Home   >   Homebase   >   Japanese lifehack: Aluminum foil keeps slime away from your kitchen drain

Japanese lifehack: Aluminum foil keeps slime away from your kitchen drain

By on June 2, 2015

While you may think that all the washing and soaping done in the sink would clean itself, you might be disappointed.

The kitchen drain is the breeding ground of bacteria and, if left unattended, would cause foul odor.

Although spraying, brushing and scrubbing do work, they take so much time and effort. The Japanese thought about this simple trick: use aluminum foil.

I tried it and it worked. I used to replace my net strainer everyday and clean the drain disposal every other day.

Now, that I’ve tried this, I just do the cleaning every other week.  Depending on your drainer load, you might have to replace the aluminum once every four days.

All you need are the following:

1. Net strainer – Use the stocking type found in 100 yen stores

2. Aluminum Foil – ¥100 store

3. Thin rubber gloves – ¥100 store

IMGP0835IMGP0837

Take a 7-cm long aluminum foil, crinkle it up into a ball and toss it into the drain outlet. Next, put the net filter on to your kitchen drain. I would advise you to use the stocking type. Cut another  5-cm long aluminum foil. Put it on top of the strainer cap located at the bottom of the drain and you’re good to go.  See the results in one week or until your drain is full.

So why is aluminum foil able to prevent slime build up in the kitchen drain outlet? The answer is simple.

 

Science experts have an explanation to that.  Aluminum has ion-emitting properties when wet with water. These metal ions have an anti-bacterial and disinfecting action that gets rid of all the goo and slime surrounding the kitchen drain.

Consider this. If you have been buying those bacteria-killing sprays and other disinfecting products and doing scrubbing every other day, using aluminum foil would free you of your precious time and cut your costs in half.

TIP: Check it from time to time, and replace aluminum foil when you see dirt accumulating. Please clean and brush the drain before replacing the foil.

 

About Marlow Hauser

Marlow Hauser is a full-time data scientist, part-time writer, trailing spouse and mother of two. She has a PhD in Psychology and writes about education and food.