What is the Best Drain Cleaner for my drain pipes? People ask me this question at least once a day during my workday as I visit and help my customers with their plumbing and drain problems.

The honest answer is, “it all depends on what you are attempting to accomplish with the product”.

The fact is that due to the highly competitive market environment, you will find a vast variety of drain products available at your local store.

You will find products of all shapes and forms, liquid and solid products. And most companies will claim that they have the best drain cleaner formula, such as: Thrift Drain Cleaner, Homemade Drain Cleaner, and, Chemical Drain Cleaner. The list can become really extensive but let's stop here.

Another reason why is so hard to find the best drain cleaner out there is because most products are very similar to each other, which makes your job even harder to determine what the best drain cleaner is to your specific needs.

However, with the attempt to help you choose one product vs. another, this article will concentrate in what might differentiate one product from another, which is the main ingredient.

Most of the cleaning products available in today’s market are made of one the main chemical composition, LYE or ENZYMES.

What Is Lye?

Lye is available in the solid and liquid composition.

Solid dry lye is commonly available as flakes, pellets, micro-beads, and coarse powder. It is also available as solution, often dissolved in water. Lye is valued for its use in soap making, bio-diesel production, and household use, such as oven cleaner and drain opener.

So, as you might have noticed, lye is a pretty strong and nasty product, it has to be handled with extreme care and safety.

The results of using a lye based product can vary greatly. Some customers stated that the product worked for a short period of time while others claimed that the product did not work at all, even though, it remained in the pipes for many hours.

What Is Enzymes?

Enzymes are bio-molecules that increase the rates of chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. Some enzymes are used commercially, for example, in the synthesis of antibiotics. Others are used in household products to speed up biochemical reactions, for example, enzymes in washing products break down protein and/or fat stains to better clean the clothes.

Lye vs. Enzyme:

While lye based products will most of the time claim that they will unplug your clogged drain, most enzyme based products claims that this type of product is designed for drain maintenance only. It will not unplug your drain once it’s plugged.

Lye based products are very dangerous due to the acid present in the composition. Enzyme based products are not acid based which makes less dangerous.

However, both products must be handled with care. Please, read the label of the products prior to use it, make sure that you are always protected, and see the label for safety recommendation.

What about homemade products?

As the name states these type of cleaners are made at home with products found at your local grocery store. Some of the most common items used are: vinegar, baking soda and borax.

Homemade drain cleaner is best to keep your drains running smoothly. They are a good alternative to costly store-bought drain cleaners that contains harsh ingredients.

What is my opinion?

As a professional, I have used and sold the Enzyme Drain Cleaner many times before and, just as I mentioned earlier, enzymes based products are very effective when used as maintenance product.

In reality, I am yet to find a product that delivers 100% of what is promised in the label, however, make your own judgment.

About the homemade products, I will leave up to you to decide to try or not. Many of my customers who used Homemade Drain Cleaner or some sort of Natural Drain Cleaner said that it worked for them.

If you feel like is worth to give a try, please, go ahead and try and let me know what was the outcome. But do it at your own risk.

If you want to get detailed information about different types of Drain Cleaners and what is the Best Drain Cleaner out there, please, check it out the links throughout this page.

Home Drains Unclog Drains Drain Equipment Drain Cleaners Contact US SBI-TV

Have A Great Story About This Topic?

I have written about a few drain chemicals that I have used in the past for personal use and that I have recommended to many of my customers, however, there are many different types of chemicals available in the market that I don't dare to use.

However, if you have experience using other chemicals that helped you clean, uplug or maintain your home drains, please, share it here, write to us your store.

Thank you!

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