The bathroom sink in my old apartment drained so slowly that by the time I finished brushing my teeth, I was looking at a basin full of minty water. It took about two minutes to drain completely. I tolerated this for an embarrassingly long time before doing anything about it.

When I finally tackled it, I was tempted to buy the strongest drain cleaner on the shelf. My downstairs neighbor — a retired plumber — stopped me. “Those chemicals eat your pipes faster than they eat the clog,” he said. He handed me baking soda and vinegar instead.

The Baking Soda and Volcano Method

Pour about half a cup of baking soda directly into the drain. Follow it with half a cup of white vinegar. You will hear fizzing immediately — that is the reaction breaking up the gunk. Cover the drain opening with a wet cloth or the drain plug to keep the pressure inside the pipe. Let it work for 30 minutes. Then flush with a full kettle of boiling water.

This works on soap scum, hair buildup, and the general sludge that makes drains slow. If the water drains smoothly after, you are done.

Pull Out the Hair Clog

If the baking soda treatment does not fix it, the problem is probably hair. Remove the drain stopper — most bathroom sink stoppers lift out or unscrew. Shine a flashlight down the drain. If you see a wad of hair, use a zip tie with notches cut into the sides or a plastic drain snake (costs about three dollars) to hook it and pull it out.

The first time I did this, I pulled out a clump of hair the size of a dead mouse. It was disgusting. It was also satisfying. The drain has worked perfectly ever since.

When to Call Someone

If neither the baking soda treatment nor a physical snake works, and the drain is still slow or backing up into other fixtures, the clog is deeper in the main line. That is when you call a plumber. Do not keep pouring chemicals down — they will sit on top of a deep clog and corrode the pipes without clearing anything.