How do drain cleaners work?

Reasons to Avoid Chemical Drain Cleaning Solutions to Unclog Your Drain

When your kitchen or bathroom sink backs up your only concern 
is to get it unstopped. The water in the sink is not only unsightly
it can often be foul smelling. Years of TV watching have impressed
on you to go to the grocery store and get this fabulous liquid substance
and pour it down your drain. In minutes your problem is supposed to
be solved.

While the commercial is convincing and reassuring what are they not
telling you about their product that you really should know? A quick
look at the ingredients will reveal some strange sounding chemicals.
One very heavily advertised product has sodium hydroxide (lye), sodium
nitrate, sodium chloride (salt), and aluminum.

According to Ask.com sodium hydroxide, also known as “lye” is a very
strong caustic (basic) chemical. The chemical reaction when this chemical
is poured down the drain is known as an exothermic reaction which in
plain language means it gives off lots of heat. Should you accidentally
spill some on yourself this same reaction will cause severe burns and
skin damage. If it comes in contact with the eyes blindness can occur.

By taking precautions you may avoid these problems but the amount of
heat in your pipes causes damage to the pipe itself as heat is one of
the main causes of deterioration of pipes in general. Also many times
the first application does not solve the problem so you add more.

Sodium nitrate is a chemical found in fertilizers, pyrotechnics, and as an
ingredient in smoke bombs. Doesn’t sound like something you want in your
pipes does it? Sodium chloride is commonly know as table salt which
seems safe, however, the course granules can cause wear and tear on your
pipes. Aluminum poured down the pipes just cannot be good for the
environment.

All in all, the harmful effects of the store bought drain cleaners certainly
outweigh the benefits of unclogging the pipe by yourself. Add the fact that
not all stoppages can be treated successfully by these drain cleaners and
it just does not make sense to treat the problem yourself.

Are the drains in your Brooklyn home clogged? Call Petri Plumbing at 718-748-1254 for professional drain cleaning today!