What should I do with my drain cleaner?
As a rule of thumb, don’t trust the packaging when it’s going out of its way to assure you it won’t cause some negative side effect. They have a massive conflict of interest because they want you to buy it, and more importantly they legally don’t have to actually prove it’s factual, the burden is on you the consumer to sue them and prove they’re lying in court if you think that’s the case, and they’re well aware the vast majority of people don’t have the time or resources to do that.
If an online source is telling you it will cause that side effect, I’d trust that more (assuming the site is reputable and they’re not trying to promote a different product).
Drain uncloggers are a caustic. Meaning they are a strong base that eats stuff away. They are generally safe to use except for two very specific circumstances.
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you really don’t want to use them if you’re on a septic system. It will kill the good bacteria that eats your poop. It’s not a deal breaker, your system will repopulate eventually. But it could lead to a backup. In my opinion - just don’t use that stuff with septic tanks ever.
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if your pipes are old af and on their last legs. Or some of your joints are shoddy. Draino might eat through that last little bit of metal and cause a leak. But to be fair, a snake could bust something open too. This isn’t a problem with modern plumbing. Nothing you can do about it except watch for leaks no matter what you do (or replace that old plumbing).
I’ll offer some advice. For like $35 bucks you can buy a real honest to goodness plumbing snake that’s hand operated. Mine has a little orange saucer thingy the snake coils up into. You pull out some of the snake, and stick it in the drain. You push with one hand, and you use the other to twist the snake via the big hand crank knob thingy. You push a foot or so of the snake down the drain, then pull out a bit more of the snake from the saucer, and then push that bit down the drain (always hand crank spinning). It’s SUPER easy to do.
The one I have is like 25 feet long, and I have cleared some of the nastiest clogs with that thing. I’m talking 5 foot long clogs of my wife’s hair/grease/soap grossness. Draino would never clear that - but the snake makes short work of it in less than 10 minutes. I spend a few bucks on some rubber gloves instead of hundreds on plumbers and expensive Draino.
TLDR: get a hand snake. They work amazing, are super easy to use, and are less money than Draino (and plumbers)
Edit/update: I’ve got one like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-EZ-SPIN-Drain-Cleaning-Snake-Auger-80168/332294628
2nd on funny use drain cleaner on metal pipes. Ate through the pipes in my 99 yo house. Had to replace a bunch of them including ones in the concrete floor.
I got one and I highly suggest before anyone buys a drain snake that they see how the metal line gets locked.
Mine was cheap and while it does work the locking mechanism is just a flat knob that I have to loosen 4 turns, pull about 6-9 inch of line out then tighten it back up 4 turns, then repeat that about 20 times.
Look for one that has a better line locking system so you don’t have to waste all that time. Most of my time doing drain snaking is loosening and tightening that stupid knob.
I got one that has a trigger-handle for locking and an attachment point for a drill to spin it for you. When you pull the trigger while it’s spinning, it auto-feeds (forward or backward depending on the direction it’s turning)
Once you get it in place it’s just one hand on the trigger and one on the drill and it’s off to the races, you barely even have to get dirty. Worth every penny.
Before you spend the $35 on the plumbing snake, you can also try to get one of those plastic quick zip things to clear surface-level clogs that aren’t deep enough to require a whole snake.
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Don’t believe copywriting.
It is legal for non-flushable wipes to say “flushable” for some reason.
Because legally the packaging means “these will not interfere with the flushing of your toilet” but people assume it also means “these will not cause any problems with any part of the sewage system past the toilet.”
do you rent or own?
hehehhehe
Careful. I used drano for a clog in my bathtub and it eroded the pipes and I had to replace them. I’ll add that the clog was complete so the drano stayed in the pipes longer than its intended use. It’s better to just use a snake if you can.
That does not make sense. PVC drains don’t react to caustics, nor do metals.
Full disclosure, the last time I studied chemistry was 20 years ago, and I was not a particularly good student, so take this with a heaping helping of NaCl.
It isn’t the direct reaction of Drano + PVC that causes the issue. Rather, it’s the heat given off from the reaction of the clog and the lye. Apparently it’s significant enough to be an issue. I tried looking up how much heat might be released by the reaction, but I went crosseyed reading the formula, so someone else will have to do the math on that one.
Also, I know you said caustic material doesn’t react with metal, but Google doubts you on that front, for whatever that’s worth. In fact, zinc is specifically called out as a metal with which sodium hydroxide reacts pretty strongly, which is important because many water lines are steel galvanized with, you guessed it, zinc.
I’m not sure what you’re trying to do. Do you have slow or clogged drains that you’re trying to fix? Or are you just trying to dispose of them?
If you have a drain problem, I think drain cleaner is supposed to be safe for modern pipes. But if you have old cast iron drains, it can eat through them.
If you’re trying to dispose of them, look up how your town wants you to dispose of hazardous waste. Some places will have a specific place and time you can drop off hazardous chemicals like drain cleaner.
(If you’re trying to dispose of it and don’t have access to hazardous waste removal, it is possible to neutralize the drain cleaner and safely dispose of it. But if you’re asking these sorts of questions, you aren’t qualified to do that. For anyone who might be qualified, don’t forget your PPE 😅)
If you have a mild clog it’s probably worth trying it according to the directions. If it’s severe, just call a plumber. If you don’t have a clog, then just keep it under a sink or something.
If you are feeling adventurous, get some aluminum foil.
boy oh boy do I love adventures that start with "first, grab some aluminum foil.’
woooooooo let’s gooooooooo
I do not feel adventurous when caustic substances are involved, and I am also not adventurous when it’s something I might end up on a list for searching. For the chickenshits, what’s draino do to aluminum foil?
Iirc it’s the main ingredients in a draino bomb.
Draino powder has flakes of aluminum in it.
Make pretzels.
I’ve used them multiple times before without issues and even overnight sometimes. Waste pipes are PVC and heavy flush of hot water after.
Was it "Dirty Harry, Magnum Force " that introduced us to interesting ways to use draino?
