Method One: Inside Your Home

• 1. Remove any visible clogs. If there is a buildup of food or hair that you can see, pull it out. If your drain has a mesh cover, use a screwdriver to remove it.
• 2. Pour 3/4 cup of dry baking powder down the clogged drain.
• 3    
  

• Pour 1/2 cup of white distilled vinegar down the drain after the baking soda.

• 4

  Insert a plug or old rag into the top of the drain. Leave the baking soda and vinegar to work at unclogging the drain. Leave it to work for a minimum of half an hour.

• 5

  Boil a large pot of water on the stove. Remove the plug and pour the boiling water down the clogged pipe, after the ammonia mixture.

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  Method Two: Outside Your Home

  • 6

    Contact your city planner to obtain a copy of the documents from your property's survey. This will allow you see exactly where the main pipe, also known as the lateral pipe, that is running under your home, meets the sewer. If you do not have a copy of these or cannot quickly obtain them from the city planner, look for the cleanout pipe on your property. This is a capped pipe that is on your property. It runs from the ground's surface down to the main pipe.

  • 7

    Remove the cap from the cleanout pipe. The tools you will need to do this will depend on the type of cap on the pipe. You may be able to remove it with a wrench, or you may need more specialized tools. Before fully removing the cap, place a receptacle by the opening of the pipe. This will catch any waste or runoff that leaks from the pipe when the cap is removed. You can use anything you would like for the receptacle; just remember that sewage may escape from the pipe, so you will not want to use the receptacle again. Allow the water to flow into the receptacle until the flow ceases before removing the cap the rest of the way.

  • 8

    Insert a plumbing snake or pipe auger into the cleanout pipe. Turn the snake's reel clockwise. This will advance the snake into the pipe. Every 4 to 5 inches, stop turning the reel, and flush the pipe with clean water from a garden hose. Continue in this fashion until the pipe is cleaned of all debris.