Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Slow drip bottle drain cleaner

Water torture for hairballs
  (+6)
(+6)
  [vote for,
against]

Hair wads in the drain! We here at BUNGCO want to pour harsh chemicals on them. Sulphuric acid! Sodium hydroxide! Sodium hypochlorite! All of that! But not at the same time.

How frustrating to dump a great gout of chemical down a slow sink and see it merrily disappear. Most of that caustic vigor bypasses the spot you want it to attack and just vanishes down the drain. How to get each dangerous drop to linger on the clog, gnawing it into submission?

The slow drip drain cleaner bottle is inverted over the drain and left. It has a wide top and so will stay put. From the spout a slow and gradual drip of cleaner emerges. Each drip descends into the drain but is not washed through on a tide, instead lodging on whatever material it finds.

The bottle can also be used to water plants over an extended holiday. Rinse it first.

bungston, Sep 11 2016

[link]






       This, [bungston], is possibly a brilliant idea. You should talk to [2fries] for advice on how to turn it into a fortune. [+]
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 11 2016
  

       /Have you tried cola ?/ I love it! Although today it was a diet Dr Pepper, which might claim to be other than cola.   

       Regarding the implied obscene wealth poised to accrue to me, I am happy to do my part: scheming, scratching, Dr Pepper driniking, typing, criticizing, accruing.
bungston, Sep 12 2016
  

       But bigsleep - re the actual merits of cola as drain opener (and the related vinegar and baking soda method), the masks-and-rattles aspect of much foam is always welcome but I do not understand the mechanism by which this would clear an amalgam of hair and calcium / soap concretion. I am not sure what the name for these concretions is as a class - those substances in which a soap - the sodium salt of a fatty acid - has the sodium replaced by calcium. Calcium soap?   

       Strong base makes the most sense because it will convert soap back to soap.
bungston, Sep 12 2016
  

       oy (+)   

       Chlorine trifluoride will cause hair to ignite spontaneously on contact.   

       Awesome stuff ...
8th of 7, Sep 12 2016
  

       Yes, but a simple match is cheaper.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 12 2016
  

       The flame schemes are fine with wads of hair out in the light. In fact I poked a wad of floating cat fur into the gas flames this morning, to remind me of the smell.   

       But these deep lodged hair wads are more deduced than observed, and their glutinous fungal slime coat makes them difficult to ignite.
bungston, Sep 12 2016
  

       NaK ?
8th of 7, Sep 12 2016
  

       Take a pipe snake. Stuff it through a feral cat. And ram it down the offending drain. Be sure and retrieve the cat though or you'll have bigger problems.
RayfordSteele, Sep 12 2016
  

       // am not sure what the name for these concretions is as a class - those substances in which a soap - the sodium salt of a fatty acid - has the sodium replaced by calcium. Calcium soap?//   

       It's a difficult one to work out. I have a clue though, I have a few male friends with long hair, from my more metal days, and they get blocked drains less frequently than your average lady. As the introduction of a live-in lady, anecdotally at least, led to a disproportionate increase in blockages. Now, you can say things about the washing habits of a typical metal band, and you may be right. But the sudden appearance of large bottles of conditioner is a significant step in my mind. Basically a thick gloop of oils, odd polymers, hydrolyzed proteins, all sorts. I also find that EDTA containing shower sprays lead to bunged up drains. A total guess is that the EDTA chelates all the Ca2+ and Mg2+ leaving the microbes struggling. Maybe all the bugs down there are the real digesters.
bs0u0155, Sep 12 2016
  

       [RS] wot???
po, Sep 13 2016
  

       Just kidding, po.   

       As for the idea, I'm a bit worried about the toxic fume potential and rather unpleasant-smelling home as a result.
RayfordSteele, Sep 13 2016
  

       /Maybe all the bugs down there are the real digesters/ I like it. Cultivate your drain ecosystem.
bungston, Sep 13 2016
  

       Very small miners with pickaxes, gas masks or scuba gear. Tiny dump trucks to haul away the mined hair, soap and calcium and so on.   

       An animated film of these workers in action could give generations of kids nightmares. Very small mares to help with the mining.
popbottle, Sep 13 2016
  

       A removable drain catch-basket would be nice.   
      
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