Chatting to a friend today who knows I do most tasks myself at home. Seems he has one of these pop up wastes in a cloakroom basin which has got blocked. The cloakroom being his kids domain. And their visiting pals. And says it seems to be something like chewing gum blocking it. And asked if I knew if there was a drain cleaner that would shift it. Which I don't.
How to.
Mar 25, 2023
Last reply: 3 years ago
13 Replies
I'm pretty sure that one I have unscrews giving you good access below.
Acetone is said to dissolve chewing gum.
Usually the plug can be unscrewed withe a pair of pliers. This gives access to the mechanism below which can also be unscrewed and removed for cleaning.
Another Dave
Pliers shouldn't be necessary. Just a rubber glove, for friction. That's what I've done the few times I've needed to.
......and any pvc pipes it comes into contact with.
Very few hits on that with google and doesn't sound very plausible.
sodium hydroxide & conc sulphuric acid destroy most things.
Including the plumbing.
Conc nitric works a lot better if you don't care about the plumbing.
First you have to consider what modern gum is made of.
"By the 1960s, most chewing gum companies had switched from using chicle to butadiene-based synthetic rubber, which was cheaper to manufacture. Only a handful of small gum companies still use chicle, including Glee Gum, Simply Gum, and Tree Hugger Gum"
Some of the companies did not take enough care when concocting their polymeric treat, causing the customer to dump the product and walk away. Because the consistency of the new chemical gum was awful.
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"We learned that after chicle was phased out, synthetic rubber became the main ingredient used in gum base. One of these synthetic rubbers is styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). SBR is a copolymer of styrene and butadiene that used in many different applications, including car tires! Other synthetic rubbers used in gum bases are polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate."
And SBR is a bastard (nobody needs me to tell them that). No chemistry is suited to cleaning plumbing really. When the gum is in an open area, you can consider more toxic or dangerous materials. The officials take a dim view of dumping explosive solvents down the sewer system. Which takes all the fun out of the project.
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"Only UNCURED SBR will dissolve in a good solvent"
Even if you solvate it, all you're doing is smearing it around and making a mess somewhere else.
I think they've used a pressure washer, to remove it from the facade of buildings.
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"Clad in rain gear, gloves and rubber boots, the workers are using industrial steam cleaners to shoot out a gallon of 260˚ water per minute. Gum and water are flowing out of the alley, where a collection system is catching gum and trash before the water flows into a storm drain. "
Paul
Paul
Conc nitric works fine with porcelain plumbing.
Dont see it on building fascades here, lots of it on the concrete paths outside supermarkets where there are seats used by those waiting for a taxi or uber to pick them up.
but not at the same time.
otherwise you end up with sodium sulphate, water and possibly hydrogen gas too for good measure....!
:)
It's the vigor wot's more important. Sulphuric boils at 300+, you don't want to piss it off with alkali.
Perhaps you should volunteer to go around and help his kids fix it - since they caused it!
Andy
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