Can you unstop a drain with muriatic acid?

Answer 1

Muriatic acid or hydrochloric acid (HCl) will not harm copper pipes. I am a licensed Heating& cooling technician and I use Muriatic acid all the time to clean out hot water tankless coils and boiler hot water coils and I have seen it used to clean out hot water copper piping in houses to remove scale and

mineral deposits. I use a 1/6 Submersible pump that i purchased at Home Depot. It's not a chemical pump and I have used this pump over 4 years and i have ran Muriatic acid through it at least 60 times and the pump still works great. I even took the pump apart to see if any damage was happening to it and it looked just like new. just wear long rubber gloves and full goggles for your eyes. safety glasses will not protect your eyes. the acid can splash up under the safety glasses. If you get any on your skin just rinse it off with cold water. Muriatic acid or HCl cleans up really well with water.

Answer 2

It will work but it is not as effective as sulfuric acid because it is not as dense. Sulfuric acid is about 70% denser than water so it displaces the water and gets to the clog. Concentrated sulfuric acid, as it dissolves in water, produces a lot of heat and it quickly breaks down protein.

Most sink clogs result from grease and protein (hair). The heat from the reaction will liquefy the grease and hair will be quickly degraded by the sulfuric acid.

Sodium hydroxide will have a similar effect on the clog but you never want to mix the acid with the sodium hydroxide.

ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES or GOGGLES when using drain cleaner.

The most effective way of removing the clog is to use a plunger. Old drains may be slow because of scale build-up that catches debris. I recently removed a 1.5" galvanized drain from a very slow bathroom sink.

The scale build-up had restricted the pipe to a diameter of scarcely 0.5" the entire length to the main line. For this sort of problem, the best approach is to get a drain auger that will mechanically plow through the obstruction or to replace the line with PVC.

Answer 3

You could, but all it's going to do is stink to high heaven and possibly get you killed. Try a torch or warm water instead. It's much saver.

Answer 4

The Melting/Freezing of Muriatic acid is Approximately. -49 F (-45 C)