Can You Pour Bleach Down the Kitchen Sink?

In case you didn’t know, bleach is one of the most efficient homemade remedies when it comes to cleaning.

However, since bleach is a strong chemical substance, it is not recommended to use on everything.

But, can bleach damage our kitchen surfaces or drain pipes if we use it for cleaning? Well, this question doesn’t have a straight answer.

It mostly depends on how you use bleach and in what amount. It doesn’t matter much if you use it for cleaning or for unclogging, all that matters is how you use it.

Therefore, we are here today to talk about bleach and see if you can pour bleach down the kitchen sink.

Dangers of Using Bleach

Undiluted bleach that is usually used only for industrial purposes is highly dangerous for us. That’s why we don’t use that kind of bleach.

This means that your bleach inside your home is diluted one, a not-so-toxic one.

That bleach is actually safe to use for cleaning, but, since this is a powerful chemical, it’s not always recommendable to use it. Anyhow, let’s see the dangers of using bleach first:

Dangerous for Children

First of all, bleach is dangerous for children to use and to be exposed by. Namely, if you plan on cleaning your whole bathroom or kitchen with bleach, don’t let your child enter those rooms for some period of time.

When used, bleach releases fumes that can be very harmful to our young ones.

Interacts with other Chemicals

One of the most important things that you need to know about bleach is to never mix it with other chemicals. You can only mix bleach with water.

Also, don’t even use bleach on surfaces that were previously cleaned with some other cleaning product, unless you rinse it with water. As we can see, bleach is very dangerous and can cause so many different chemical reactions if you mix it with other chemicals.

Harmful effects on our Skin

It isn’t a secret that bleach is harmful to our skin. That’s why you need to wear rubber gloves when you use bleach for cleaning, no matter what. If you expose your skin directly to bleach, the bleach can cause some really nasty injuries.

So, we can conclude that using bleach for cleaning is only recommended if you have protective gloves and use a proper amount. 

Don’t Pour Bleach down the Kitchen Sink

Even though bleach is a great substance for disinfecting and cleaning, you don’t need to pour it down the drain to remove build-ups.

Now, as we all know, build-ups inside our drain pipes are usually a pile of hair, cleaning and beauty products, dust, dirt, and minerals from water.

So, can bleach dissolve these build-ups?

Of course not! Bleach is not designed to dissolve stuff, it only cleans and disinfects surfaces when you apply it on them.

In that case, you definitely don’t need to pour bleach down the kitchen or any other sink you have in your household.

Using bleach for unclogging is not such a reasonable thing to do since it can’t dissolve build-ups inside your drain.

Will bleach cause a reaction if you pour it down the kitchen sink?

First, bleach can’t cause reactions with water, so if you pour it down the kitchen sink that is not clogged, nothing will happen.

Since bleach will break down into saltwater when it reaches the septic systems, you don’t have to worry about environmental pollution as well.

But, what you have to worry about is mixing bleach with other chemicals.

We know that you don’t want to do it on purpose, but, if you pour bleach down the drain, you risk causing a chemical reaction. Why?

Well, imagine you have a clogged kitchen sink and you pour a bit of cleaning product that is meant for unclogging, but nothing happens. 

Your kitchen drain is still clogged and you don’t have more cleaning product to use. If you pour bleach down the drain, the bleach will react with the cleaning product and can cause some really nasty chemical reactions.

You can experience some really bad smells since bleach will release fumes and other unwanted chemicals in the air.

Also, if you somehow get bleach in contact with ammonia or acids, you can really damage your whole drainage system.

Ammonia and acids are able to create literally a life-threatening situation if you mix it with bleach. That’s why you should definitely avoid pour down bleach in your kitchen sink.

We recommend

Since bleach is definitely not an option when it comes to unclogging, we strongly recommend that you use some other method to get rid of the clogs inside your drain.

You might like: Best Drain Cleaner for Kitchen Sink

Bleach can’t help you if you pour it down the drain no matter what, it can only cause a reaction and damage your whole drainage system.

Or, if you are lucky, nothing will happen since bleach doesn’t reach with water.

Anyhow, you can always use a pot of boiling water to get rid of the clogs. Also, you can use plumber’s snake or any other tool that is basically designed for this kind of job.

Conclusion: Can you Pour Bleach Down the Kitchen Sink?

All in all, pouring bleach down the drain is a really bad idea and you should never do it. If you want to clean surfaces with bleach, you can do it without any risk.

But, by pouring bleach down the drain, you risk having to deal with a really nasty mess and damaged drain system.

There are other ways to clean or unclog your kitchen sink, bleach simply isn’t one of them.