The overflow hole is often overlooked when it comes to cleaning a sink. This can lead to bad smells and an overflow hole that can’t drain properly. None of those things are ideal, but luckily cleaning it is extremely easy.
The easiest way by far, is to fill up your sink with hot soap water and let your sink, well, overflow. The water will run down the overflow hole and will get rid of most things. You will want to leave the water running for a couple of minutes to allow enough water to go through.If this doesn’t work you’ll have to use some cleaning chemicals where filling the sink isn’t an option.
So what do you do if you have to use cleaning chemicals? There are several ways to go about it. First of all, there is no avoiding spilling into the sink, so clear that out.
Depending on the bottle the chemical is in, you might be able to just pour it directly into the overflow hole. If that is not the case however, you usually need something to direct it. We recommended that you use a funnel. It will probably still spill a bit but greatly reduced.
Which Cleaning Chemicals Can You Use?
You might be wondering which chemical you can pour down the overlow hole. Not every chemical is suitable and so you’ll have to be careful with what you use. Obviously you will be able to use anything that can also go down other drains.
First of all you should avoid using bleach. It has little cleaning effect on the drain and has a lot of potential problems. So what can you use?
You should use a drain cleaner. They are specifically made for drains so you don’t accidently use something wrong.
Using Normal Home Items
If you don’t have or want to use drain cleaner you can luckily make your own cleaner. There are several ways to do this but we recommened one of these 3 methods:
Mix water and baking soda. Pour it down the overflow hole and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Rinse with hot water and repeat a few times.
You can also use white vinegar. Pour some white vinegar into the overflow hole and leave it a coupler of minutes. Rinse it with warm water afterwards.
One last option that we also recommended is making a mixture with citric acid. Boil some water and mix in some citric acid. Then simply pour it down the overflow hole. Like the other times, you should also rinse it with hot water afterwards.