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If you’ve ever had hair clogging your sink or shower – you understand the visceral need for the best drain cleaners. Not being able to use the sink or shower is a huge issue, but also one that easily be solved.
Since there are thousands of drain cleaners out there, we used our proprietary algorithm to find the top picks, and put them through the wringer. For more than 40 hours, we tested and tried all of the best choices for drain cleaners – here are our top picks.
Our Top Pick
Drano Max Gel Drain Clog Remover
Drano is the most well-known brand in clogs for a reason – it works. This max strength gel cut through everything we tested it on – though we’d be terrified to get any in our mouths.
It has thousands of five star reviews, and it also costs almost nothing. If you don’t mind buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks, you won’t mind buying this (extremely effective) drain cleaner. Our highest recommendation.
Other Great Picks
Green Gobbler Drain Clog Dissolver
Green Gobbler is a great alternative to toxic drain cleaners, and it is also odorless – making it a perfect choice to unclog your sink. There are no toxic fumes, but we still found it worked great on even the nastiest of clogs.
With thousands upon thousands of great reviews, this product is becoming increasingly well known. The price is also very affordable, making this a perfect pick for anyone.
Instant Power Hair & Grease Drain Opener
Instant Power is aptly named – it even got rid of grease from our kitchen sink. It’s no joke, and you certainly wouldn’t want to ingest any of it – but it works wonders for clogs and grease.
If somehow Drano doesn’t work for you, we can bet that Instant Power certainly well. While it’s not eco-friendly, it certainly gets the job done. Our (very) enthusiastic recommendation.
Liquid-Plumr Hair Clog Eliminator
Liquid-Plumr is another brand that is well-known for eliminating tough clogs and hair balls. This product was very effective for us, when we tested it, and we think you will like it, as well.
The price is great, and the reviews are fantastic. We’re not sure why you’d want to go with anything else, once you try this drain cleaner just one time. Highly recommended.
CLR Clear Pipes & Drains Build Up Remover
Even the EPA has certified that CLR does a great job with your pipes. This product has tons of great reviews, and it worked flawlessly during all of our testing.
While you can go with other options, we really love this one. The price is also extremely reasonable, making this yet another winner, in terms of the best drain cleaners.
Thrift Drain Cleaner
With thousands of great reviews, and a perfect price point, this is another great drain cleaner. We recommend having the windows open – the fumes are strong, as the product definitely eats through anything you need it to.
Gloves and goggles are also recommended, and we cannot disagree with that recommendation. Our highest recommendation, though it definitely should be noted that this product is extremely strong.
Zep Advanced Tub And Shower Drain Opener Gel
We were not very familiar with this brand when we started testing, but this product surprised us. It cut through even thick hair clogs, and was able to easily fix the drain in our shower, very quickly.
It’s definitely strong, and while not the cheapest option, it’s not the most expensive either. We definitely recommend this one, if you have tough hair clogs. Two thumbs up.
Drano Dual-Force Foamer Clog Remover
Drano is perhaps the most well-known drain cleaner on the market today, in terms of brand awareness at least. This dual force version will cut through anything, but you must be sure to keep it away from your children.
It is extremely powerful, and in our testing, got rid of even the toughest clogs. With thousands of five star reviews, and a very low price point, it’s a perfect addition to any cleaning regimen.
Rejuvenate Garbage Disposal And Drain Pipe Cleaner
This awesome drain cleaner is extremely affordable, and has tons of great reviews. In our testing, it worked perfectly, and was able to get rid of even the worst clogs and food particles.
While it’s not a well-known brand name, this cleaner was just as effective as some of the ‘bigger names’ we tested. If you don’t care about brands, and only want results – this is a perfect choice for you.
Xion Lab Greener Drain Clog Remover
If you prefer a non-toxic drain cleaner, this is a great option. With a low price point, and thousands of great reviews, it’s another popular product.
While the brand is certainly less well known, we experienced no issues when it came to unclogging our pipes. It is also odorless, meaning it’s a quick, easy, and painless solution – to even the most vexing clogs.
What Is A Drain Cleaner?
A drain cleaner is simply a product that will eat through any clogs in your sink, shower, toilet, or tub. They usually contain harsh chemicals, and can be incredibly toxic.
However, they usually work wonders, and you’ll be left with an unclogged sink or bath in mere minutes. During our testing, nearly every product worked flawlessly, and as described.
What Is The Best Product To Unclog Your Drain?
For our money, there are a number of different products that will work well to help unclog your drain. Drano is a great choice, as is Liquid-Plumr, or any of the other picks on our list.
What’s Better Than Drano?
Drano is the standard bearer of drain cleaners – and for good reason. While a few products may be stronger, the truth is, you don’t really need anything more potent than Drano, for 99% of home clogs.
