2 tablespoons of salt, preferably rock salt.
Take your lemon wedges, ice cubes, and salt, and fill your garbage disposal with them.
Turn on the tap for cold water. Then, turn on your garbage disposal, and let it stay on until all the ice has melted.
The reason this method works so well is primarily because of the salt. It has the effect of scrubbing out the blades, and the ice helps to get rid of the grime. And because of the lemon, you get a refreshing scent.
Conclusion
So now that you know how to do it, you must agree that it’s really not that difficult to have clean kitchen drains, right?
Sure, it might be a little frustrating to have to do it every week. But you know what they say; the cleaner the home, the healthier the mind!