Going Green . . . All the way

Today I got tired of a slow drain in one of my bathroom sinks. Nothing worse than brushing one's teeth and having the water (that you only turn on to rinse) start to back up in the sink. These are old pipes, probably full of rust and sharp edges, catching hair and everything else solid that manages to find a way down the drain.

So, I went to a wonderful website, mrsfixit.com, and found a solution for a slow drain that didn't involve risky chemicals or calling a plumber. I started my kettle of water boiling according to the instructions, then got a cup each of baking sode and white vinegar from the pantry. What could be greener? Since I'm unable to take the drain cover out of the sink, I merely made sure it was open, and poured the baking soda into the sink. Most of it stayed at the sink bottom, as I expected. Nevertheless, I then poured the vinegar into the sink, and voila! I had a sinkful of something that looked like Alka Seltzer once it's begun to work. Bubbles, boiling bubbles, or something like that. I wish now that I'd taken a picture of it.

After a minute or two, I poured the kettle full of boiling water into the sink. You should have seen this, too......next time, I'll take pictures.

To make a long story short, my sink now drains. Although the water doesn't rush down the drain like I'd hoped, it does empty much faster. In a week or so, I'll repeat the process to see if a second bubbling out gets a better result.

And I'll take pictures, I promise.