There are many drain cleaners on the market promising to quickly unclog your drains. Which one is best? Todd, from the popular YouTube channel Project Farm, tested many drain cleaning chemicals to see which ones actually work.
Artificial clogs were made by combining chunks of soap with dog hair, whole baby carrots and asparagus spears, bacon grease, and duct tape with a paper towel.
To check to see if pipes could be damaged, testers used a rusty nail, PVC and a small metal pipe. Each product was mixed with water and poured onto an artificial clog and left for 45 minutes and again for 12 hours.
Many drain cleaning products contain acid. Never use one of these products with pipes made of galvanized steel, stainless steel, aluminum or chrome. They are only good for plastic pipes.
The most effective cleaners for hair were lye, Drano and Liquid Plummer. The product that worked best on vegetables was Clobber (sulfuric acid.) Drano, Liquid Plummer, hydrochloric acid and Clobber worked best on grease. None of the products worked on the paper towel or the tape.
The products that were most corrosive on pipes were sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid.
Never mix drain cleaners, because this can cause dangerous chemical reactions.
