Drano is a household name in the U.S., synonymous with robust drain cleaning action. Drano Max Gel Clog Remover is their most powerful formula yet, with all of Drano’s power in a thick gel formula that quickly sinks into stagnant water to coat and dissolve clogs. Grease, hair, food particles, and anything else stuck in your drain are dissolved within minutes by the gel’s powerful caustic cleaning agents.
Drano Max Gel Clog Remover is safe for bathtubs, kitchen drains, metal pipes, PVC pipes, and more. The main place to not use it is in toilets, where it can damage delicate seals and other components. It can also be used preventatively to keep drains clean, but we think it’s a bit overkill for that job.
The most notable caveat with this product is that if overused or used with old, worn, or corroded pipes, it could actually exacerbate the damage. Overall, though, it’s a fantastic drain cleaner when used for its intended purpose.
Harsh chemicals can produce toxic fumes and chemical burns
Can corrode or damage pipes, especially those with prior wear or damage
Not suitable for toilets because it can damage porcelain, PVC, and other components
Contains pollutants that wash into groundwater
Drano Max Gel Clog Remover – The Details
Gel Formula Ensures No Clog Goes Undiscovered
Gel drain cleaners are relatively new innovations, but they’ve proven extremely effective. Traditional liquid drain cleaners can’t be used in standing water because water will dilute them, so you have to bail out the water from your clogged sink before using the drain cleaner.
The gel formula solves that problem. The drain cleaner is thicker and heavier than water, so it instantly begins to sink through even the murkiest kitchen sinks. The gel also coats the pipes and removes build-up, doubling as a preventive measure. However, its main purpose is to target and destroy tough clogs caused by hair and grease, which are traditionally the hardest to get rid of.
Heavy-Duty Chemical Cleaning Power
Move over, literally every other drain cleaner: Drano is here. Many people think it can’t be as effective as it’s hyped to be, but it is. Drano Max Gel has a laundry list of caustic chemicals like bleach and sodium hydroxide that make quick work of nearly anything you can pour down your drain. Gunked-up hairballs causing soapy water to pool around your feet in the shower? No problem. Sludgy grease stopping up the kitchen sink? Let Drano take care of it.
May Worsen Existing Damage
Chemicals give Drano its iconic drain-opening power, but they’re a double-edged sword. Plumbers often discourage homeowners from using Drano because it can really do a number on your pipes, particularly if they’re in poor shape. This is why we recommend only using Drano if you live in a fairly modern home with newer plumbing or if you’ve recently replaced your home’s plumbing.
Older houses with corroded or outdated plumbing may wish to go with a more gentle drain cleaner because Drano will literally eat into your pipes. Yes, they eat away clogs first, but they also affect the PVC, metal, and other materials in your drains or pipes. If your pipes are already corroded, that makes them an even easier target.
Can I use Drano Max Gel Clog Remover on plastic pipes? Will it cause corrosion?
Yes! All Drano products are safe to use on plastic pipes. Drano will not cause corrosion on your pipes.
Can I use this product on a clogged drain connected to the garbage disposal?
Drano Max Gel Clog Remover is safe to use with your garbage disposal. However, please note that not all Drano products are good for those types of clogs.
Why can’t I use Drano Max Gel Clog Remover on toilets?
This type of Drano does not have the microorganisms that help break down fecal matter. Avoid using this type of Drano on slow-running toilets.
The most common trend among negative reviews is that the product ate holes in their pipes and caused flooding even when used as directed. Our best guess is that these people likely had old or corroded pipes.
Both positive and negative reviews note that it takes a lot of liquid to unclog their drain compared to other drain cleaner products but that the generous product size helps mitigate the issue.
Only a small percentage of reviews say the product didn’t solve their clog, while the vast majority of reviewers were satisfied with its results. Some reviewers recommend letting the product sit in the drain for a few hours to overnight for very tough clogs.
Drano Max Gel Clog Remover is a very powerful and reasonably priced drain cleaner, but it’s not without its disadvantages. It can’t be used in toilets and shouldn’t be used in old, worn, damaged, or corroded plumbing. We definitely recommend Drano Max Gel for anyone with tough clogs they just can’t seem to beat with drain snakes or other conventional drain cleaners.
