Self Help

Chemical drain cleaners drain openers are among the most dangerous products on the consumer market. Most drain cleaners are essentially lyes - caustic substances that, by definition, destroy or eat away material by chemical action.

Others contain what amounts to a powerful mixture of poisonous solvents. Another type consists wholly of concentrated sulphuric acid, a very powerful corrosive. Although chemical drain cleaners do promise a cheap, seemingly easy solution to what can be a serious household problem, they can be dangerous. It’s better to consider these products only as a last resort.

Caustic products containing lye should be properly labeled to indicate their hazards. The words “danger” and “poison” should appear repeatedly and conspicuously, as should the skull and crossbones symbol.

The emergency antidotes of choice for lye favored by public health authorities are extensive flooding with water after external skin contact, and one or two glasses of milk or water in the event the chemical has been swallowed. In either case, a physician should be called at once or the victim taken to an emergency care facility.

With some products, the area in which the product is used should be well ventilated. In fact, it is prudent to leave the room during the time any chemical cleaner creates fumes. Lye-based liquids usually come in a flexible plastic bottle that carries a warning to avoid squeezing the container when the cap is removed. Carelessness on that score could lead to a blinding squirt in the eye or a disfiguring splash on the skin.

Cleaners containing lye pellets can present hazards from accidental contact in yet another way: The labels sometimes recommend that you dole them out by the tablespoonful, but the opening in the can may be too small to admit a tablespoon; the pellets must be poured out, and they’re easily spilled.

If a drain cleaner claims to be “noncaustic” or “noncorrosive,” the label should state what the ingredients are; the product may still be poisonous if inhaled in heavy concentrations or if swallowed, and possibly hazardous to the environment once it enters a sewage system. It almost goes without saying that any drain cleaner should have a child-resistant closure.

Chemical drain cleaners are so dangerous that to a grater or lesser degree, they can all attack human tissue in much the same way that they’re expected to destroy and disperse organic matter in the drain. For that reason alone, they should be used with utmost care, precisely in accord with the manufacturer’s instructions, and with the benefit of such commonsense protective measures as the wearing of safety goggles and rubber gloves.

Furthermore, you should never use more than one drain cleaner at a time or mix it with other household chemicals. Moreover, if a chemical drain cleaner doesn’t work, it will plumbing system as a constant menace. Sink drains that have captured a ferment of lye, strong solvent, or sulphuric acid are too treacherous for a homeowner to tamper with further.