That neighbor who swore by vinegar for everything was dead wrong

My neighbor Linda kept telling me to use white vinegar to unclog my kitchen sink, said it worked every time. I poured a whole gallon down there last month and let it sit overnight, and now the drain is actually worse and starting to smell. Has anyone else had this happen or did I just get a bad batch of vinegar or something?

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hayden_nelson853mo ago

Man Linda's vinegar advice got me too. I dumped two cups of it down my bathroom sink drain last winter and woke up to a backed up mess that smelled like a pickle jar left in the sun. Turns out vinegar doesn't do crap against grease buildup, it just breaks down into smelly water and makes everything worse. I ended up having to call a plumber who said baking soda and boiling water is the real trick, and even that only works for minor clogs. Sorry you had to learn that lesson the hard way.

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taraanderson3mo ago

Oh man, @hayden_nelson85 is totally right about the vinegar thing. I had the exact same problem with my kitchen sink last year. I thought I was being smart by pouring a bunch of vinegar down there after watching some DIY video, but it just made the smell ten times worse. The plumber I called told me vinegar is basically useless against the kind of sludge that builds up in pipes, especially if you've got hard water like I do. He said the acid in vinegar is too weak to break down grease and soap scum, so it just sits there and rots. Now I just use a drain snake and some hot water once a month, and that actually keeps things moving.

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