Best drain cleaner for every kind of clog

Drano Max Gel is the bottle I’d keep under a bathroom sink. It’s a thick bleach gel that SC Johnson says pours through standing water and clings to the clog. It was the top item on Amazon’s drain cleaner best sellers list in the Google results I read on Oct 19, and Amazon.com was the seller when I checked.

SC Johnson publishes what’s inside. The list is sodium hypochlorite, which is bleach, plus sodium hydroxide, a surfactant blend and sodium silicate. SC Johnson lists the silicate as a corrosion inhibitor. That’s the ingredient the listing means when it says the gel protects pipes.

The directions are plain. Pour 16 oz slowly over the drain, let it work for 15 minutes, and give a tough clog 30. Then flush with hot water that isn’t boiling. The 32 oz bottle is two full doses. Drano says to repeat the pour, wait and flush if the first round doesn’t clear it.

Timing is the one place the sources disagree. The Amazon listing says it starts working in 7 minutes. Drano’s own directions say to allow 15. My call: wait the full 15, since running water early just rinses the gel past the clog before it’s done.

The precautions matter more than the dose. Drano says never to use a plunger during or after, because the gel may still be in the drain if it didn’t clear. Don’t use it in toilets, and don’t mix it with any other cleaner or chemical. Drano warns that hazardous fumes or a violent reaction may result.

It’s rated for bathroom drains, kitchen drains and garbage disposals. If a disposal drain doesn’t clear, Drano says not to turn the disposal on, since the gel may splash back. That’s the point where it tells you to call a plumber.

Hair is where any gel has the hardest time. A hairball wrapped on a pop-up stopper sits right under the drain opening, and pulling it out is faster than dissolving it. My call: use a hooked hair tool like the FlexiSnake Drain Weasel first on a bathroom sink, and save the gel for the soap and hair further down the trap.

My call: buy this if you want one chemical cleaner for sinks and tubs. Keep it capped, stored high and away from kids, and read the label before each use.

Liquid-Plumr Pro-Strength Clog Destroyer is the gel I’d pick for a kitchen sink with a disposal. Clorox’s directions cover that case directly: use the same dose and flush with the disposal running. The 80 oz bottle holds five treatments, per the listing, and Amazon.com was the seller when I checked.

Like Drano, it’s a bleach and lye gel. The ingredient line on the label lists sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide and biodegradable surfactants, with no phosphorus. The listing says it’s made with Pipeguard, the name Clorox gives its pipe protection.

The dose is bigger than Drano’s. Clorox says to pour 1/5 of the bottle, about 2 cups, slowly down the drain, and the whole bottle for the worst clogs. Let it sit at least 15 minutes. With standing water, wait until the drain is clear, then flush with hot water.

Clorox says the gel won’t harm pipes if it’s left overnight, and it names the pipes it’s safe for: PVC, plastic, copper and old pipes, plus all septic systems. That helps when a grease clog is slow and you want the gel working while you sleep.

The warnings are close to Drano’s. Keep it away from ammonia, toilet bowl cleaners and other brands of clog remover, since Clorox says splashing or hazardous gases may result. The listing says not to use it with a plunger or in toilets. The label says it injures eyes, skin and mucous membranes on contact.

If the drain gets worse after a dose, Clorox explains why: a partly dissolved clog can lodge further down the pipe. It suggests one more bottle, then a plumber. My call: stop after the second dose. A stopped trap full of bleach and lye is a hazard for whoever opens it next.

Clorox also sells a separate Hair Clog Eliminator in a 16 oz bottle, made for hair clogs. Clorox says that one isn’t for disposals, toilets, washing machines or laundry basins. For a bathroom drain full of hair, our guide to the best drain cleaner for hair covers it in depth.

My call: buy the Clog Destroyer for kitchen sinks, disposals and slow drains you want to treat overnight. Pick one brand of gel and stay with it, so two never end up in the same drain. Our Drano vs Liquid-Plumr page compares the two gels head to head.

