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Can Baking Soda and Vinegar Damage Pipes?

Can Baking Soda and Vinegar Damage Pipes

Baking soda and vinegar are two useful pantry essentials easily found around the house.

Both of these are useful kitchen staples. Baking soda is a versatile white powder used in cooking and baking, provides relief for heartburn, itchy skin, canker sores, sore throats, and whitens teeth. It is also a multipurpose cleaner for kitchen surfaces, appliances, and bathrooms. It’s also a deodorizer and removes stubborn stains.

Vinegar is another kitchen staple that most recipes need. Its acidity makes it effective against insects and weeds. It also cleans kitchen appliances.

Since these two substances work well separately, mixing them must be a good idea. When you search for baking soda and vinegar mixtures on the internet, you will find several DIY drain cleaner recipes. Baking soda is good for absorbing odor and scrubbing, while vinegar overpowers grease and can make things shine. Are these reasons good enough to use them?

What Happens When You Mix Vinegar and Baking Soda?

In the baking soda and vinegar reaction, vinegar is the acid, and baking soda the base. Mixing these produces sodium acetate, carbon dioxide, and water. Carbonic acid is produced, which immediately turns into carbon dioxide and water because it is unstable. The reaction creates the bubbles you see. The acid produced is effective in cleaning and dislodging clogged drains. But, when the bubbles disappear, it means the acid has turned into carbon dioxide and water.

Vinegar and Baking Soda as Drain Cleaners

Is it possible to use baking soda and vinegar? The short answer to this is yes. But, it all depends on the ratio and proportions of the ingredients. However, the cleaning the compound provides is not as powerful as you think it is.

Here’s a good recipe you can try that is effective for deodorizing and removing grease:

  1. First, put 1/2 a cup of baking soda and a 1/4 cup of salt together.
  2. Add 1 cup of heated vinegar, and let it sit for around 15 minutes.
  3. Finish it off by rinsing it with hot water.

As long as bubbles are forming, the chemical reaction that produces carbonic acid is happening. When the bubbles are gone, it also means the acid is gone too, and the mixture is no longer effective.

It is why baking soda and vinegar are effective at removing light grease buildup but not a severely clogged drain. It can get rid of bad smells and maintain good flow in your drain, but it won’t replace what a plumber can do.

Why Choose Professional Plumbing Services for Clogged Drains?

Many people choose DIY plumbing to save time and money. Often, it turns into more problems when things get out of control. At any rate, choosing professional plumbing services is always the best decision you can make for your home.

When you hire professional plumbers, you get:

Proper Diagnosis

Equipped with knowledge, experience, and the right tools, professionals know how to diagnose problems in your plumbing system properly and accurately. Unless you can see a leak in your sink, most plumbing problems are in the pipes. All you can see in your house — nasty smells, gurgling toilets, slow-draining sinks — are just after-effects.

With the right diagnostic tools, there is no need to guess what is happening down the drain. Plumbers detect the real culprit and guarantee swift and proper action.

Effective Methods

Plumbers have years of training and service behind them; they know how to deal with plumbing issues effectively and prevent further problems from happening again.

There is no one-size-fits-all and no band-aid solution to address something as complicated as plumbing. With the expertise these professionals have, they do their job right the first time.

Safety

Fixing plumbing yourself puts you and your family at risk by exposing you to safety hazards like viruses, bacteria, and chemicals. Leave it to the professionals, and keep you and your family safe.

Call Absolute Electrical Heating and Air and Sewer Co

Nothing compares to getting serviced by the professionals at Absolute Electrical Heating and Air.

As trusted plumbers in Thornton, CO, Absolute Electrical Heating and Air is always here for your plumbing needs. Having been in the industry for a decade, we take pride in our well-mannered and well-trained plumbers who keep fulfilling the needs of thousands of residential and commercial customers. We offer fair and affordable pricing along with our easy-booking facilities.

Call us with any questions you may have, and we’ll inform you of everything we can and will do to keep you and your home’s plumbing system safe for the foreseeable future. We are always happy to serve you!

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