Stealth Plumbing, or Drain Vigilantes

[rikibeth]

delphislash was just telling me about the dreadful state of her dormitory bathrooms. Seems, what with the gobs of other people's hair and whatnot clogging the drains, the water rises up over your ankles when you shower. And the term's barely started.

Now, I'm 34, and have been responsible for my own plumbing for over 13 years, so I just think in practical terms.

Here's the Y!M exchange:

ivy_de_julian: It's likely the hair that doesn't get caught in the drain strainers and washes down that's causing the blockage. Don't know if Canadian environmental regs allow the strongest sort of chemical drain cleaner but I've had luck with it.

ivy_de_julian: The American product is called Liquid Plumber's Snake (not just ordinary Liquid Plum'r). It comes in a two chambered bottle, like epoxy, but in reverse I guess. You open the cap and both halves pour out and do something drastic when they mix in the drain.

delphislash: *nods* Maintenance does it twice a year - any more, and the floor has to pay for them to do it. We're not allowed to tamper with the bathrooms ourselves.

ivy_de_julian: I would sneak in when no one is watching and pour this stuff down the drain.

delphislash: Hee - if things get too bad, I just might.

ivy_de_julian: Stealth plumbing!

delphislash: Vigilante of the Drains!

I am easily amused when I'm overtired.

Comments

[eirehound.livejournal.com]

That stuff is vicious! Well, it's viscous too, viciously viscous and viscously vicious in fact. I have had a sink most totally plugged by hair, filled with water, and poured that stuff in ...

... and waited ...

and almost but not quite watched it work. Amazing.

The only thing that's better - I saw a chem professor do this once, with the immortal caution "Do NOT try this at home and you didn't see me do this" - is 100 M solution of sodium hydroxide (pH 16!!!!) to clear a drain. She wore neoprene mitts and a face shield to pour it in, wouldn't you? Yes you would. I guarantee you there was no organic matter for a hundred feet down drain system when she was done, except maybe for PVC piping.

As Mae West said, "Too much of a good thing is wonderful."

[neilfein.livejournal.com]

From the MSDS at http://www.proscitech.com.au/catalogue/msds/c201.pdf:

Sodium Hydroxide Solution
HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION

Eye: Sodium hydroxide is destructive to eye tissues on contact. Will cause severe burns that result in damage to the eyes and even blindness. Contact lenses should not be worn when working with this chemical.

Skin: Contact of the skin may cause skin irritation and, with greater exposure, severe burns with scarring.

Inhaled: Effects from inhlation of the dusts, mists or spray will vary from mild irritation to destructive burns depending on the severity of exposure. Severe pneumonitis may occur.

...and there's lots more. This is scary stuff.

[eirehound.livejournal.com]

Strong bases are really nasty chemicals, particularly because they're completely soluble in water, which means there's no theoretical limit on how strong you can make the solution. If you think NaOH is bad, Ca(OH)₂ is even worse - and that's the active ingredient in Nair.

But you can buy lye at any hardware store. And people have been using it (not always in nice ways) for hundreds of years.

Strong acids are almost as bad, but strong acids are very good at chomping on metal and stone, while strong bases go to town on most organic compounds, like, um ... body tissues.

But, of course, one of the most dangerous chemicals on earth is dihydrogen monoxide, you know. ;-)