10 Best Drain Cleaners of 2021 for Clogged Sinks, Toilets, & Tubs

This top performer is a consumer favorite. Safe for piping and septic systems, Drano Max Gel Liquid Clog Remover is a thick gel that sinks through standing water to the source of the clog and gets to work, dissolving hair, and melting soap scum, grease and other gunky clogs. For complete clogs, or slow-flowing drains, the gel works in 15-30 minutes. In the case of a persistent clog, this solution can be used a second time.

Liquid Plumr’s thick gel powers through hair clogs that slow sink, tub and shower drains. Testers raved about how well it works. It is safe for pipes and drains, including septic systems. Wait for all the water to drain out of the sink or tub, then pour the bottle of Liquid Plumr slowly down the drain. It takes at least 15 minutes to work. For badly clogged drains, you can leave Liquid Plumr in the drain overnight to work, then flush thoroughly with hot water in the morning.

Bio Clean uses a special combination of naturally-occurring bacteria and enzymes to digest organic waste such as hair, grease, soap scum, paper, food particles, and more. Being an enzymatic cleaner, it works more slowly than traditional chemical drain cleaners and works best overnight on slow flowing drains and as a once-per-month maintenance product. It won’t clear a complete blockage, and multiple uses are sometimes necessary to thoroughly clear partially clogged drains. Many reviewers have also used Bio Clean as a preventative maintenance product, and swear by its effectiveness. Because of its composition, Bio Clean is safe to use in toilets.

Prevention is best when it comes to drains, and CLR’s Clear Pipes and Drains makes it really simple to keep your pipes clear and prevent clogs with a quick, once-a-month treatment. Testers raved at how easy it was to use (it takes less than five minutes!) and how clear their drains ran afterwards. Just pour two ounces (four tablespoons) of the fragrance-free liquid down your drain and leave it to work overnight, flushing with clean water in the morning. It can also be used to clear slow drains.

Safe for septic system maintenance too, Thrift’s drain cleaner claims to work in only 60 seconds on slow-flowing drains. Hot water is required to warm the pipes, dissolve and activate the crystals, before you thoroughly flush the drain after 60 seconds. Reviewers are impressed by how quickly it works. It can be left to work overnight on grease traps. Because it’s a strong chemical cleaner, Thrift drain cleaner must not be used in garbage disposals or toilets.

No measuring, no mess, Green Gobbler’s single pacs can make clearing a slow-flowing drain super easy. Each package contains three pre-measured ready-to-use powder packets – simply add water and wait 15-30 minutes before flushing (or wait overnight for tough clogs). While the pacs themselves are odorless, some clogs may be stinky as they dissolve – but once the drain is thoroughly flushed, the smell dissipates. More than 4,000 Amazon reviewers gave Green Gobbler a 5-star rating, saying they loved how well it worked.

Septic safe, the XionLab Safer Drain Opener works on hair or grease clogs (but is not ideal for food particles). A balance between acidic/caustic cleaners and mild enzymatic cleaners, the gel will sink through standing water and clear mild obstructions in around 2 hours (tougher clogs will take longer, sometimes overnight). One reviewer raved that it “worked like a charm.”

A toilet auger may well succeed where a plunger didn’t. Using a regular drain snake on a clogged toilet can cause damage to the porcelain, but the Ridgid has a vinyl protective guard to help protect against scratches and cracks. The ergonomic handles make it easy to rotate the cable with its bulb head down the drain line past the toilet to break up and clear clogs lodged there.

Ideal for kitchens and bathrooms, the flexible Vastar Drain Snake reaches deep into drain pipes and flexes at the P-trap, where most obstructions occur, and is an inexpensive option to mechanically remove clogs. The barbs grab hair and other messy clogs, allowing you to remove or dislodge them — many reviewers, while loving this product and how well it works, reminded us how icky some of these clogs smell, so take heed. The Vastar Drain Snake can be cleaned or disposed of after use.

A winner in our 2020 Best Cleaning Product Awards, the revolutionary design of the TubShroom allows it to sit inside the bathroom tub drain, neatly collecting hair around it as the water drains. To clean it, simply pull the TubShroom out of the drain, and wipe it off. It fits standard drains, and uses no chemicals. Though not technically a drain cleaner, it’s a great way to help prevent hair clogs, and it worked so well in our GH Cleaning Lab tests that we just had to include it here.