Is it OK to pour boiling water down shower drain?

Can you pour boiling water down the shower drain?

Sometimes you can clear a clog in metal pipes by simply emptying a kettle of boiling water down the drain, a little at a time. You can pour the water down the drain without removing the shower drain cover. Do not pour boiling water down PVC pipes, which can be damaged by the heat.

Is pouring boiling water down the drain bad?

Using enough boiling water to unclog a drain could damage your pipes. Unless you use gallons of boiling water, it’s going to cool off as it flows down a room temperature plumbing system. If you do use gallons of boiling water, you are likely to distort the tubular drains and their seals under the fixture.

What is the black stuff in my shower drain?

The “creepy black stuff” in your drain is made up of a combination of things, mostly decomposing hair, soap scum, toothpaste grit, shaving cream residue, skin cells, etc. … If you have a drain snake, then get it out and snake the drain. This is the simplest solution.

Will vinegar hurt PVC pipes?

The answer is that vinegar will not harm your pipes if used in small doses as recommended in many of the recipes that you find online. No matter what your pipes are made of, pex, pvc, copper, etc. Vinegar will not harm your water pipes.

Can Lye damage PVC pipes?

Reactions of Lye and PVC

Since lye is so basic and caustic, it can harm PVC piping. The chemical should not react with the surface of the PVC piping, but if used incorrectly at high concentrations, it could eat away at a crack or flaw in the piping, causing it to fail.

Is Drano bad for pipes?

Drano^® will not damage pipes or plumbing. Drano^® products are powerful enough to dissolve nasty clogs, but they will not harm your plastic or metal pipes, so there’s no need to worry. … All Drano^® products are safe and can be used with plastic pipes or metal pipes.

How do you get black gunk out of shower drain?

Pour 1 cup of baking soda into the drain. The baking soda will deodorize and clean the drains while working as a nonabrasive agent that will break up the black sludge. Pour into the drain and let sit for a few minutes.

How do I get rid of buildup in my shower drain?

Boil a pot of water. Pour ½ cup of vinegar and ½ cup of baking soda into the drain. Put cleaning rag over the top of the drain to cover it. Wait 5 minutes or so while the mixture eats away at the buildup.

Will baking soda and vinegar damage PVC pipe?

Most chemical-based cleaners generate heat inside the pipe; PVC may not withstand the heat and it will melt, or harm the integrity of the pipe joints. … If you want to try a home-based chemical remedy, try vinegar and baking soda. They pose no danger whatsoever to your pipes.

Can baking soda and vinegar damage pipes?

No, the baking soda/vinegar reaction created in a drain/household plumbing system does not take place in a closed system so pressure can’t build up enough to blast a clog out of the pipes.

Is it safe to pour vinegar down the drain?

You may permanently damage your septic system. Bleach and cleaning fluids create toxic gasses when mixed together. … The following items should never be poured down the sink with bleach: Vinegar.