Instant Power Hair & Grease is the strongest bottle on this page, by its own safety sheet. The maker calls it the strongest non-acid formula on the market. It’s lye: the SDS lists 35 to 60% sodium hydroxide and 1 to 3% potassium hydroxide. That’s what makes it heat up in the drain.

Instant Power says it dissolves hair clogs from bathroom drains and creates heat to melt grease from kitchen sinks. It’s a clear, odorless liquid. The Amazon offer is a 2 pack of 1 liter bottles, sold by Instant Power itself, new and in stock when I checked.

The directions start with safety goggles, because Instant Power warns of a possible eruption of lye. Remove standing water first. Then pour 2 to 4 cups slowly, right into the drain. Wait at least an hour before flushing with hot water, and Instant Power says overnight is best.

Standing water is the catch. Drano and Liquid-Plumr are made to pour through it. This one isn’t, so you’d bail or sponge the sink out first. My call: that makes it a better fit for a slow kitchen line than for a sink that’s full to the rim.

The fixture rules are strict. Instant Power says not to use it in a garbage disposal, since it may damage disposals that aren’t stainless steel. It also says not to use it in toilets, where an overflow may cause safety issues. Don’t squeeze the bottle, and hold it by the handle.

Pipes are where the documents need a careful read. The product page says it’s safe on all piping, including PVC. The SDS classes it as corrosive to metals and lists aluminum, magnesium and zinc as incompatible. My call: keep it out of old galvanized drains and any aluminum parts.

The Amazon listing also calls it septic safe. Instant Power’s product page doesn’t say that, so I’ve labeled it a listing claim. Bio-Clean, a bacteria product made for septic tanks, lists lye among the chemicals that harm a septic system.

My call: buy this only for a kitchen grease clog you can’t reach with a snake, and only if you’ll wear the goggles. Store it locked away from kids. For most homes, one of the bleach gels is the right first bottle.

Green Gobbler’s main line opener is the only clog opener here made to go down a toilet. CNET’s lab test, on page one of Google on Oct 19, named it the best drain cleaner overall. Amazon sells it as the Ultimate Main Drain Opener in a 64 fl oz bottle, sold by EcoClean Solutions, new and in stock.

The idea is simple. For a main line, Green Gobbler says to pour the bottle into a first floor toilet, flush to carry it down, and then not use the drains for 10 to 12 hours. It says it reaches clogs up to 50 ft from the drain.

It works in sinks and tubs too. Green Gobbler’s directions are a half quart to a quart, poured slowly, left for 30 minutes and flushed with hot water. For tough clogs, repeat and leave it overnight. The maker lists it as safe for copper and PVC pipe, septic systems and garbage disposals.

The size needs a note. Green Gobbler’s own site sells this formula as the Main Line Drain Opener in a 1 gallon bottle, and its main line dose is the whole bottle. The Amazon bottle is 64 fl oz. My call: follow the label on the bottle you receive.

Then there’s the chemistry. Green Gobbler’s page says the formula is free of sodium hydroxide, bleach and harsh odors, and calls it non-corrosive to plumbing. Its safety data sheet, revised in November 2022, lists a trade secret caustic replacement at 5 to 10% and a pH of 13.22.

That same sheet gives it the signal word Danger. It says the product causes serious eye damage and skin irritation and may be corrosive to metals. For shipping, it’s described as a corrosive liquid, basic, under the name caustic hydroxide. My call: handle it with the gloves and goggles you’d use for lye.

Per Green Gobbler, it dissolves hair, sludge, flushable wipes, paper and other organic matter. It won’t move a toy or a toothbrush. If every drain is slow, or the lowest drain backs up when you flush, the main line is the likely problem. Our guide to drain cleanout locations shows where a plumber would open it.

My call: buy this for a slow main line or a sluggish toilet when the house can go a night without drains. If the toilet is fully stopped, try a toilet auger first.