Dumped alkalinity and calcium down the drain

kharn101 · Apr 7, 2019

Hello,
Did probably one of the stupidest things today. Had some old alkalinity and calcium liquid. Dumped it down the drain. Lone behold it clogged the drain. I put draino in the sink not working yet. Any suggestions for this epic mistake?

Chad3407 · Apr 7, 2019

Pour some vinegar down the drain it may dissolve it

Gareth elliott · Apr 7, 2019

If vinegar is working too slow. Citric acid is m faster acting. Walmart or your super market should cary in the canning section. Is not acidic enough or reactive to pvc to damage your drainage.

kharn101 · Apr 8, 2019

Thanks guys poured vinegar down the drain let’s see.. quick question I only see citric acid in dry form. Should I be getting a liquid?

WVNed · Apr 8, 2019

If the drano is in the sink you would have to add 200 gallons of vinegar to do anything

fun with acids and bases

Gareth elliott · Apr 8, 2019

Yes dry is fine

If sink is stainless steal use 1tb per liter of wtaer. Will make an acid str of 20%.
If ceramic can probably go upto 1 :1 dilution or 50%. Str.

But try to remove the draino... maybe buy a cheap drip acclimator from the lfs so is removed via siphon safely. Dump in toilet [emoji23]

WVNed · Apr 8, 2019

Careful adding stronger acids to Drano. It could do something bad. GO slow.

Sod Buster · Apr 8, 2019

What do the 2 dosers mixed together make? Silicate? I would pump the drano, and take off the s trap and clean that. Better than melting the pipes with chemicals. Or call roto rooter.

WVNed · Apr 8, 2019

Calcium carbonate? I think.

Sod Buster · Apr 8, 2019

Almost sand then. That likely plugged the S trap then. Start there and hopefully get most of it.

Dkeller_nc · Apr 8, 2019

Mixing alkalinity and calcium reef supplements makes instant calcium carbonate (essentially, concrete). Depending on how much was poured down the drain, and whether or not the sink's completely clogged, this is probably going to require taking the drain apart. If the sink will drain a little, then I'd put several gallons of water in it, go to work, and come back this evening and pour either really hot vinegar (heat it up in the microwave) or a solution of citric acid down the drain and let it stand overnight.

If the sink won't drain at all, you may need to call a professional plumber, as the sink will need to be pumped out to remove the draino and the drain either snaked, or taken apart.

By the way - the same exact thing will happen if you mix magnesium supplement (that has magnesium sulfate in addition to magnesium chloride) with a calcium supplement, except this time you'll get insoluble calcium sulfate (gypsum).