If you have a particularly nasty clog, we recommend calling a plumber. Drano is not the only drain cleaner that will work, either, it just has a long history of great use, and we found it worked well during our extensive testing.
What Do Plumbers Use To Unclog Drains?
A plumber may use a hydro jet, or a manual drain snake, to unclog tough drains. A clog remover that you can buy at a grocery store won’t be quite as effective as these tools, but you need a serious professional to attempt using a manual drain snake – and especially one when doing any hydro jetting (which is the process of pumping high pressure water into the pipes, to try and force them to open).
Do Drain Cleaners Actually Work?
Yes, drain cleaners are very effective at removing clogs, hairballs, and food particles. However, in some extreme situations, a plumber may be required.
In our experience, a plumber is only needed in about 5-10% of cases, possibly even less. Most people are pretty aware of what might be clogging their drain, and a simple drain cleaner can fix it very easily, 9 times out of 10.
Which Drain Opener Works Best?
During our testing, we found that any of our top 10 choices for best drain cleaner worked great for opening clogged drains. If you have a preference in terms of environmentally friendly products, this may impact your buying decision.
However, for the average consumer, any of our top 10 picks should work for you. The best drain cleaner is ultimately one that works for you – everyone has different needs.
What Are The Dangers Of Using Drano?
If you use any harsh drain cleaner regularly, there is a very small risk that your pipes could begin to have issues. However, this is a very rare occurrence, and generally does not happen when you simply periodically unclog your drain.
Corrosion, cracking, and eventually failure of your pipes, are all possible outcomes – but this would be with very frequent drain cleaning use. If you need to use a drain cleaner that often, odds are, that something else entirely is wrong with your pipes – and we’d recommended a plumber.
How Do You Unblock A Sink?
Unblocking a sink is a trial and error process. We like to start with drain cleaners, and if these do not work, then we call a plumber.
In our experience, the best drain cleaners work almost 99% of the time. It has only been once or twice, where a sink was blocked so badly, that we needed to call a plumber.
Is Drano The Best Drain Cleaner?
Drano is certainly one of our favorites, though by no means the only best drain cleaner out there. We like a wide variety of other products, so be sure and peruse our list carefully, before choosing the drain cleaner that’s right for you, specifically.
Do Drain Cleaners Work Better Than Bleach?
Yes, bleach is not an effective drain cleaner, whereas products sold to only clean your drain are specifically formulated to do just that. Bleach may give you so-so results, but you will get stellar results with actual drain cleaning products.
Additionally, bleach may harm your pipes. They can even corrode useful elements that you will need, especially if you use bleach on a regular basis, to try and unclog your drains.
Other Buying Factors For The Best Drain Cleaners
If you’ve ever had to get a plumber, you know what a nightmare it can quickly become. There are issues and blockages that can take plumbers days to solve.
These days, many drain cleaners have enzymes that will help unclog even the worst issues, though a plunger may still be necessary. Heavy-duty drain cleaners will often have caustic chemicals, but they get the job done.
Bathroom sinks also clog, not just showers, but soap scum, grease clogs, and other issues can all usually be solved with drain cleaners found on Amazon. Some of these are odorless, but the strongest ones have lye, and usually just need a little boiling water, to get the job done.
Other harsh ingredients in drain cleaners include sulfuric acid and solvents, but DIY solutions will be less harsh, and still able to solve tough clogs. Chemical drain cleaners are often not friendly to biodegradable outcomes, these cleaning products instead strip your sink drain of nearly everything.
However, in our testing, sometimes a tough toilet clog required a harsh, enzymatic drain cleaner – which, when mixed with a little hot water – killed everything, including grease traps and food particles. It is also important to never drink strong liquid drain cleaners (like Drano Max Gel Clog Remover).
That is because these products are extremely harsh and toxic, and will do to your insides, exactly what they do to your metal pipes and plumbing system. Harsh chemicals like sodium hydroxide are not your friend, though they may help remove standing water from your sink.
Drain cleaning isn’t an exact science – you need to look at the main line, the drain line, if your septic tank is an issue, whether your toilet bowl is made out of stainless steel, etc. A drain snake can also work wonders, though you will likely want a product that has a deodorizer, since clogs tend to stink up your entire kitchen sink.
The Best Drain Cleaners
There you have it – our picks for the best drain cleaners on the market. No one wants a clogged drain, and but there are many harsh compounds out there, be sure to read any instructions before using any drain cleaners in your pipes.
We tested numerous drain cleaners, and there were a surprising number that we deemed adequate – though your mileage may vary. The best drain cleaner for you will also depend on what individual needs you may have – like hairballs, food, baby wipes – or whatever other nasty gunk is down there.
If you need something besides the best drain cleaners – we have great news for you – we’ve reviewed tons of the other best home products out there. Be sure to look at all of our other best product reviews, and let us know your feedback.