4.1 Can I use Drano Max Gel Clog Remover on plastic pipes? Will it cause corrosion?
4.2 Can I use this product on a clogged drain connected to the garbage disposal?
4.3 Why can’t I use Drano Max Gel Clog Remover on toilets?
5 What the Users Say
6 Conclusion
Writer
Codee Chessher
Codee Chessher is a freelance writer with extensive knowledge on a variety of subjects that include travel, sound engineering, automotive, DIY, pets, and more. He has a colorful past that includes building schools and commercial driving, but the written word was always his first love. He believes there's nothing a well-worded sentence can't accomplish.When not writing, Codee enjoys epic fantasy novels, home DIY projects, and memorizing useless pop culture trivia. He has lived in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Most recently, he resides in northern Mexico.
Drano® Max Gel pours through standing water and works fast to clear clogged drains and restore them to a free-flowing state. Safe for all pipes, it works great to remove hair, soap scum, and other gunky clogs.
Experts agree: Drano Max Gel is the best overall drain cleaner because it works quickly to get rid of tough clogs. This reliable and effective cleaner is a thick gel that goes deep in sinks, pipes, and drains to reach the source of the clog and completely dissolve it.
The chemicals in Drano may not solve all clogs, and they can lead to a worsening of pipe issues. Drano can build up in a clogged area, and corrode the pipe. With repeated use, these chemicals may eat their way through a pipe, and cause a leak or a collapse of the system.
Because of its corrosive nature, Drano can cause toilet bowls to crack, PVC pipes to melt or break and the glue that holds pipes together can be eaten away. If any of these things happen, you're going to be left with an inoperable plumbing system and costly repairs.
Plumbers Say You Should Never Use Drano. Drain cleaners are a popular solution when homeowners notice a clogged drain. But it's also one of the most commonly misused products out there. Any plumber will advise against its use.
This mixture is a great green alternative to Drano because most people have these items somewhere in their kitchen. To use this method, pour half a cup of baking soda into the clogged drain and follow it with a half cup of white vinegar.
Baking soda and vinegar may unclog your drain better than Drano ever could. Start by getting rid of the standing water in your drain. If it will go down slowly, just wait until it's gone. If it isn't moving, use a cup or a spoon to get it out of there.
This product is meant to be left for 6 to 8 hours to slowly dissolve the build-up in your drains. This makes it safe to let the Drano sit overnight (for example, if you are Drano Max Build Up Remover to improve a slow-running toilet as regular Drano can not be used to unclog a toilet drain.)
If using a plunger or drain snake does not clear your clog, this is a sign that it is time to call a professional plumber. Considering the risks that come with using Drano, hiring a plumber to clear the clog for you will still be the safer and cheaper option in the long run.
The plumber inserts the hose deep down into the drain, and then high-pressure water blasts out the nozzle to clean out all parts of the drain. The pressure is enough to completely wash away all debris clinging to the drainpipe walls, making it hard for debris to build up again.
If inserting a plumber's snake seems like a risky option, and your problem is more than what a plunger can solve, adding a cleaning agent like WD-40 is always a good idea. The good part about using WD-40 is that it gets right under the build-up and muck, and breaks it down, which helps clear the drain.
Baking soda is actually one of the most common alternative drain cleaners! It's also very effective for routine maintenance and doesn't take long at all to prepare. For the best effect, mix a cup of baking soda with a cup of cider vinegar. Pour it down the drain with hot water.
The harmful chemicals in Drano can end up being corrosive to your pipes. Drano has been known to cause toilet bowls to crack, soften and break PVC pipes and break older corroded pipes. Over time, the continued usage of Drano can lead your pipes to corrode, crack and eventually fail.
All in all, pouring boiling water down your drain will only cause issues down the road. While you may solve an immediate pain point, the water can cause the grease to move down the drain and stick to the side of the drain.
Because vinegar is an acid and baking soda is a base, mixing the two will cause a chemical reaction that will create pressure and possibly dislodge the clog. For this method, pour a half-cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a half-cup of white vinegar and, then, plenty of hot water.
Over time, drano can harden and become like cement. This will eventually require much more expensive repairs. It is recommended to use a camera and a snake to attack the cause of the clog. If you don't have the tools or the time to perform the work yourself, hire a plumber who can get it done quickly and correctly.
Reuse every four weeks. To help prevent toilet clogs in the future, you can safely use Drano® Max Build-Up Remover monthly. It's a good idea to be prepared, and keep some on hand!
Repeatedly using liquid plumbers on drains that clog frequently can deteriorate your pipes and do more damage in the long run. If you experience repeat clogs in the same drains, nix the use of liquid plumbers and call in the professionals instead.
