With warm weather across the UK, it's more important than ever to give your drains at home a clean, but where do you even begin? High temperatures can accelerate the growth of bacteria, which often leads to bad smells and is particularly problematic in urban areas.

With the sunny weather in mind, home and bathroom experts at Vidalux.co.uk have prewarned that a buildup of soap, scum and hair in drains is something to be extra cautious of. In order to avoid this, they have suggested one key ingredient that, when poured down your drain, gives it the ultimate clean and prevents any foul smells. Pouring boiling water down drains is a simple yet effective hack that can help fix drain clogs by melting and loosening any grease or scum that is in the pipes.

It’s important to remember that this method is only effective for minor clogs; more stubborn ones will need to be tackled using stronger ingredients.

Turns out, something most likely sitting in your cupboard could be the answer to unclogged drains, made easy. Salt can act as a mild abrasive, helping to break down any build up of grease and debris.

Simply pour salt down your drain, followed by a load of boiling water, and allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so before pouring boiling water down again to help flush it all away. For more stubborn clogs, salt can also be added to baking soda and white vinegar.

Another cleaning cupboard staple that works well when sprinkled onto drains is baking soda and vinegar. When the two are mixed together, they start to fizz and that ultimately helps to break down any clogs and build up in your drain.

This works best when tackling clogs that may have formed from everyday use and tend to include hair, grease and other debris.

For the ultimate result, pour the baking soda down the drain first, followed by the vineagar, cover it up and allow it to sit for around 30 minutes or so before flushing the mixture away with some hot water. 

As well as this, another useful method is using effervescent indigestion tablets, which work similarly to the white vinegar and baking soda, due to their the fizzy reaction. It's this fizz reaction that helps to loosen debris in clogged drains.

All you have to do is drop a few tablets down the drain, then a cup of white vinegar and let it sit for a short amount of time until the fizzing stops. Once its no longer fizzing, simply wash the solution away with hot water.

If you're looking for another way to clear your drain with some easy-to-find items in your cupboard, you can opt for lemon juice or vodka.

The fruits acidic nature helps to clear dirt while also leaving behind a fresh citric scent, when paired with boilign water.

Vodka on the other hand, while it won't necessarily unclog your drains, it can be used to help maintain them.

It can work to clear loose debris, kill bacteria and neutralise any odours when poured down the drain and 30 minutes later, rinsed away with boiling water.