Toilet blocked by caustic soda

[Heaven]

Hello all. Please can someone help. My brand new toilet somehow got blocked. So, I poured a cap full of caustic soda down it and some boiling water. Nothing happened. So I kept doing it, so much so that the crystals have totally hardened and now, the hole has almost totally blocked up and none of the waste is being flushed away. How can I dissolve the totally rock hard caustic soda. Can I salvage my toilet?? Can it be cleared away. (Almost 10 days now). Thank you for your help.

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy/toilet-blocked-by-caustic-soda-3091365-.htm

[Jimmy Stewart ...]

On 30/01/2021 16:15, Heaven wrote:
> Hello all. Please can someone help. My brand new toilet somehow got
> blocked. So, I poured a cap full of caustic soda down it and some
> boiling water. Nothing happened. So I kept doing it, so much so that the
> crystals have totally hardened and now, the hole has almost totally
> blocked up and none of the waste is being flushed away. How can I
> dissolve the totally rock hard caustic soda. Can I salvage my toilet??
> Can it be cleared away. (Almost 10 days now). Thank you for your help.
>

10 days without a tom tit ? ...

[Scott]

Just a thought but have you tried vinegar (acetic acid) which might
create a chemical reaction? I suggest a small amount as a test first.

[John J]

Wouldn't you just know this came via homeowners hub?

[Unknown]

John J presented the following explanation :

Have you tried a good, strong laxative?

[alan_m]

The chemical composition of a bag of Postcrete would cure the problem of
a toilet being blocked by rock hard caustic soda.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

[Andrew]

It sounds like some dodgy plumbing downstream from the toilet is
where the blockage is, not the actual bog. Who fitted this 'new'
toilet ?.

[charles]

In article <rv64jr$162m$1...@gioia.aioe.org>,

An old wire coat hanger is a good implement for dealing with such blockages

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

[Andrew]

> 'New' toilets seems to have a smaller exit hole from what I've
seen. Something to do with low-water usage regulations??. This
makes poking stiff wiry stuff 'round the bend' more tricky.

[Scott]

I have noticed this to. Sometimes the product for which it is
designed does not flush away.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 31/01/2021 14:10, Tim Streater wrote:

> How can I dissolve the totally rock hard caustic soda, asks Chummy upthread.
>
> Try hot water. Even at 25C, a litre of water can dissolve a kilo of caustic
> soda. So I don't see how it can be "rock hard". What hasn't he told us?
>

that he's a thick cunt


--
Labour - a bunch of rich people convincing poor people to vote for rich
people by telling poor people that "other" rich people are the reason
they are poor.

Peter Thompson

[Scott]

*too*

[Fred]

"Tim Streater" <timst...@greenbee.net> wrote in message
news:i7ns2h...@mid.individual.net...

> On 31 Jan 2021 at 12:41:19 GMT, Scott <newsg...@gefion.myzen.co.uk>
> wrote:
>

> How can I dissolve the totally rock hard caustic soda, asks Chummy
> upthread.
>
> Try hot water. Even at 25C, a litre of water can dissolve a kilo of
> caustic
> soda. So I don't see how it can be "rock hard". What hasn't he told us?

Caustic soda can do that if it gets too hot when being added to water.

[Peeler]

On Mon, 1 Feb 2021 08:17:16 +1100, Fred, better known as cantankerous
trolling senile geezer Rodent Speed, wrote:


<FLUSH more senile trollshit unread>

--
Marland answering senile Rodent's statement, "I don't leak":
"That’s because so much piss and shite emanates from your gob that there is
nothing left to exit normally, your arsehole has clammed shut through disuse
and the end of prick is only clear because you are such a Wanker."
Message-ID: <gm2h57...@mid.individual.net>

[newshound]

On 30/01/2021 16:15, Heaven wrote:

> Hello all. Please can someone help. My brand new toilet somehow got
> blocked. So, I poured a cap full of caustic soda down it and some
> boiling water. Nothing happened. So I kept doing it, so much so that the
> crystals have totally hardened and now, the hole has almost totally
> blocked up and none of the waste is being flushed away. How can I
> dissolve the totally rock hard caustic soda. Can I salvage my toilet??
> Can it be cleared away. (Almost 10 days now). Thank you for your help.
>

If this is an accurate description, then be very very careful. Caustic
soda can "set" like this and be difficult to dissolve.