For use on clogged or slow-running drains, pour half of the bottle (32 oz. size) slowly over drain. For extremely slow-running drains or complete clogs, pour in entire contents of 32 oz.bottle.
Baking soda and vinegar is a very powerful combination that can help clear nasty hair clogs. Besides helping dissolve hair in your drain, baking soda also has disinfectant qualities that can fight fungi and bacteria.
Baking soda, vinegar and boiling water can help clean drains naturally, but you may need something stronger, like Liquid-Plumr, to fully unclog those really tough drain clogs.
It is not a great drain clog remover. Bleach has no effect in dissolving the common culprits of household drain clogs, like hair, food scraps and grease.
Another plumbing company, Pippin Brothers, says that Drano can cause breakage on your toilet's porcelain and even make your PVC pipes get soft, which would be pretty costly to fix.
When Drano won't go down the drain, grab a plunger instead. Many people think that these are only good for toilets. However, they can create suction that can dislodge your clog.
Probably nothing, it would just be sitting in the trap , I stay away from chemical drain cleaners mostly because they don't work, hair or grease is stuck to the sides of the pipe and the drano may burn off some of it. But most is missed, use a mechanical drain cleaner instead.
If Drano is left to sit too long, it can cause severe damage to your pipes, septic system and other components of the plumbing system. This is because Drano is highly corrosive and can cause severe damage with even short-term contact. If it sits too long, it can cause irreversible damage to pipes, seals and joints.
To unclog toilets that couldn't be fixed with a plunger, use a toilet auger. Also called a plumbing snake, this flexible coil of wire is designed to extend into pipes and clear obstructions without damaging the plumbing. Feed the end of the cable into the toilet, taking care not to scratch the bowl.
ANNUALLY. Even if you don't notice any specific signs that your drains are having trouble with clogs, you should do your best to have them cleaned at least once every year.
All you need to do is take a cupful of baking soda and pour it down the drain. Consequently, pour a cupful of white vinegar down the same drain. Thereafter, wait for around 10-15 minutes for the baking soda and vinegar solution to break up and clear the clog.
While the baking soda and vinegar solution is effective in breaking down a clog, it will also cause your drain to become more damaged. The baking soda's abrasive nature will wear down your drain over time. This is why you should avoid using baking soda and vinegar solution for cleaning out your drain.
Some people say weekly, bi-monthly or quarterly. However, we feel that cleaning your drains monthly should be sufficient to avoid major plumbing issues. A monthly cleaning will allow you to use safe cleaning methods which will save you time, energy and money in the long term.
Baking soda, vinegar and Dawn dish soap along with boiling water can safely unclog a drain. Baking soda, vinegar and Dawn dish soap along with boiling water can safely unclog a drain.
When cleaning a toilet bowl, WD-40 works by softening the rust and lime deposits, so they can be easily wiped away. You don't need to use much of it. Simply spray on the affected area, wait a minute or two and brush it away with a regular toilet brush.
In a toilet, especially since Drano does not work quickly on toilet clogs, it creates a serious issue. The heat generated from this chemical reaction can crack the porcelain of the toilet or soften the PVC of the pipes. So, not only can Drano hurt you, but it can also hurt your toilet and cause costly damage.
To help prevent toilet clogs in the future, you can safely use Drano® Max Build-Up Remover monthly. It's a good idea to be prepared, and keep some on hand!
slowly over drain. For extremely slow-running drains or complete clogs, pour 32 oz. Allow to work for 15 minutes. For tough problems, allow 30 minutes.
This mixture is a great green alternative to Drano because most people have these items somewhere in their kitchen. To use this method, pour half a cup of baking soda into the clogged drain and follow it with a half cup of white vinegar.
Plumbers Say You Should Never Use Drano. Drain cleaners are a popular solution when homeowners notice a clogged drain. But it's also one of the most commonly misused products out there. Any plumber will advise against its use.
Baking soda, vinegar and boiling water can help clean drains naturally, but you may need something stronger, like Liquid-Plumr, to fully unclog those really tough drain clogs.
slowly over drain. For extremely slow-running drains or complete clogs, pour 32 oz. Allow to work for 15 minutes. For tough problems, allow 30 minutes.
For extremely slow-running drains or complete clogs, pour in entire contents of 32 oz.bottle. Allow to work for 15 minutes. For tough problems, allow 30 minutes.
Introduction: My name is The Hon. Margery Christiansen, I am a bright, adorable, precious, inexpensive, gorgeous, comfortable, happy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Codee Chessher 
