10 Best Enzyme Drain Cleaners of 2023 – Reviews & Top Picks

If you have a clogged drain, you don’t want to spend a lot of time looking over different brands trying to find one suitable for your home. Since you have chosen to use an enzyme cleaner, you are halfway there, but there are plenty of brands to sort through.

We’ve chosen 10 brands to review for you so you can see their differences. We’ve also included a short buyer’s guide where we take a close look at how enzyme cleaners work to help you decide if they are right for you. Keep reading while we discuss treatments per container, strength, odor, and more to help you make an informed purchase.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2023

Rating	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		Flo-Kem Flo-Zyme Drain Opener	Heavy-duty bio enzyme cleaner Breaks down and liquefies suspended solids Eliminates odor	CHECK PRICE
Best Value		Green Gobbler Enzyme Drain Cleaner	Dissolves solids Safer than bleach Eco-friendly	CHECK PRICE
Premium Choice		Bio-clean Drain Cleaners	Environmentally friendly Safe for pets and can reduce litter box odor Does not affect plastic or create heat	CHECK PRICE
		Helix Laboratories BioFresh Enzyme Drain Cleaner	Environmentally safe Safe for septic tanks Double strength concentrated formula	CHECK PRICE
		Break Down Grease Drain Cleaner	Rapid degradation technology Fast odor elimination Biodegradable	CHECK PRICE

The 10 Best Enzyme Drain Cleaners

1. Flo-Kem Flo-Zyme Drain Opener – Best Overall

The Flo-Kem Flo-Zyme Drain Opener is our pick for the best overall enzyme drain cleaner. This heavy-duty bio-enzyme cleaner breaks down and liquefies suspended solids like food, feces, and soap scum. It has a milky white texture and a pleasant odor. We found it had left our drain smelling good and running clear.

The only downside is that you must use it every night for several nights to work well, which can be inconvenient if you have a large household. Despite this, we think this is the best enzyme drain cleaner available this year.

2. Green Gobbler Enzyme Drain Cleaner – Best Value

Green Gobbler Enzyme Drain Cleaner is our pick as the best enzyme drain cleaner for the money. It uses a non-toxic formula that’s safe for septic tanks and plastic. It is a safe alternative to sodium hydroxide, and it removes odors in your drain and breaks up solids like oils, fats, proteins, and more. It’s safer to use than bleach and is eco-friendly because it biodegrades.

We found that Green Gobbler worked well, and the only problem we had was that we had to let it sit considerably longer than other types that use hydroxide. We often had to allow it to sit overnight to work completely.

3. Bio-clean Drain Cleaners – Premium Choice

Bio-clean Drain Cleaners Is our premium choice enzyme drain cleaner. Each 2-pound jar can treat your drains up to 100 times using a combination of natural bacteria and enzymes that destroy solids like hair, food, and grease in an environmentally safe way. It won’t harm PVC or other plumbing materials, and it’s safe enough to use in a cat litter box to reduce odor.

The only problem with Bio-clean is that it works slower than chemical-based drain cleaners, so you’ll need to set extra time aside or apply it more than once.

4. Helix Laboratories BioFresh Enzyme Drain Cleaner

The Helix Laboratories BioFresh Enzyme Drain Cleaner is an environmentally safe drain cleaner that you can use on septic tanks, dishwashers, garbage disposals, and washing machines. It is a concentrated double-strength formula, so you use less with each treatment, and one container lasts for several months. There are very few ingredients besides bacteria and fragrance, and the odor is pleasant enough while you’re using it.

The only problem we had with Helix was that, like our top brands, it took a long time to work and required several applications. We also felt it didn’t remove odors as well as the competition.

5. Break Down Grease Drain Cleaner

Break Down Grease Drain Cleaner features a rapid degradation technology that helps break up tough drain clogs faster than other enzyme-based drain cleaners. It eliminates odors quickly and is safe for plastic and PVC pipes. It’s biodegradable and will not harm the environment.

What we didn’t like about Break Down was it has a strong smell that’s very overpowering, and you’ll want to have plenty of ventilation. It’s also prone to splattering as you pour it in the drain, and the directions are incomplete and hard to follow.

6. Harris EDC-18 Enzyme Drain Cleaner

Harris EDC-18 Enzyme Drain Cleaner is a powder drain cleaner that allows you to perform 40 treatments per container. It’s safe for all plumbing materials, including copper, brass, PVC, chrome, and more. It is also 100% eco-friendly and biodegrades shortly after use. There are no fragrances in this product, so it’s especially useful to people and pets sensitive to different smells.

Like many other brands, Harris EDC-18 is very slow to unclog the drain, and it may take several applications before water flows unrestricted. We found that it had an especially tough time dealing with clogs that contained large amounts of hair.

7. Earthworm Drain Cleaner

Earthworm Drain Cleaner is a liquid cleaner with a pleasant citrus and sage fragrance and is among our favorite-smelling cleaners on this list. It’s safe for all plumbing materials, including chrome, and you can use it in your septic tank, dishwasher, and washing machine without worry.

Like most enzyme cleaners, Earthworm Drain Cleaner is slow to clear the drains and may take several applications. The bottle isn’t very large, and you can expect to use a whole bottle to get rid of a tough clog.

8. Helix Laboratories DrainScrub Enzyme Drain Cleaner

Helix Laboratories DrainScrub Enzyme Drain Cleaner is a powdered cleaner with a double-strength formula. The 2-pound canister contains up to 128 treatments, so you will get plenty of uses out of your purchase. It’s safe for all plumbing, including septic tanks, and it biodegrades after use, so it is safe for the environment. It also contains micronutrients that help feed the bacteria while increasing the product’s lifespan and effectiveness.

