Caustic soda more commonly known as sodium hydroxide or lye can clean a drain quickly but it s very aggressive which means you ve got problems if you use it in the wrong way like pouring the crystals directly into the drain.
Caustic soda drain cleaner ph.
Oxidizing drain cleaners contain sodium hypochlorite which is a base and it has a ph of 11 in diluted form.
It cleans pipes by dissolving fats and grease into soaps which readily dissolve in water.
There are still a few ways to get the chemical.
The ph value of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide is 14 and 12 respectively on the ph scale.
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According to engineering toolbox caustic soda has a ph of 14 which is is at the upper end of the ph scale and makes it as dangerous as hydrochloric acid found at the lower end and has a ph from 0 to 1.
Caustic soda can also be easily dissolved in water which is one reason why many drain cleaning services use it as the first line of offence in the battle against blocked drains.
When a strong alkali such as caustic soda is added the weak acid reacts with the strong alkali forming more sodium acetate without a shift in ph.
As above sodium hydroxide reacts with weak acids such as hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans to yield non volatile sodium salts which can be removed.
When you have a clogged drain and you re in need of a quick fix it might be tempting to turn to a chemical drain cleaner.
The resultant salt nacl is the corrosive agent used in the standard neutral ph salt spray test.
Poor quality crude oil can be treated with sodium hydroxide to remove sulfurous impurities in a process known as caustic washing.
Hence caustic drain cleaner has a ph of from 12 o 14.
In the cleaning industry the term buffer is generally used to describe cleaning products that resist change in ph when diluting with water.
Freshen your drains by adding 1 2 cup of baking soda to the drain and allowing it to sit overnight then flushing with hot water or hot vinegar in the morning.
In this case the crystals will settle in the trap or some other place in the pipes and won t dissolve.
Why is it hard to get lye.
Both the baking soda and vinegar and the baking soda and salt methods can be used to clean and freshen your garbage disposal.
Make sure the product is 100 sodium hydroxide lye or caustic soda.
In concentrated forms its ph can go up to 13.
Chemical drain cleaners such as caustic cleaners containing caustic soda or lye are bad for your pipes and your health using one of these chemical cleaners to unclog your drain could cause more harm than good in the long run.
The main source of caustic soda was red devil lye but that product is off the market now.