I had a drain declogger mishap recently. While washing dishes one night, I realized my kitchen sink was badly clogged. In the past, I used Mr. Muscle Drain Declogger but when I went to the supermarket, I couldn't find it. I decided to go to True Value to see if they had drain decloggers there. They didn't have Mr. Muscle but I saw one that seemed to be okay. I decided to get it and I immediately used it once I got home.
When I opened the cap, I noticed that there was a secondary cap to prevent the liquid from spilling. That in itself should have triggered a warning flag and I think it did because I made sure that I wouldn't touch any of the liquid with my bare hands. That said, even if I was already being cautious, I think that secondary cap very briefly and lightly touched the back of my middle finger as I set it aside. I actually didn't think that it touched me but I realized that it must have grazed my finger because as soon as I put that secondary cap down, my finger started to hurt badly. I then noticed that there was a slight frothing on it. I immediately placed my finger under running water and kept it there for a while. A couple of days later, my finger still looked pretty nasty:
It wasn't just my injured finger that got me concerned. As soon as I poured half of the contents of the bottle into my drain - as per instructions - smoke started to come out, as if something was burning. My Mr. Muscle Drain Declogger never generated this kind of chemical reaction. While the instructions indicated that you need to wait for about 5 minutes before letting water run into the sink, I was so concerned about the smoke that I turned on the tap maybe just a minute or less after pouring the liquid into the sink.
I reckon my drain declogger must have been a pretty potent sulfuric acid solution. I still have half a bottle at home but I don't want to use it again. Unfortunately, I don't know how to dispose of it properly; I surely don't want anyone else to come into contact with it. I think I will ask my chemist or scientist friends what I can do. If my drain does end up getting clogged again, I am surely staying away from this particular drain declogger.
When I opened the cap, I noticed that there was a secondary cap to prevent the liquid from spilling. That in itself should have triggered a warning flag and I think it did because I made sure that I wouldn't touch any of the liquid with my bare hands. That said, even if I was already being cautious, I think that secondary cap very briefly and lightly touched the back of my middle finger as I set it aside. I actually didn't think that it touched me but I realized that it must have grazed my finger because as soon as I put that secondary cap down, my finger started to hurt badly. I then noticed that there was a slight frothing on it. I immediately placed my finger under running water and kept it there for a while. A couple of days later, my finger still looked pretty nasty:
It wasn't just my injured finger that got me concerned. As soon as I poured half of the contents of the bottle into my drain - as per instructions - smoke started to come out, as if something was burning. My Mr. Muscle Drain Declogger never generated this kind of chemical reaction. While the instructions indicated that you need to wait for about 5 minutes before letting water run into the sink, I was so concerned about the smoke that I turned on the tap maybe just a minute or less after pouring the liquid into the sink.
I reckon my drain declogger must have been a pretty potent sulfuric acid solution. I still have half a bottle at home but I don't want to use it again. Unfortunately, I don't know how to dispose of it properly; I surely don't want anyone else to come into contact with it. I think I will ask my chemist or scientist friends what I can do. If my drain does end up getting clogged again, I am surely staying away from this particular drain declogger.
No comments:
Post a Comment