Home Page link

what is the plaster like gunk that clogs my drainpipe?

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

Page 2 of 2       << first < 1 2 Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
what is the plaster like gunk that clogs my drainpipe? finding z0 03-28-2008
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by finding z0 on April 1, 2008, 1:48 pm
>I will take it to the lab and see what I can find
> out myself.Is it organic? Inorganic. A mixture? =A0I have the tools. Of
> course if I find something that works, it will probably kill all
> living things within a 3 mile radius of my house. Any suggestions?
> p.s the methylethylketone cleaner/pipe glue failed to hold though the
> pipes are popped together and some plumbers putty will have to work
> until i can psyche my self into going down there again. I suppose I
> should wait until my stiff neck and backache get better as well. Since
> I cleaned the clog at the source I suspect it may take a while longer
> to happen again.

Well it seems that the stuff is organic as it goes right into organic
solvent (ethyl acetate, CHCl3) and not water, or even soapy water??.
The NMR shows an oil-like pattern (vegetable?). Very little
unsaturation. So all I have to do in the future is pour massive
amounts of organic solvents down my kitchen sink. What could possibly
go wrong....hahahahahahahaha.......
smileyface here. (won't matter just you wait....;-))).........)

Posted by Norminn on April 1, 2008, 2:06 pm
finding z0 wrote:

>
>
>>I will take it to the lab and see what I can find
>>out myself.Is it organic? Inorganic. A mixture? I have the tools. Of
>>course if I find something that works, it will probably kill all
>>living things within a 3 mile radius of my house. Any suggestions?
>>p.s the methylethylketone cleaner/pipe glue failed to hold though the
>>
>>
Has someone been pouring solvents down the drain (caused the glue to fail)?

>>pipes are popped together and some plumbers putty will have to work
>>until i can psyche my self into going down there again. I suppose I
>>should wait until my stiff neck and backache get better as well. Since
>>I cleaned the clog at the source I suspect it may take a while longer
>>to happen again.
>>
>>
>
>Well it seems that the stuff is organic as it goes right into organic
>solvent (ethyl acetate, CHCl3) and not water, or even soapy water??.
>The NMR shows an oil-like pattern (vegetable?). Very little
>
>
NMR? CHC13?

>unsaturation. So all I have to do in the future is pour massive
>amounts of organic solvents down my kitchen sink. What could possibly
>go wrong....hahahahahahahaha.......
>smileyface here. (won't matter just you wait....;-))).........)
>
>
I love mysteries, but have trouble with your chemistry.......two things
come to mind: pigment
settled out of paint, and pvc pipe dissolving. Someone in the household
works with dust/powders
and the stuff comes out in the laundry? I have no idea if/how/why pvc
would
dissintegrate....just a thought :o)

Posted by finding z0 on April 2, 2008, 9:53 am

> Has someone been pouring solvents down the drain (caused the glue to fail)=
?
The closest I could come to solvents down the drain would be boiling
water/vingar to try to clear the clog. Some connections apparently
didn't like that. The other source of stress would be the snake
(blade) I pound thru the pipe to clear the clog.


> >Well it seemsthatthe stuffisorganic as it goes right into organic
> >solvent (ethyl acetate, CHCl3) and not water, or even soapy water??.
> >The NMR shows an oil-like pattern (vegetable?). Very little
>
> NMR? =A0CHC13?
NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) is a chemist's tool that we use to
see hydrogen atoms. The Medical profession adopted this tech and
renamed it MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) dropping the "nuclear" as
it scared people. It doesn't refer to harmful 'radiation', but it does
have to do with the nucleus of an atom. We spin a small sample of
compund in a magnetic field. MD's spin the magnetic field around the
sample (you). CHCl3, actually, CDCl3 (D-chloroform) is a common
solvent used to dissolve sample for this procedure.

> I love mysteries, but have trouble with your chemistry.......two things
> come to mind: pigment
> settled out of paint, and pvc pipe dissolving. =A0Someone in the household=

> works with dust/powders
> and the stuff comes out in the laundry? =A0I have no idea if/how/why pvc
> would
> dissintegrate....just a thought :o)

We are running a household with 2 daughters, one off to college, and
we aren't home all day. Maybe someone is using our house as a drug
factory during the day....? Wait! That might explain the $1000 in cash
we find once a month on the kitchen table...hmmm....
When I first moved in there 23 yrs ago, my neighbor helped me clear
that clog. He said that stuff is what happens to grease in the dark.
He may be right. It only happens in the pipe from the kitchen sink, so
trace food waste and bits of fat/oil must be the culprits. PVC
wouldn't dissolve in solvents I used (in the lab) and would have a
distinct pattern in an NMR spectra. We try not to put any amt of oil/
grease down the drain. There are dirty plates in the dishwasher, but
you would expect the soap to keep the grease from gunking out. That is
what soap does. I guess the slope of that pipe allows water to sit
over long periods. I expect now that I've actually cleared the clog at
the source, it won't form again as quickly. I mean that stuff was
stuck to the top of the pipe as well and took a crow bar to break
through. Cheers, and thanks for your interest.

