Just about everyone, at some point, has used a liquid drain cleaner to try and clean or clear a bathroom drain clog. However, there are many things that you may not know about those drain cleaners that you’re using or have used in the past. A few top listed issues that drain cleaners have associated with them are that they can produce environmental hazards, hazards to pets and children, and they’re only useful for a short time. Not to mention, they can only help with certain types of clogs, and they are quite simply bad for your pipes. Hazards:Drain cleaners are extremely hazardous to pets and children. If you do happen to have drain cleaners in your home, please make sure that you store them properly so that your pets or children do not touch or drink them. The reason is that they contain corrosive materials. Not only are they harmful to animals and humans, they’re also harmful to the environment. They have been known to have a very bad effect on the water supply and can even end up contaminating the very air that we breathe. The fumes from using these products can cause a toxic effect on the body and can cause serious illness when seeped into the skin or consumed. Drain cleaners can also burn skin if exposed to the cleaners for too long. Did you also know that because of the toxic chemicals that are inside of these plastic bottles keeps those bottles from being recycled? If you’re someone that tries to do great things to keep our environment healthy, the last thing that you are going to want to do is to use toxic products. Especially if those products are in bottles that are too toxic to be recycled. What causes the skin to burn? Sodium hydroxide or sulfuric acid is the reason that those drain cleaners can manage to unclog a pipe on occasion. If you are not familiar with sulfuric acid, then focus on the part of the name that says it contains acid. Anything that’s acidic has the potential to do a lot of harm. As for the Sodium hydroxide, it’s also called lye or caustic soda. Lye is a heavy duty chemical that can eat quite a few things. This includes your pipes, this is why it is so toxic to people and your home plumbing system. Damage To Your Pipes:As if the thought of how toxic these cleaners is isn’t enough, let’s take a look at what those chemicals can eat through (aside from clothing and skin). The damage from chemical drain cleaners can affect iron, copper, steel, and PVC piping. That’s not even going into what it can end up doing to your fixtures. You may have seen commercials where the sink in a bathroom is totally clogged up and the basin is half full of water. The actor pours the drain cleaner right into the sink over the drain. There’s a little bit of an error with that scene. The pipe that is clogged is completely clogged. There is now half of a bottle of chemical drain cleaner in there. Where is the cleaner going? The answer is; nowhere. The drain cleaner is now slowly eating away at the clog, sure, but it’s also chewing its way through your pipes. If you use it often enough then you’re going to be calling for help when half of your pipes burst. This is why using chemical drain cleaners is a really bad idea for the well being of your pipes as well as your family. A few words of warning:If you are determined to try these chemicals in your drains to remove a clog instead of trying other methods or safer drain cleaners then you should be warned to never mix drain cleaners. It could quite possibly be a fatal attempt due to the toxicity level involved. Mixing drain cleaners or even household cleaners with chemical drain cleaners can not only produce toxic gases, they can also produce caustic explosions. A final word to the wise is to never leave drain cleaners where animals and children can get to them. Make sure that you wear gloves and read the directions very carefully. While these chemicals can sometimes do the trick, you should weigh the risks. You can never go wrong with calling a plumber and saving yourself and family that risk as the residue from the cleaners is often left around the drain and is toxic for the next person bathing especially when mixed with a household cleaner to try and resolve it. Saving you the hassle and the danger is just part of what we do when it comes to clogs, drain repair, and much more. Why take a gamble with your drains, your pipes, and your family when an expert plumbing company is a simple phone call away? Read more: http://www.oak.plumbing/in-through-the-outdoor-drains/ The post Piping Up On Chemicals, Cleaners & Snakes appeared first on Oak Plumbing. via Oak Plumbing http://ift.tt/2ojYsmv
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