can I clear a clogged bathtub drain with MURIATIC ACID??

Question

HELP! I'm clueless,desperate,and willing to experiment!

Answer 1

Yes. Not exlactly the preferd method but yes you can. The word "Acid" Tends to scare The crap out of people that are unfamilure with it, muriatic is one of the least dangerous though it will burn you. It's no worse than using some of the drain solvents such as liquid fire, rout, clobber, etc. etc. Water weigh's 8.4 lb.s per gallon acid will weigh around 15 lb.s per gallon so if your house is plumbed correctly (down hill) the acid will displace the water and run straight to the clog and dissolve it in probably less than 10 minutes. Use 1 to 2 cups. after the drain is open run lots of water to move the acid out of your pipes, if left laying in cast iron pipe (probably under your house if on a slab) it will eat the bottom out of the pipe. Always add acid to water never add water to acid. Be very careful with any acid or drain cleaner. I never recomend any type drain solvents because most are made up with some type acid or caustic and will damage cast iron pipe if not flushed properly. Wear good rubber gloves and safety glasses, if you get any on you, you won't have to wonder if you did, you will know you did. If you do, rinse wthe affected area with lot's and lot's of cold water, that slick oily film you will feel and not seem to be able to wash off is the skin that you just melted. Now if you will take a screwdriver and remove the over flow then stuff a wet wash rag in the opening of the over flow pipe to seal it off you can probably unclog it with a plunger. But the answer to your question is yes.

Answer 2

Too often people will use chemicals to un-clog a drain pipe. All these chemicals have a corrosive effect on the pipes, especially Brass pipes...I would not suggest that you use any chemical drain cleaners at all.(except as a last resort). Still the best way to un-clog a drain pipe is with a flexible snake. You can usually determine how far the clog is in the pipe by how soon or how long it is before you start to see the water back up into the sink or tub.The longer it takes to see the back up, the farther away the clog is..Clogs generally occur in the bends of the pipes and rarely in the straight runs.There may be several bends and turns you may have to get past in order to hit the right spot where the clog is. Usually a 15 or 25 foot snake is adequate enough to reach far enough into the pipe and reach the clogged portion . You can try to use a hand held snake and auger,or even better, you can rent an electrical snake from your Home-Depot. Feed the snake into the pipe only a few inches at a time while turning it. When you hit a bend in the pipe, you will feel resistance, keep turning and feeding the snake into the pipe while applying a firm foward pressure, you should feel the snake past the bend when the resistance lets go...continue doing this until you get as much of the snake into the pipe.....eventually you should hit the clogged area and you will see the water going down more rapidly.....the clog will begin to drain out faster....As an extra measure, send as much of the snake into the pipe as you have to be sure you either pushed the clog down or hooked it with the snake...As you withdrawer your snake, turn the crank in the opposite direction and pull it out at the same time ( keep an old towel or rag to wipe the dirt off the snake as you pull it out and push the snake back into its container)...When you reach the end of the snake, examine the tip to see if you hooked any debris or hair....it's easier you cut the hair off the snake after it dries rather than when it is still wet.....I've un-clogged dreains in as little as 2 minutes and as long as two hours, It's a crap-shoot . so hang-in-there....

Answer 3

Short answer is "depends".

If you've got a clog that's a mix of hard-water and gunk/hair, it'll break down the stuff stopping the cr*pball of crud that's the clog proper and in some cases eat part of it. I have typically used it when I've had clogged up shower/bath drains that were stopped up as I described. Regular drain cleaning chems *WILL NOT WORK* on clogs of this nature and you end up doing a mechanical repair (i.e. rip the pipes out of the wall) otherwise.

It's less suitable for grease type stuff that typically clogs sink drains, especially kitchen sinks- and quite a bit more dangerous overall doing it. Unless you know that you're facing the above problem, you should avoid reaching for it.

As for it being improper disposal, it's hydrocloric acid by any other name. Puking into the toilet, while at quite a bit lower levels, has some of this same "improper disposal" going on. It's only improper when you do a *LOT* of it and mainly in the context of a business or pouring it directly into a watershed.

Answer 4

It's not reccomended. There are many liquid drain chemicals that are legal and effective, most are available in your local department stores. "Pool First Aid" also can clear out clogged hair in a bathtub drain. Muriatic Acid may help, but prolonged exposure of Metal to Muriatic Acid (which has a PH of 1.0) will corrode the Metal, and can damage plaster as well. The fumes are very dangerous, and the liquid itself can burn skin if not properly handled. It's dangerous. I'm not going to say no you can't, as I deal with Muriatic Acid everyday and know several people who do what you are suggesting, but it's harmful and hazardous AND because it is a federally regulated chemical, it is also illegal. It's improper disposal.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
can I clear a clogged bathtub drain with MURIATIC ACID??
HELP! I'm clueless,desperate,and willing to experiment!

Answer 6

Clear Bathtub

Answer 7

No: Mel S It's not that strong. Mauriac acid is used for cleaning fireplace brick, etc, used it many times on the job, both full strength and diluted. And, in fact went to other cleaning solutions because it's just not the strong.
Use what was made for the job. Use commercial grade Mr.Plumber in the gray plastic bottle, get it at Home Depot and, follow directions. Stick to what is know and you can't go wrong, don't experiment.

Answer 8

i am guessing you have long hair or a member of your family does. i say this because the main problem will be hair strands slowly clogging the "u bend" under your bathtub.this is very often found by plumbers to be the cause. there is an inexpensive circular filter on the market(d.i.y. stores) that can be placed over the plug hole of your bathtub to prevent this happening. the bubbling sound you hear when using caustic soda is the hair being dissolved by the soda.

Answer 9

There are other safer ways to unclogged drain, get the most popular brand use it with hot water it's more efective.
MURATIC ACID CAN CREAT FUMES SPECIALY IN CLOSE AND SMALL SPACES LIKE A BATHROOM.....

Answer 10

We bought a product from Lowe's that had that in it. It worked, but the drains on the sink turned black for a couple months.