DIY - Drain cleaning pucks

Every morning, you make yourself a coffee. And like most people, you probably throw the grounds straight in the bin. Well, that is really quite a shame! Coffee grounds are packed with useful properties that it would be a real pity to waste.

A few weeks ago, we suggested using them to make coffee scrub pucks. Now that your skin is silky smooth and you have a good stock in the fridge, here is another way to put your coffee grounds to work: making deodorising pucks for your home's drains!

Looking after your drains with coffee grounds

We have all dealt with blocked drains or drains giving off a less-than-pleasant smell at some point... There are plenty of highly effective products out there to tackle this problem, of course. But some of them are not exactly environmentally friendly. Others are cleaner, but why buy a product when you can repurpose one you already have?

Coffee grounds are ideal for maintaining your drains and preventing blockages, thanks to the abrasive action of those tiny granules. They help to loosen the dirt clinging to the walls of your pipes and keep water flowing freely. Coffee grounds are also a natural degreaser and a powerful deodoriser. So bid farewell to harsh, environmentally harmful products.

Bicarbonate of soda, meanwhile, cleans, disinfects, and dissolves limescale. And Epsom salt helps to remove residue of all kinds.

How to make coffee grounds drain pucks

Ingredients to make your drain pucks.

4 teaspoons of coffee grounds

4 teaspoons of Epsom salt

4 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda

A little water (not necessarily needed if the grounds are still moist — we used the last of the coffee left in the coffee maker!)

Method for making the drain pucks.

It really is simple — just mix the coffee grounds with the Epsom salt and the bicarbonate of soda!

If the mixture is too dry, add a little water until it forms a paste.

Then spoon the mixture into an ice cube tray.

Pop the tray in the freezer until the pucks are fully frozen. Once set, turn them out and store them in a freezer-safe container. Keep your pucks in the freezer and take them out as and when you need them.

How to use your coffee grounds drain pucks

Simply drop one of your pucks into your sink, bath, or shower and run hot water over it. That is all there is to it!

So now there is no excuse not to keep your coffee grounds — and we still have a few more handy recipes up our sleeve. You can store them in the fridge for a few days without any problem.

And what about you — how do you reuse your coffee grounds?