A fundamental problem is that if you have a blockage from more
"conventional" products beyond your new blockage, dissolving the caustic
soda still won't solve the problem (although if you can get caustic soda
solution through to them this may help).

Remember that caustic soda solution is *very* nasty if you get any in
your eyes or even on your skin. If you promote a rapid reaction with
boiling, etc, you can get spray.

Experienced chemists know how to dissolve granules in a small amount of
water by allowing it to get hot from the dissolution reaction but that
may be difficult in this geometry. There is also a risk of cracking the
porcelain from differential thermal expansion if some bits get much
hotter than others.

Someone else mentioned vinegar, this is a good and relatively safe way
to dissolve it, but assuming you have perhaps 500g of pure caustic soda
there then you may need 50 litres of vinegar. (ICBA to do the
calculation). What I think I might do is half-fill the pan with water,
then start dribbling in some brick acid, stirring it with a plastic or
wooden stick, and look for signs of a reaction. Pour in maybe a litre
stopping if there are signs that the reaction is speeding up. Leave it
overnight and try to establish by poking whether you have started to
clear it. If it is draining significantly, then repeat.

If not, the problem is unless you get some indicator paper (readily
available on eBay) you won't know whether the liquid in the bowl is
acidic or alkaline. If it is acidic, then it is not particularly
dangerous, but it means it is not reacting effectively. If it is
alkaline, then the approach is working but more acid is needed, and the
alkaline liquid needs to be handled with more care.

I'd know what to do at this stage. You'd need to find someone with good
A-level chemistry from 50 years ago, or a more recent chemistry
graduate. Or a fireman. Or perhaps an experienced old-school plumber,
but do explain to them how you got where you are.

[Fredxx]

I would have thought that given the caustic soda has already been added
to the pan, most of the exothermal reaction would have already passed.
The logic thing to me is to add water, as you suggest slowly. A pan full
of water would dissolve the caustic soda. And then hopefully diffuse its
way to the blockage.

However, most toilet blockages I have come across are down to foreign
materials and I suspect the OP's problem is no different.

[Rod Speed]

"Fredxx" <fre...@nospam.co.uk> wrote in message
news:rv7jdq$4qs$1...@dont-email.me...

You'd be wrong. The problem with caustic soda is that
it can get so hot that if melts and forms a very hard
crystalline form which doesn’t dissolve readily anymore.

> The logic thing to me is to add water, as you suggest slowly.

Trouble is that the very hard crystalline form
which doesn’t dissolve readily anymore.

> A pan full of water would dissolve the caustic soda.

Wrong, as always. If that was true, he wouldn’t have a blockage.

> And then hopefully diffuse its way to the blockage.

The hard crystalline form of caustic soda is the blockage.

> However, most toilet blockages I have come across are down to foreign
> materials and I suspect the OP's problem is no different.

You'd be wrong, as always.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

Yes, there is an old saying, when you find yourself in a hole stop digging.
I would say that it could be cleared but you might need some acid or maybe
take the toilet ot and mechanically clear it. It kinds of makes one wonder
about the installation if it gets so easily blocked in the first place
though.
I wonder if it was in reply to a very old post, but as the joke goes, we
now have nothing to go on!

Brian

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Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"John J" <johnje...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:0eabaf7f-c61a-49c9...@googlegroups.com...

[alan_m]

On 01/02/2021 01:02, Rod Speed wrote:

> The hard crystalline form of caustic soda is the blockage.

The OP gave the reason why he poured caustic soda and boiling water down
the pan as a blockage. What he didn't indicate if his NEW toilet had
been previously clear just that it had become blocked. He may now have
two problems, the original blockage and the partial blockage due his "cure".

>
>> However, most toilet blockages I have come across are down to foreign
>> materials and I suspect the OP's problem is no different.
>
> You'd be wrong, as always.