Posted by RicodJour on April 2, 2008, 10:08 am
>
> > Has someone been pouring solvents down the drain (caused the glue to fail)?
>
> The closest I could come to solvents down the drain would be boiling
> water/vingar to try to clear the clog. Some connections apparently
> didn't like that. The other source of stress would be the snake
> (blade) I pound thru the pipe to clear the clog.
>
> > >Well it seemsthatthe stuffisorganic as it goes right into organic
> > >solvent (ethyl acetate, CHCl3) and not water, or even soapy water??.
> > >The NMR shows an oil-like pattern (vegetable?). Very little
>
> > NMR? CHC13?
>
> NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) is a chemist's tool that we use to
> see hydrogen atoms. The Medical profession adopted this tech and
> renamed it MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) dropping the "nuclear" as
> it scared people. It doesn't refer to harmful 'radiation', but it does
> have to do with the nucleus of an atom. We spin a small sample of
> compund in a magnetic field. MD's spin the magnetic field around the
> sample (you). CHCl3, actually, CDCl3 (D-chloroform) is a common
> solvent used to dissolve sample for this procedure.
>
> > I love mysteries, but have trouble with your chemistry.......two things
> > come to mind: pigment
> > settled out of paint, and pvc pipe dissolving. Someone in the household
> > works with dust/powders
> > and the stuff comes out in the laundry? I have no idea if/how/why pvc
> > would
> > dissintegrate....just a thought :o)
>
> We are running a household with 2 daughters, one off to college, and
> we aren't home all day. Maybe someone is using our house as a drug
> factory during the day....? Wait! That might explain the $1000 in cash
> we find once a month on the kitchen table...hmmm....
> When I first moved in there 23 yrs ago, my neighbor helped me clear
> that clog. He said that stuff is what happens to grease in the dark.
> He may be right. It only happens in the pipe from the kitchen sink, so
> trace food waste and bits of fat/oil must be the culprits. PVC
> wouldn't dissolve in solvents I used (in the lab) and would have a
> distinct pattern in an NMR spectra. We try not to put any amt of oil/
> grease down the drain. There are dirty plates in the dishwasher, but
> you would expect the soap to keep the grease from gunking out. That is
> what soap does. I guess the slope of that pipe allows water to sit
> over long periods. I expect now that I've actually cleared the clog at
> the source, it won't form again as quickly. I mean that stuff was
> stuck to the top of the pipe as well and took a crow bar to break
> through. Cheers, and thanks for your interest.

What do you use for dishwasher detergent? The white color of the clog
is unusual for any grease or typical kitchen effluent.

R

Posted by willshak on April 2, 2008, 10:10 am
on 3/28/2008 7:32 PM finding z0 said the following:
> Every couple of years the drain pipe 10' past the kitchen sink clogs
> with white plaster-like material. The cold water from the kitchen is
> is unsoftened well water high in minerals. Lately its been clogging
> more frequently.We try to put very little grease down the sink. I
> suppose the dishwasher is an exception. I expect that the soap that
> accompanies it should keep it from clogging.I have a rubber coupling
> in the basement through which I shove a 50' blade up the pipe to reach
> the clog and eventually smash it open. Then I pour sinkfulls of water
> down the sink which flushes the crud into a bucket (mostly). My least
> favorite job. RotoRooter will do it for $100/150 bucks. For years i
> thought it was congealed grease and not necessarily minerals plating
> out. None of the plumbing treatments ever worked, though recently I
> tried gallons of boiling hot water/hot vinegar and I think that helps
> though I suspect some of my joints gave up with this treatment.
> Yesterday I went in the crawl to fix a detached drain pipe which was
> also the clogged line and found the clog at that very spot. OK this
> was my least favorite job. As I dug the plaster out of the downhill
> side of the detached pipe, water came out (uphill?). Now I always
> wondered about the slope of this pipe being rather shallow, but water
> flowing up? hmmmmm...
> I have some chunks of the material and have subjected it to some of
> the treatments I've tried in the past. Vinegar does nada. Soap does
> nada. Enzymes do nada as well. Still there are things to try. Hot
> water hot vinegar. I will take it to the lab and see what I can find
> out myself. Is it organic? Inorganic. A mixture? I have the tools. Of
> course if I find something that works, it will probably kill all
> living things within a 3 mile radius of my house. Any suggestions?
> p.s the methylethylketone cleaner/pipe glue failed to hold though the
> pipes are popped together and some plumbers putty will have to work
> until i can psyche my self into going down there again. I suppose I
> should wait until my stiff neck and backache get better as well. Since
> I cleaned the clog at the source I suspect it may take a while longer
> to happen again.
>

Are you using granular dishwasher soap? That's what clogged my 4" septic
tank pipe a couple of years ago. We switched to liquid soap after that.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Page 2 of 2       << first < 1 2
Similar ThreadsPosted
Affixing 3/8" Blueboard and Plaster to an Existing Horsehair Plaster Ceiling February 12, 2008, 4:36 pm
repairing broken flange on drainpipe December 31, 2005, 11:42 am
Guidelines for capping off a PVC drainpipe in the basement flush with floor? January 7, 2006, 7:21 am
Greasy gunk from Air Compressor March 26, 2006, 8:44 am
Gunk on pool chlorinator July 16, 2006, 9:48 am
Strange gunk in sink drain May 30, 2008, 12:22 am
toilet clogs easily October 22, 2005, 10:56 am
Toilet Clogs every few days December 12, 2005, 8:55 am
Toilet clogs repeatedly... March 28, 2006, 4:31 pm
Toilet clogs frequently November 25, 2007, 11:31 am

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap