Drain cleaners, chemicals

Sodium hydroxide (NaOFI), also called lye, soda lye, or caustic soda to distinguish it from potassium hydroxide (potash lye), is another important base. Flistorically, lye was obtained from the ashes of wood and used to make soap. Lye, however, is an extremely caustic chemical. It can cause serious chemical burns if it comes into contact with the skin and permanent blindness if it gets into the eyes. People had to be very careful while making the soap. They also had to make sure they got the mixture of lye and animal fat (lard) correct to keep from hurting themselves and their families. Because of its caustic (corrosive) nature, sodium hydroxide is also used as the active ingredient in oven and drain cleaners. 

While some drain cleaners contain concentrated sulfuric acid, many more contain sodium hydroxide. Mixing these two chemicals will not release chlorine gas, but the reaction between them does release a great amount of heat. Someone who makes the mistake of trying to undog their sink with one product and then switches to a different drain cleaner when the first does not clear the drain fast enough could create enough steam to blast the whole corrosive mess out of the sink right into their face. 

Reference Data Sheet for Chemical and Enzymatic Drain Cleaners. William D. Sheridan, http //www.meridianeng.com/draincle.html... 

Sodium hydroxide is the most widely used strong base in the chemical industry. It exists as a white, odorless, crystalline solid at room temperature. Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive and toxic substance and is called caustic soda or lye. Sodium hydroxide is used as an alkali in the production of numerous products including detergents, paper, synthetic fabrics, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. It is the ingredient in many common cleaners, degreasers, drain cleaners, and personal care products. 

But why do manufacturers add bits of aluminum to drain cleaners When immersed in water, the aluminum reacts with sodium hydroxide to generate hydrogen gas, just as it does in my rocket. This generates more heat and supposedly helps to dislodge deposits through effervescence. Supposedly is a key word here. These chemical drain cleaners don t work all that well for the simple reason that they don t usually reach the site... 

Given that most of us are not equipped with such sophisticated weaponry and that chemical drain cleaners are not ideal, what do we do First and foremost, practice preventive maintenance. Make sure that fat does not go down the drain. Wipe greasy plates with soiled napkins newspaper is great for absorbing oil. If you have a garbarator, then use plenty of cold water to flush away the remains carrot peelings and corn husks, particularly, can cause obstructions. To keep drains flowing... 

Milk of magnesia, which can be taken as an antacid medicine, is a base. The chemical name for milk of magnesia is magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2). Magnesium hydroxide can ease the discomfort caused by too much stomach acid. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) are also bases. These chemicals, sometimes called lye, and are used in making soap. Sodium hydroxide is also an ingredient of oven and drain cleaners. Bases feel slippery and have a bitter taste. 

Caution. Of all the chemicals commonly used in the black and white darkroom, this is perhaps the most caustic. It is the same chemical used in many commercial drain cleaners. 

F Your home is full of products that are manufactured by chemical industries. The products that are shown here are often used for cleaning. Some of these products, such as bleach and drain cleaner, can be dangerous if handled improperly. 

Copper is a moderately active metal. It dissolves in most acids and in alkalis. An alkali is a chemical with properties opposite those of an acid. Sodium hydroxide, commonly found in bleach and drain cleaners, is an example of an alkali. An important chemical property of copper is the way it reacts with oxygen. In moist air, it combines with water and carbon dioxide. The product of this reaction is called hydrated copper carbonate (Cu2(0H)2C03), which changes copper s reddish-brown color to a beautiful greenish color, called a patina. Copper roofs eventually develop this color. 

For the reaction between the drain cleaner and FlCl described in item 12, which chemical is the limiting reactant How many moles of the other reactant remained unreacted ... 

Lye is used in household drain cleaners, ammonia, automatic dishwasher detergents, Clinitest tablets, oven cleaners, and bleaches. It is also used in the manufacture of soaps and cleaners and in chemical synthesis. 