Probably correct, the original problem may be down to anything from
flushing wet wipes. flushing the centre tube from the bog roll or just a
massive shit combined with half the worlds supply of fluffy bog paper.

Plunging the bowl will have removed all of these. One way of plunging is
to get a mop, cover the head of the mop in a plastic dustbin bag and
shove it in the bowl. Moving the mop up and down usually shifts
blockages near to the pan. On removing the mop remove the dustbin bag by
turning it inside out. This is probably not possible now with his
secondary blockage of caustic soda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_YeWXk80NI

[Peeler]

On Mon, 1 Feb 2021 12:02:33 +1100, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

<FLUSH the trolling senile pest's latest trollshit unread>


--
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cretin from Oz:
https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/rod-speed-faq.2973853/

[Mark Carver]

On 31/01/2021 12:41, Scott wrote:
> to have a smaller exit hole from what I've
>> seen. Something to do with low-water usage regulations??. This
>> makes poking stiff wiry stuff 'round the bend' more tricky.

> I have noticed this too. Sometimes the product for which it is

> designed does not flush away.

Yes. I had to resort to a bucket of warm water tipped briskly down the
pan, to clear a (particularly satisfying) 'download' recently.

[Paul]

Brian Gaff (Sofa) wrote:
> Yes, there is an old saying, when you find yourself in a hole stop digging.
> I would say that it could be cleared but you might need some acid or maybe
> take the toilet ot and mechanically clear it. It kinds of makes one wonder
> about the installation if it gets so easily blocked in the first place
> though.
> I wonder if it was in reply to a very old post, but as the joke goes, we
> now have nothing to go on!
>
> Brian
>

Some things about this situation do not add up.

Mechanical clearing should not be attempted, because
a dangerous chemical is involved.

Adding acid by titration is possible, but there is
a danger from the exothermic nature of the reaction,
depending on what you use. It could splatter.

If you need assistance, drive to the nearest fire
station, and while the guy out front having
a smoke won't have the answer, the fire hall captain
knows who to phone.

Don't ask a plumber to stick the plumbing snake
in that vat of chemicals. It won't hurt the snake,
but he will need to wash the snake off, and a
mess could ensue. If he walks out with the
snake unwashed, there could be NaOH on the carpeting.

While it's not a Hazmat situation (yet), it does not
take very much faffing about to turn it into a disaster.

Once the chemical portion is taken care of, the
plumber can then inspect the waste pipe below the
toilet for chemical damage. You can put pinholes
in copper, with drain cleaner. And the drain cleaner
in this case, has been sitting in the pipe for ten
days.

Using the brand name of the drain cleaner product
and the part number, a Google will give the MSDS
safety data sheet, and that will give the
chemical composition. You can even take the bottle
of drain cleaner to the Fire Station with you,
for identification purposes, so they pull the
correct MSDS for it. I notice a few of the caustic
products, have practically no track-ability at all,
so it's hard to grab the correct MSDS.

This is especially important, if you completely
get the chemical type wrong, and it's a strong
acid and not a strong base. Some drain cleaners
are NaOH, some are H2SO4, with little on the outside
of the bottle offering suitable details. I thought
we'd learned the consequences of this kind of
ignorance years ago - MSDS is your friend.
It's everybodies friend. It helps keep the
firemen safe.

Paul

[Andrew]

On 01/02/2021 08:07, alan_m wrote:
> On 01/02/2021 01:02, Rod Speed wrote:
>
>> The hard crystalline form of caustic soda is the blockage.
>
> The OP gave the reason why he poured caustic soda and boiling water down
> the pan as a blockage.  What he didn't indicate if his NEW toilet had
> been previously clear just that it had become blocked. He may now have
> two problems, the original blockage and the partial blockage due his
> "cure".
>
>
>>
>>> However, most toilet blockages I have come across are down to foreign
>>> materials and I suspect the OP's problem is no different.
>>
>> You'd be wrong, as always.
>
> Probably correct, the original problem may be down to anything from
> flushing wet wipes. flushing the centre tube from the bog roll or just a
> massive shit combined with half the worlds supply of fluffy bog paper.
>

And possibly the remains of the tile adhesive/grout that the
bathroom fitter chucked down the new loo.