Overheard a guy at the hardware store say 'just use a potato to clean a clogged drain'

I tried it last night on my kitchen sink and it just made a mushy, starchy mess that pushed the clog deeper. Had to call a plumber this morning who charged me $150 to snake it out. Has anyone actually had this 'hack' work, or is it just internet nonsense?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix3311mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, did you boil the potato first? Because you're supposed to use raw chunks! I've done it a few times on slow drains and it worked for me. The idea is the raw potato gets shredded by the garbage disposal blades and the starch can grab onto gunk. Maybe it only works for partial clogs, not a fully blocked pipe. Sorry it backfired on you though, that's a rough outcome.

caleb_stone1mo ago

My kitchen sink now has a mashed potato side hustle.

jordan_young27d ago

Three times I've tried that raw potato thing from those DIY plumbing blogs and it never did a darn thing. My sink was just barely draining slow, not even fully clogged, and I still ended up having to take apart the trap anyway. I'm starting to think it's one of those internet myths that one person swears by and everyone just repeats it without testing. Honestly, for a slow drain you're way better off just pouring a kettle of boiling water down there with some dish soap. It's way less messy and you don't have to worry about potato bits getting stuck in the disposal blades later. I'm not saying it never worked for anyone ever, but I've never seen it actually fix anything in my kitchen.