Kettle descaler Drain cleaner Drain cleaner Multi purpose fungicide Chemical toilet fluid Stain remover Kettle descaler Cleaning... 

Cleaning products are used regularly in most households These include dishwashing detergents, denture cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, oven cleaners, drain cleaners, wood and metal cleaners and polishes, tub, tile, and shower cleaners, bleach and pool chemicals. Toxic chemicals contained in household cleaners include glycol ethers, aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, surfactants, and heavy metals J32l... 

We often use solutions to supply the reactants for chemical reactions. Solutions allow the most intimate mixing of the reacting substances at the molecular level, much more than would be possible in solid form. (A practical example is drain cleaner, shown in the photo.) We sometimes adjust the concentrations of solutions to speed up or slow down the rate of a reaction. In this section we study methods for expressing the quantities of the various components present in a given amount of solution. 

The next step is to add a base to our solution. One often used in extraction formulas is ammonium hydroxide, a liquid. If this is unobtainable you can substitute regular household lye crystals (sold as drain cleaner) dissolved in water to a high concentration. (Lye is a dangerous chemical. Read and follow all of the instructions on the can.) This fluid is added in small increments to the aqueous solution, shaking the mixture each time, then testing it until eventually the pH reaches 9 or 10. Be patient. It usually takes many careful applications before the pH is where you want it. If you re in too much of a hurry, it is easy to make the solution far more alkaline than necessary. 

Bases have a slippery feel. Like taste, feel is not a safe chemical test for bases, but you are familiar with the feel of soap, a base, on the skin. Bases, such as soap, react with protein in your skin, and skin cells are removed. This reaction is part of what gives soaps a slippery feel, as well as a cleansing action. Figure 14.1 shows how this reaction makes some bases excellent drain cleaners. 

To produce synthetic GHB, a chemical called GBL (an industrial solvent often used to clean floors) is mixed with lye or drain cleaner. GHB was first made in the 1920s. By the 1960s, scientists were studying it as a possible anesthetic. But research showed that it was not very good at preventing pain, so it never became a popular form of anesthesia. 

In Walker v. Stauffer Chemical Corporation, the defendant manufactured bulk sulfuric acid. After that product left the defendant it was compoimded into a product by a customer, packaged and subsequently sold, through distributors, to a manufacturer of drain cleaning compounds. The compounding process involved a change in the chemical composition of the bulk acid the acid was substantially altered not only as to its chemical composition but also as to the containers in which it was distributed. In this case the ultimate product was in no way considered to be the one in the same sulfuric acid which was distributed by Stauffer. The case arose as a result of injuries sustained from an explosion of the drain cleaner. The question before the court was whether Stauffer, the manufacturer of bulk sulphuric acid, was required to transmit warnings of the explosion potential of the cleaning compounds. The court in this case said ... 

Response personnel need to be alert to strong nnnsnal odors, snch as cat urine, ether, ammonia, acetone, or other chemicals fast-bnming fires chemical containers and apparatns in places they shonld not be expected honses with windows blacked out excessive trash, including large amonnts of items snch as antifreeze containers, lantern fnel cans, red chemically stained coffee filters, drain cleaner, and duct tape. Clandestine drug labs have been fonnd in honses, apartments, trailers, motels, mountain cabins, rural farms, and other occnpancies. 

Products and Uses Used in hair bleaching products, swimming pool chemicals, toilet cleaner, drain cleaner, as a buffer, a neutralizing agent, and an etching... 

Products and Uses A chemical added in soap, bleach, drain cleaners, liquid fertilizers, oven cleaners, paint remover, varnish removers, cosmetic cuticle remover, shaving lotions, hand creams, and facial blushes. 

Sodium hydroxide, NaOH, is a very strong ba.se, commonly used as a drain cleaner. Why is this chemical only helpful in unclogging natural matcrial.s, such a.s hair or grease, and not synthetic materials, such as pla.s-tic, or inorganic materials, such as. sand ... 

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