A clogged drain might seem like a minor irritation, but if left untreated, it can cause more significant problems for your plumbing system and your property as well. A clogged drain can result in delayed water drainage, flooding corrosion, and even sewage backup and expensive repairs. So, it should be in everyone's best interest to clean a clogged drain as soon as the problem appears.
Using acid to clean your drains is a pretty fast and effective way to clean your drains. But it also has its cons. This article will help you get a better understanding of how suitable it is to use acid as drain cleaners.
When you're taking a step about cleaning your drain, the first resort should be using a plunger because it's simply the safest way to clean a blocked or clogged drain. It is, however, restricted in its capabilities and can only eliminate minor obstructions. Stronger solutions are needed for severe clogs.
Now, if a plunger is not of any help to you anymore, you could turn to a drain snake. It just physically breaks down the clog. Or you could also use the combination of half cup of baking soda and a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and boiling water, which is pretty effective in this scenario.
But, when everything else becomes obsolete, acid drain cleaner comes to the rescue.
Generally, two kinds of acids are in trend when the intention is drain cleaning, and those are:
These are the two most used acids by plumbers and even homeowners for drain cleaning. These acids can help you unclog your drains in a very short period of time and be hugely effective if used properly.
Sulfuric acid is a mineral acid that consists of the elements hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Its molecular formula is H₂SO₄. It is a very strong acid and is able to prove itself worthy as a drain cleaner.
As it is a strong acid, it should be used in low concentrations during non-scientific usage. Many materials can be chemically broken down by sulfuric acid, and it also produces some heat to liquefy drain clogs.
You should follow the given steps to clear clogged drains using sulfuric acid:
Note that the above-mentioned amount of acid is recommended for a small clog causing little issues like slow running drains. If the clog is tougher, you might need to use a bigger amount of sulfuric acid to get rid of the problem.
There are many advantages of using sulfuric acid to unclog drains. This acid can clear almost any respectable obstruction except the really heavy, solid clogs formed by inorganic elements. Again it is very simple to use because it is just put into a drain and let operate till the clog is removed. Sulfuric acid-based cleaners are also specifically convenient and cost-effective since leftovers can always be saved for subsequent use, and they can be used to clean any drain that can be accessed without the need for tools.
You can buy sulfuric acid at your nearest hardware store (home depot) in the drain cleaner aisle. You also have the option to order it from Amazon or other online shopping sites.
Hydrochloric acid is composed of the elements hydrogen and chlorine and has a molecular formula of HCl. A muriatic acid is a form of hydrochloric acid when it's diluted with water. This acid is a colorless, ultra-pungent solution.
As hydrochloric acid is one of the strongest acids available, we use muriatic acid, the diluted solution, to get rid of our clogged drains. Hydrochloric acid is not as effective as sulfuring acid when it comes to disintegrating organic materials though it does a pretty good job in our stomachs.
Now, to use muriatic acid to clean drains, you will need to follow almost the same steps as in the previous section. You should take muriatic acid in a cup and pour it down your clogged drain. Wait for a few minutes and run some water to be sure if the clog is gone. If it's not gone, pour some more acid down the drain and wait longer.
In the previous section, we learned that sulfuric acid is actually unable to remove heavy clogs caused by inorganic materials. In this case, muriatic acid can be pretty effective.
While using muriatic acid as a drain cleaner, you'll have to keep in mind that you cannot use it with other sodium hydroxide-based common chemical drain cleaners such as Drano. Muriatic acid reacts violently with sodium hydroxide and can cause serious damage to your plumbing system if you use the two together. If you are using muriatic acid with sodium hydroxide in your drains, please do expect an explosion. Furthermore, be it muriatic acid or sodium hydroxide, none of the two is good for either the municipal garbage, the environment, or the septic system.
An acid is a quite powerful substance and can melt almost anything that we use in our daily life. When you are facing problems involving a blocked drain, your intention is to get rid of the problem as fast as possible. And that's when acids come in handy. Using acid is the fastest way to unclog drains. But it can also be quite dangerous. So, using acid as a drain cleaner can, on the one hand, be a pretty useful tool as it is a very strong substance, but on the other hand, it can be quite dangerous for the same reason. Every day we hear different stories about accidents involving acid, and you should take some necessary precautions while using the substance if you don't wanna be one of those stories.
First of all, always remember that you can never pour water into acid. This can cause havoc in your household or workplace, wherever you do it. Always pour acid into the water to ensure your safety. That should also be done with extreme precautions. You should not pour all the acid into the water at once. Rather the process should be executed slowly. Gloves, eye goggles, shoes, chemical-resistant clothing, and protective masks are also highly recommended while working with acid.
When pouring the acid down the drain, make sure that you pour it slowly. Make sure that the room is properly ventilated before running the process and after using the acid, and keep it in a safe and protected place away from the children. Chemical burns and surface damage can result from direct contact. Exposure can cause irreversible damage to the eyes, skin, and respiratory organs.
Sulfuric acid can react with the clog and produce toxic gasses like sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Muriatic acid can produce toxic chlorine gas if it comes in contact with potassium permanganate or chlorine bleach. So, after the process is done, the drain should be rinsed with a huge amount of water. It can also be neutralized using a base.
Using acid as a drain cleaner, in my opinion, should always be the last resort as it can be dangerous to use. It's also not very beneficial to the environment and can also damage your plumbing fixtures if not handled properly.
The mentioned acids are able to produce toxic gasses and release them into the environment. Sulfuric acid is damaging to the environment, and it kills all of the beneficial bacteria in the septic tank if you have one. Chemical cleaners containing these acids can cause drain, pipe, and tank damage too. Regular use of acid solutions will corrode metal drain plumbing and ruin older porcelain fixtures.
As using acids in drain cleaning can be quite dangerous, it's better to leave it to someone with more experience and better workmanship. So, if you wanna take some professional help to clean your clogged drain or any other plumbing problem, call Queen Charlotte Plumbing to get premium service from our experienced plumbers.
Call us at 704-707-3339 for any kind of inquiries, plumbing assistance that you might need, or make a booking.
