Title: Weirdest things people have used to clear a clogged drain
- Wet/dry vacs can work, but they're hit or miss. If the clog is solid and close to the surface, you might get lucky. Just be careful—if you don’t get a good seal, you’ll end up with a mess and probably not much suction.
- Coat hangers are a classic, but honestly, they can scratch up the inside of your pipes or get stuck themselves. I’ve seen more than one call where someone jammed a hanger down there and made things worse.
- Baking soda and vinegar—people swear by it, but in my experience, it’s only effective for minor gunk. Won’t touch hairballs or grease.
- Shop vacs are basically the same as wet/dry vacs for this purpose. If you try it, make sure you’re not sucking up standing water unless your vac is rated for it.
- One guy tried using a leaf blower once... that just blew water everywhere and didn’t budge the clog.
If you’re dealing with recurring clogs, it’s usually a sign there’s something deeper going on—could be buildup further down the line. Sometimes it’s worth pulling the trap and checking manually before reaching for creative solutions.
I’ve seen folks try just about everything short of dynamite to clear a clog—some of it works, a lot of it just makes a bigger mess. The wet/dry vac trick gets tossed around a lot, and yeah, sometimes you get lucky if the blockage is right at the top. But if you don’t seal off every single gap, you’ll end up with water sprayed everywhere and not much else. I’ve also seen people burn out their vac motors sucking up water they shouldn’t have.
Coat hangers... I get why people reach for them, but I’d steer clear unless you’re desperate and don’t care about scratching up the pipe. Plus, once that hanger gets stuck or snaps off down there, now you’ve got two problems instead of one. I pulled a 2-foot section of wire out of a bathroom sink last winter—guy thought he was being clever, ended up calling me anyway.
Baking soda and vinegar is fine for light soap scum or maybe some minor buildup, but it’s not going to do anything for a wad of hair or years of grease. It fizzes and looks impressive, but that’s about it.
Here’s what I usually recommend before anyone grabs the weird stuff:
1. Plunger first—make sure you’ve got a good seal.
2. If that doesn’t work, pull the trap under the sink (have a bucket ready). Nine times out of ten, that’s where the clog is hiding.
3. Still stuck? A proper drain snake (not a coat hanger) can usually get through most blockages.
4. If you’re seeing clogs over and over again, there’s probably buildup further down—could be time for a professional auger or even a camera inspection.
Leaf blowers... honestly, that one made me laugh. That’s just asking for trouble unless you like cleaning your ceiling.
People get creative when they’re frustrated, but sometimes simple is best. And if it keeps happening, there’s almost always something bigger going on deeper in the pipes.
Honestly, you’d be surprised what people shove down a drain when they’re desperate. Had a call once where a guy tried to fish out a clog using his kid’s plastic sword—ended up snapping it off in the trap. Took me longer to get the toy out than the original hairball.
Those wet/dry vac stories crack me up. I’ve seen more folks soak their kitchen than actually clear anything out. The ones who try it without plugging every gap usually end up with a face full of gunk water and a ruined vacuum.
I’ll add this: I’ve pulled out everything from toothbrushes to chopsticks. One lady swore by pouring cola down her drain, but all that did was leave me with a sticky mess to clean up. Plunger, trap, snake—if those don’t work, time to stop playing MacGyver and call in backup.
And yeah, leaf blowers... that’s just turning a small problem into a slapstick routine.
- 100% agree on the cola thing—tried it once after reading some “life hack” article. It just made my pipes sticky and didn’t do a thing for the clog.
- I’ve seen people dump boiling water with baking soda and vinegar, which sometimes works for minor stuff, but not when you’ve got a full-on hairball or, like you said, a toothbrush in there.
- Wet/dry vacs are great for certain messes, but drains? Not worth the risk unless you really know what you’re doing.
- I stick to a plunger first, then a drain snake. If that doesn’t work, I’d rather call someone than end up with a bigger mess or waste a ton of water.
- Honestly, the wildest thing I’ve seen is someone trying to use a garden hose to “blast” the clog out... just ended up flooding under their sink.
Tried the cola thing too—just ended up with a sticky mess and a clog that laughed at me. My neighbor once tried using a wire coat hanger and managed to get it stuck in the pipe. Sometimes you just gotta admit defeat and call in the pros.