Unclogging your drain with a household drain cleaner is an easy solution. However, as I’m sure your parents have told you plenty of times in your life, the easiest solution isn’t always the best. If using household drain cleaners means a detriment to your health and home, it doesn’t matter how easy of a solution it is.
Store-bought drain cleaners can be an extremely hazardous mixture of chemicals that will disintegrate practically anything sometimes. These chemicals often leech fumes that you wouldn’t want your kids anywhere near, and those fumes tend to linger for days on end. What’s easier than pouring a store-bought cleaner down your drain? Why, calling your local plumbing company (that’s us) for a Lansdale, PA plumber!
Still not convinced? Let’s get into it.
Hazards of Household Cleaners
Don’t worry, it doesn’t take much to convince a homeowner to be careful with the kind of cleaner they pour down their drain. If you take one solid look at the ingredients on the bottle, it can be enough to make someone wretch. For example, some acidic household drain cleaners often contain sulfuric acid in high concentrations which will dissolve cellulose, proteins, and fats via hydrolysis. This kind of sulfuric acid can have violent reactions in air-tight systems when exposed to water, as it releases explosive hydrogen vapors. That’s something to keep in mind, since you probably flush a lot of water down your drains! Sure, you might finally get rid of the hair that clogs your drain, but you might find yourself losing your own hair if you manage to spill it accidentally!
Dangerous Fumes
Like we mentioned earlier, these chemical combinations can produce not just explosive gases, but dangerous fumes that could jeopardize the health of you and your family. You’ll notice a stinging and irritation of the nose and eyes. The worst part is, these fumes hang around long after the chemical is gone—so it won’t matter how much you clean.
Plumbing Damage
Hazardous drain unclogging chemicals can also corrode your pipes by chewing out the enamel and ruin other expensive finishes in a bathroom. If you’re not careful, using a household cleaner might cause more problems than it solves.
Environmental Impact
Where do you think these chemicals end up after you pour them down the drain? These chemicals aren’t natural like some other acids like vinegar; these will last decades in a landfill while slowly poisoning the water supply. The fish we catch, trees that grow, and anything else in the vicinity will be harmed by the leeching fumes of your drain cleaner!
They May Not Even Work!
The worst part is that they might not even do the job! You could have a plumbing issue responsible for your clogged drains that has nothing to do with hair or waste that got stuck in there. Why waste money on an expensive drain cleaner that will just do more harm than good, and eventually get sucked out into the environment? An easy solution isn’t always the best, but calling one of our plumbers is.
Call Carney Plumbing Heating & Cooling for the solution to your clogged drain!