I bent over my background as a chemical engineer to offer insight into the effectiveness of these controversial chemicals. In my experiment, I tested eight of the most commonly available chemical brains: six alkaline and two acids. I have done dissolving tests to assess how well each of them can dissolve the drainage blockades. I had one goal: to determine which products, if any, would work effectively against the most common clogging materials.
For this, I headed to the CNET product test laboratory in Louisville, Kentucky, to conduct a comprehensive experiment to distill a series with eight of the most commonly used chemical cleaners on the market. My primary goal was to determine the efficiency of each product in dissolving various types of clogging materials, including organic matter, fat, paper products and pet hair (the same pet hair we use for Our robotic vacuum testsas in fact). During the experiment, I also noticed the level of pH of the cleaning solutions when mixed with water and folded any changes in temperature. Furthermore, I looked at the chemical composition and the versatility of using each product when comparing them to each other.
Acids versus bases
Before conducting experiments with these substances, I separated them in acids and bases. As you can remember from high school chemistry, acids are compounds that donate hydrogen ion (H+) when mixed with water and have a pH lower than 7. On the other hand, bases are compounds that accept those ions (or hydroxide, oh- ions) and have a pH greater than 7. Understanding this difference is crucial, as a result of two important factors related to these products: corrosion and causticity.
Corrosiveness refers to the potential of the chemical substance to cause rust and deterioration of the materials that make up your pipe system. Causticity, on the other hand, refers to how the chemical substance responds when it comes to contact with organic matter, specific decomposition of proteins and other organic molecules, which can lead to tissue destruction or chemical burns.
To determine the acidity or primacy of each compound, we measure their pH value. In simple terms, the more sour or primary compound, the greater its potential for corrosion and causticity.
An example of reading the pH of one of our tests. 11.38 pH corresponds to an alkaline solution.
Cleanses of acidic brains, especially those with high concentrations of acid such as sulfuric acid cleaners, are more dangerous than their basic or alkaline counterparts. In chemistry, the order of adding is important. Normally, they would gradually introduce acid to water, slowly increasing the concentration of acid. Never add water to acid Since this reaction is known to generate a significant amount of heat and the release of dangerous smokes. Take a look at the gif below (and don't try this at home).
Adding water to this cup of sulfuric acid creates an immediate exothermic reaction, boiling water on contact and releasing dangerous smoke in the air. Don't try this at home!
To ensure safety during experiments, I took the necessary precautions by wearing personal protective equipment, including safety glasses, bracelets, long -sleeved clothing and mask. The dissolution test was carried out in a well -ventilated laboratory area to minimize exposure to any dangerous gases that can be released.
A dissolution test
To start the experiment, I have weighed specific amounts of material clogging in separate 1,000 ml chicks:
- 4 grams of hair
- 20 grams of organic matter (10 grams each of apples and carrot lure)
- 40 grams of fat fat
- 14 grams of paper products (7 grams each of the toilet paper and paper towels)
Using a graduate cylinder, carefully weighed and added 200 ml of each basic drainage cleaner and 70 ml of each sour drainage cleaner of the corresponding cups, mixing the mixtures with a glass rod and providing thorough mixing without spillage. Following the instructions given with each product, I allowed the solutions to sit for the recommended time, usually between 15 and 30 minutes.
A key step in my test was the involvement of water, a component that is often overlooked in similar experiments on the Internet. Brain cleaners are designed to work in the presence of water, which facilitates the transporter's transportation to clogging and evenly distributes the solution to their surfaces, enabling the dissolution process. After a certain time has passed, I have added tap water to each glass containing cleaner solutions and clogging materials. For basic brain cleaners (pH> 7.0), I used 500 ml of warm water at 46 degrees C, while for sour drainers (pH <7.0), I used 700 ml of cold water at 19 degrees C.
To allow enough time to work chemicals, I left the samples to sit overnight and continued my assessment the next morning. To this point, the samples have turned into sludge, slimy mixtures.
Hair dissolution test in progress
To continue with the experiment, I used a vacuum filtration process using a Buchner funnel associated with a 1,000 ml filtering flask fitted with a pump. The contents of each cup were carefully poured into the funnel while the pump was activated. Once most of the factors are extracted from the funnel, I made a washing water to remove all the remaining chemicals from the surface of the debris samples, ensuring that only wet solids remain in the bunner.
Our funnel buchner, made of chemical resistant pine glass, had a perforated plate with 2 ml openings, allowing the smallest particles to pass. In my test logic, “If the substance, solid or fluid, can pass through the 2mm openings in the filter, it is unlikely to cause the pipe clogging.”
To the left, our installation of vacuum filtration. Liquid and dissolved solids pass through 2mm holes in the funnel buchner plate right – everything that does not pass through, is considered a potential clogging material.
Finally, I separated the samples and subjected them to the process of drying the fan for several hours to evaporate any remaining water from the washing. I recorded the final weight of each sample and compared it to the initial weight. The final weight ratio with the initial weight has provided us with the efficiency of dissolving each cleaning product.