kitchen sink clogged..what to do

[Jukka Aho]

KOH - pretty nasty stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and is NOT 'just like table salt'

I was referring to its generic nature as a chemical compound, not to any other properties. As should be obvious from the context. (The context in the original message was branding and labeling - or the packagers'/distributors' lack of any real effort towards those. Those bottles do not usually have much branding on them and it is wholly unnecessary to buy or seek for a certain brand. Any "brand" will do, as they're the exact same thing. It suffices that the bottle says somewhere in small print that the product consists of ~100% KOH, and not any other chemical substance.)

On the effectiviness of KOH - it has always been effective in my use. No problems whatsoever.

On "crap in waters" - the bottle I have says this on its side:

http://www.saunalahti.fi/~znark/Niagara-450.jpg

Luonnonsuojelu: Niagara-450 on laimentuneena hyvä veden pH:n neutraloija happamissa vesistöissä.

which translates as

Preserving the nature: Niagara-450 is, in diluted form, a good agent for neutralizing the pH of acidic (natural) waters.

[harryc]

Yes - the text COULD be read as you say - but anyone not at home with understanding of chemicals - the 'just like table salt' - could be an entrance to trouble.

KOH can be can be quite nasty when in concentrations of over 2%

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_hydroxide

KOH is no picnic:

HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL

Corrosives
SET accepts and neutralizes a wide variety of corrosive wastes, including: inorganic acid, phosphoric, nitric and chromic acids, as well as inorganic basic mixtures or discarded base products, such as sodium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. We also accept organic acids and bases, such as amines and acetic acid.

Why in Hades just not clean the bldy U-Tube?!! I don't understand this obsession with chemicals.

[Jukka Aho]

Anything with a high pH will raise the pH of acidic (low-pH) water. Honestly, that is like advertising that sugar will make your coffee taste sweet.

Of course. But "anything with a high pH" will probably not really be (environmentally) suitable for the purpose of raising the pH of natural waters, the usage suggested for the product by its manufacturer/packager/distributor under the headline "Preserving the nature". If you have a problem with that claim in relation to this particular substance, or believe the product cannot really be used that way, I guess you need to take the issue to some authority for further action. I'm just reading y'all what it says on the label. ;)

The fact that pouring a lab down the drain has worked for you does not negate the point that dangerous chemicals should be a last resort - and yes the ones mentioned in this thread are dangerous.

*Shrug* Just about anything can be dangerous if proper care is not taken or instructions are not followed or safety is ignored. Those bottles do have the warning signs about the highly caustic/corrosive nature of the content, and usage/safety instructions. They're sold in normal retail to normal individuals for the express purpose of unclogging drains. The rest is up to the individual using them.

I can actually understand not wanting to pull the s-bend apart

Thank you. Personally, I have other ideas for a fun evening than disassembling and scrubbing some filthy s-bend full of muck and hair if I can avoid that all and just leave it to dissolve away by itself for half an hour... which probably also answers the other commentator's question. But to each their own. Of course I'll get down and dirty with the plumbing if nothing else will help - but if there are easier ways, I really can't be bothered. Someone else can? More power to them!

But even the putkenavaaja preparations need to be handled with extreme care. Physical and mild liquid options are always a safer option if possible!

Naturally. (FYI, the couple of times I have tried the liquid preparations - a colorful, expensive two-component PowerPuff MickeyMouse MrMuscle product in a fancy compartmentalized bottle - it had no effect at all. KOH did the job. Just my own experience, though. Maybe someone else has had better luck with them.)

[Upphew]

Yes - the text COULD be read as you say - but anyone not at home with understanding of chemicals - the 'just like table salt' - could be an entrance to trouble.

Someone who doesn't understand acid's and bases has been indeed at home during chemistry classes in school.
"Hapot ja emäkset ovat keskeinen osa kemian perussivistystä. Yläkoulussa aiheeseen perehdytään yleensä laboratoriotöiden kautta."

[harryc]

Hardly the point --

Putting 'common salt' and KOH in the same sentence is a boo-boo, period.

And I sure wouldn't count on any knowledge of chemistry among the general Finnish population that would be based on what they actually learned in grades 1-12 - and that's based on interacting for 47 years with Finns who have been in those grades - and while we're at it - we can include physics (just thinking about the HUGE number of Finnish tailgaters at 80-120 km/h )

[Beep_Boop]

*sigh* the older generation.

Mate, he didn't say that KOH is table salt. He simply said that it's one of those generic chemicals that you can just simply buy from stores. He meant it in a way to differentiate it from, say, sulphuric acid or hydrogen peroxide.
So just zip it and go on with your business. It's a lot better to stay silent than to attempt to look smart then fail at it *

* Note: Attempting to look smart and succeeding is actually something I highly encourage, and I find very impressive.

[harryc]

"He meant it in a way to differentiate it from, say, sulphuric acid or hydrogen peroxide."

And that was to imply that a 'generic salt' cannot - by addition of water, another chemical, etc. etc. - be quite a nasty issue. Yeah, right!

As for generations - you seem to have gotten your education on Facebook - indeed please just keep your superficiality to yourself! And, no doubt, you are one of those bloody tailgaters who learns their physics from rigged videos on YouTube.

Sigh - sigh!!!!!

[harryc]

If your sink appears to be acting up try this trick to unblock it. Drop four of these fizzy tablets (Alka Seltzer) down the drain, followed by a tablespoon of vinegar. Then flush the sink with boiling water. The drain should become unclogged, and ready for use.