Your bathroom or kitchen sink drain has been working very fine until one day it becomes very slow to drain. After investigating, you find out that the sink drain is clogged. So, what do you do next? Unclog the drain. Many things go down the sink drain including hair, grease, and food particles. All of these can build up over time and cause a clog leading to slow drainage and smell from your sink. Interestingly, to unclog the drain, some people have resorted to using Coca-Cola. I was curious to try it out which I did. So, I am very happy to share my findings with you.
So on to the big question. Can you unclog this sink drain with Coca-Cola?
It is possible to use Coca-Cola to remove some amount of grime from your sink drain. However, Coca-Cola cannot get rid of heavy clog build-up in your sink. The reason is that Coca-Cola is not strong enough to break down the grease and hair that have accumulated over time to cause a heavy clog.
While there are a lot of videos on the internet that show Coca-Cola being used to unclog a sink, there are a couple of things that are missing in those videos. For a start, they don’t really show you how heavy the clog is. In this article, I will be discussing what will possibly make Coca-Cola effective at removing light grime build-up in your sink, why you shouldn’t use Coca-Cola if you have a heavy clog and some alternative methods that work better.
What Might Make Coca-Cola Effective In Removing Light Clogs?
Coca-Cola contains phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is a mildly corrosive substance that can dissolve some types of build-up like rust, mineral deposits, and calcium deposits. Phosphoric acid is used in many commercial rust removal products and detergents but the quantity in Coca-Cola is not enough to do any serious damage when ingested.
The phosphoric acid in Coca-Cola gives it just enough power to remove some light build-up in your sink. Because they are present in small quantities, when used in the sink, you will have to leave it for some time to work before flushing them with hot water.
Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coca-Cola To Unclog Your Sink Drain
While Coca-Cola might be effective in removing some rust, corrosion, and light build-ups, I wouldn’t recommend using Coca-Cola to unclog your sink drain for these reasons:
1. Coca-Cola Is Sticky
The sugar in Coca-Cola will stick to everything it touches including the sides of your sink and the pipes. Coca-Cola is a sugary soda and contains syrup that is sticky. When used in the sink it will leave behind its own film of sticky residue mainly from the sugar syrup.
This is not a big problem if you flush the drain with hot water immediately after using Coca-Cola. However, if you don’t do this, the syrup will harden and attract more dirt and grime, and can even cause ants to come out of your sink drain.
2. Coca-Cola May Not Have Any Effect On The Clog
Have you ever stopped to wonder if Coca-Cola really removes clogs in sink drains or if it is the hot water that is poured afterward that does the job? After watching several videos where Coca-Cola is used to unclog a sink and hot water is poured afterward, I have come to the conclusion that it is most likely the hot water that does the job and not Coca-Cola. Hot water will dissolve grease and hair clogs.
After trying this myself, I wasn’t wrong. I poured some Coca-Cola into my clogged drain, waited for about 10 minutes, and then poured some water into the sink. The flow of water didn’t change. I then boiled some hot water and poured it into the sink and voila, the water began draining rapidly once more.
So if you are thinking of using Coca-Cola to unclog your sink drain, I would say don’t bother. Just use hot water first.
3. Why Waste Coca-Cola When There Are More Effective Methods?
There are other methods that are more effective in unclogging your sink drain and don’t involve wasting a can or two of Coca-Cola. I will be discussing some of these methods later on.
If there are 100% effective methods of completely unclogging your sink without wasting Coca-Cola that you are not sure will work? Plus, I believe you bought coke to drink and not to unclog your sink drain.
Also, why waste money on buying Coca-Cola when you can use some of these other methods that cost almost nothing?
Alternative Methods To Unclog Your Sink Drain
Here are some alternative methods that work better than using Coca-Cola. Some of these methods use common household items while others require you to buy a product specifically designed to unclog drains.
- Using Hot Water And Plunger
- Using A Drain Snake And Hot Water
- Using Baking Soda And Vinegar
- Using Commercial Drain Cleaners
Unclogging Your Sink With Hot Water And Plunger
If you have a plunger, this is one of the best ways to unclog your sink. It is also one of the simplest methods and doesn’t require any special skills. Plus, it is probably the most common method that people use to unclog their sinks. all you need is a plunger and some hot water.
Step 1
First, boil some water and pour it into the sink. The hot water will help to loosen the clog. Be very careful with the hot water as you don’t want to burn yourself.
Step 2
After the hot water has drained away, mix some of the remaining hot water with cold water. The ideal ratio is about 60% hot water and 40% cold water. Then pour it into the sink and place the plunger over the drain and make sure there is a tight seal.
I prefer to use the plunger in this step and not the previous step because plunging with very hot water can be dangerous. You might end up with hot water splashing back at you. Plus I prefer the hot water to loosen some of the clogs before I start plunging.
Step 3
Now it is time to do some plunging. Plunge up and down with a steady rhythm. Don’t plunge too hard as you might end up breaking the plunger or damaging your sink. Do this for about 30 seconds to a minute and then stop and see if the water is draining. If it is, then you are done. If not, repeat steps two and three until the clog is gone.
Unclogging Your Sink With A Drain Snake And Hot Water
You can also use a drain snake to unclog your sink. This is a long, flexible wire that you insert into the drain and then rotate to try and loosen the clog. It is a little more difficult to use than a plunger but can be effective if used correctly.
Step 1
The first step is to remove the screw-on cap or stopper from your sink. You will need to use a screwdriver for this. This will make it a lot easy to insert the drain snake into the drain.
Step 2
Put on some gloves to protect your hands and then insert the drain snake into the drain. Continue feeding it into the drain until you feel the drain snake hitting something. This is probably the clog that is preventing the free draining of water.
Now start rotating the drain snake in a clockwise rotation. This will help the drain snake to go through the clog and loosen it. You might need to do this a few times to loosen the clog enough so that it can be flushed away with hot water.
Step 3
Once you have loosened the clog, remove the drain snake from the drain. As you pull it out, it will definitely come along with some gunk.
Pour some hot water into the sink to flush away any remaining bits of the clog, then fix the screw-on cap or stopper back in place.
Unclogging Your Sink With Baking Soda And Vinegar
This is another common household item that can be used to unclog your sink. The combination of baking soda and vinegar is a natural way to break down the clog.
Step 1
Start by pouring hot water down the drain.
Step 2
Pour 1 cup of baking soda directly down the sink drain and leave it for about 5 minutes.
Step 3
After five minutes, pour one cup of vinegar down the drain. The vinegar and baking soda combination will start to react and create a foaming action. This is what you want as it will help to break down the clog. Let the foaming action work for about 10-15 minutes.
Step 4
Pour a considerable amount of hot water down the drain to flush away the loosened clog.
Unclogging Your Sink With A Commercial Drain Cleaner
Commercial drain cleaners are designed to prevent and unclog clogged drains. They are a little harsher on your pipes than the natural methods but can be effective if used correctly.
Follow the instructions on the drain cleaner. This will usually involve pouring a certain amount of the cleaner down the drain and then waiting a specific amount of time before flushing with hot water.
Commercial drain cleaners are widely available and it shouldn’t be difficult to find one.
Final Words
Coca-Cola might be able to get some rust and dirt off of surfaces but that doesn’t mean it is going to be effective at unclogging your sink drain. The alternatives that I have discussed are all effective ways to unclog your sink and don’t require any special skills or knowledge. I have tried it and I know if you really want to deal with blockage in your sink drain, use one of these alternative methods. They are more effective than using Coca-Cola.
I hope this article has helped to answer the question, can you unclog the sink drain with coca cola? Thanks for reading.