As with all the other brands, Helix drain cleaner works very slowly and may take several applications to remove all the material from your drain. It’s best to let it sit overnight to give the bacteria plenty of time to work. It seems to be especially bad at releasing hair-based clogs, and you may want to try another product if that’s the primary cause of your problems.

9. Xion Lab Green Enzyme Drain Cleaner

Xion Lab Green Enzyme Drain Cleaner uses a concentrated formula that contains no water to provide you with the highest strength possible. It not only works to break up clogs, but it also creates a biofilm that adheres to pipes and prevents other materials like fats, grease, and hair from attaching and creating a clog. It features advanced odor control that eliminates odors at the source, preventing them from returning. The product is biodegradable, and the bottle is recyclable for top marks in being environmentally friendly. It’s safe for all plumbing materials and will not damage your gaskets.

Xion Lab is a fantastic product for getting rid of odors, and it competes with any of our top products in that area. If your drain works well but smells bad, this is the product for you. As a cleaner, it doesn’t work as well. It’s very slow and requires several applications to get the drain running free, and it seems not to affect hair whatsoever.

10. Black Diamond Enzyme Drain Opener

Black Diamond Enzyme Drain Opener is a professional strength drain cleaner that uses a fast-acting concentrated enzyme solution. It is safe for all plumbing, including septic tanks, and works to eliminate odors and unclog drains. The formulated enzyme cultures attack grease traps to get water flowing again, and there are more than 30 applications per container.

To be honest, we didn’t see any improvement with Black Diamond over most of the other cleaners on this list, but it is considerably more expensive. It’s just as slow to take effect and may require several applications before you notice a change in your drain’s behavior. It’s probably best used as a preventative product to help slow the rate at which your drain clogs.

Buyer’s Guide – Finding the Best Enzyme Drain Cleaners

Here are a few things to consider before choosing an enzyme drain cleaner.

How do Pipes Get Clogged?

Pipes can become clogged in many ways, including the following:

How Do Enzyme Cleaners Work?

Enzyme cleaners do not use chemicals or cleaning agents. Instead, they use special living bacteria that eat away the organic material, clear the drain, and consume odor-causing materials. Most cleaners have few ingredients besides enzymes, bacteria cultures, and fragrances.

What Does it Work On?

Since the enzymes and bacteria eat organic material, they will happily munch on grease, fats, hair, and some soaps to help open the pathway and allow water to flow freely again. It works very well on the drain in the tub and most sinks.

What Won’t it Work On?

Since the enzymes can only consume organic material, they will only work on living things and not work well on mineral deposits, plastic, metal, or paper. It may eat organic material around them, freeing up the clog, but it won’t affect the inorganic material. Since it cannot consume inorganic material, it won’t be very useful for unclogging toilets.

Environmentally Friendly

One of the best things about enzyme drain cleaners is that they are non-toxic and environmentally friendly. The enzymes have a short lifespan and quickly decompose naturally, unlike chemicals that can stay in the ground for years or contaminate the water. Chemicals can also be harmful to your health and dangerous to have around children and pets.

Is it Effective?

Enzyme drain cleaners can be very effective when used on organic materials, but the organisms can take time to consume enough material to free a clogged drain. It’s often better to use these products as a preventive measure by adding them to your drain regularly to reduce the chance a clog will occur. When used in this manner, they are very effective.

The Downsides

The disadvantage of using an enzyme drain cleaner is that it takes a long time to work. If you are using it to release a clogged drain, you could be in for a long wait. Often you will need to add it to the drain and wait overnight to see the results. You may also need to repeat the process several times, potentially leading to several days without using the drain.

Though it is much healthier than chemicals, many people do not like the idea of unleashing bacteria and living enzymes into their homes. These drain cleaners also have a distinctive smell that some people don’t like.

Powder vs Liquid

There are two forms of enzyme drain cleaners: powder and liquid.

Liquid

Liquid enzyme cleaners are usually more powerful than powders and more expensive. Liquids are easy to use because they usually don’t require any mixing, and you can often add them directly to the troubled drain. The biggest downside to liquid enzyme cleaners is that they are bulky, heavy, and hard to store due to the water they hold. There are also usually fewer treatments per container.

Powder

Powder cleaners work well, but you often need to mix them with warm water to activate the dormant enzymes before adding them to your drain. Mixing always leads to second-guessing whether you mixed it correctly and if the water was at the right temperature. The good thing about powdered enzymes is that they are very lightweight and take up little space. A single container of enzymes can contain more than 100 treatments and is therefore much cheaper than the liquid form.

Conclusion

We feel that the Flo-Kem Flo-Zyme Drain Opener is the best enzyme drain cleaner on our list. It completely removed all odors from the drain and broke up clogs quickly. It even did an excellent job removing built-up soap scum. Green Gobbler Enzyme Drain Cleaner is a close second and costs less but takes quite a bit longer. It was easy to use and doesn’t have an unpleasant odor.

We hope you have enjoyed our reviews and found an enzyme drain cleaner you would like to try. If our buyer’s guide has given you the confidence to shop alone, please share this article on Facebook and Twitter.

See also:

• 7 Best Drain Cleaners for Main Line Pipes: Reviews & Top Picks
• Can You Pour Bleach Down the Drain? What You Need to Know!
• 8 Best Drain Cleaners for Grease