The bathroom sink started draining slower and slower until one morning it just stopped. Water sat there, still and unimpressed, like I was the one being unreasonable for expecting it to go down. I had no drain cleaner. The hardware store was twenty minutes away. I had to be at work in an hour.

Under the sink I found baking soda and white vinegar — both bought for other projects, both now earning their keep in an entirely different way.

The baking soda and vinegar method

This works on the most common type of sink clog: a buildup of soap scum, toothpaste, hair, and general sludge in the pipe. It won’t clear a solid blockage like a toy or a wad of paper towels, but for slow drains and standing water, it’s surprisingly effective.

Step one: Remove as much standing water as you can. A cup works. The less water in the sink, the more the reaction happens in the pipe where you want it.

Step two: Dump half a cup of baking soda directly into the drain. Use a spoon or your finger to push it past the drain cover.

Step three: Pour half a cup of white vinegar in after it. You’ll hear fizzing immediately — that’s the carbon dioxide bubbles scrubbing the inside of the pipe. Cover the drain with the stopper or a wet cloth to force the reaction downward instead of up.

Step four: Wait fifteen minutes. Then flush with a kettle of boiling water.

When to use a plunger instead

If the sink has standing water and the baking soda doesn’t drain at all, you need mechanical force. A cup plunger — the kind with a flat bottom, not the flanged toilet kind — creates pressure that can dislodge a clog physically.

Fill the sink with enough water to cover the plunger cup. The water is what transmits the force; plunging in air does nothing. Pump vigorously ten to fifteen times, then pull the plunger off sharply. The suction on the pull is often what breaks the clog free.

The drain trap option

If nothing works from above, the clog is probably in the P-trap — the U-shaped pipe under the sink. Put a bucket underneath, unscrew the slip nuts by hand (or with channel locks if they’re tight), and remove the trap. Most clogs are sitting right there in the curve.

Clean it out in a slop sink or with a wire hanger, screw it back on, run water to test. Don’t overtighten — hand tight plus a quarter turn. The plastic threads can crack.