How can I "clean up" a drano spill?

[manlymatt83]

I spilled drano tonight. Accidentally. Most of it went into the kitchen sink (which is where I wanted it to go, and it actually unclogged the clog), but some of it went on my hands, and others on the kitchen counter. I actually have a few small burns from it, it seems, but I'm more worried about my cat (who is in another room right now).

How do I clean up the drano? Soap and water enough?


Somehow I doubt Matt is still seeking a solution to his problem afte rmore than 3 years.
admin allisolm

 

[PottedMeat]

neutralize the drano with an acid?

or just wipe it up with some gloves and throw out the paper towels?

 

[l0cke]

neutralize the drano with an acid?

or just wipe it up with some gloves and throw out the paper towels?

I would use nitrile gloves to clean up something like that.

 

[Alone]

neutralize the drano with an acid?

Never neutralize a chemical with such a strong base with an acid. That's a terrible idea.

Just use soap and water, that should be good enough. You can use a mop, but only if it's new and hasn't been in contact with bleach.

 

[xanis]

I did some quick Googling and couldn't find a solid answer.

Seems like the best way to go about this is with water... lots of water. Dilute the shit out of it, clean it up with a clean rag or some paper towels, then dispose of the rags/paper towels.

 

[cmf21]

Use some soda ash if you have some laying around.

 

[PottedMeat]

Never neutralize a chemical with such a strong base with an acid. That's a terrible idea.

Just use soap and water, that should be good enough. You can use a mop, but only if it's new and hasn't been in contact with bleach.

...yeah forgot about that

Weak bases, such as soda or egg white, should be used to neutralize any acid spills. Neutralizing acid spills with strong bases, such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide can cause a violent exothermic reaction, and the base itself can cause just as much damage as the original acid spill.

dilute the shit out of it and mop it up

 

[manlymatt83]

Will diluting it enough keep my cat from being sick? I'm just worried about not wiping the stuff up enough and hurting the cat.

 

[Tattare]

Vinegar and baking soda. :sneaky:

 

[Alone]

Vinegar and baking soda. :sneaky:

If you want chlorine gas.

EDIT: Heh, laughed a bit when I realized what you actually meant.

 

[Rubycon]

When dealing with trade materials remember these letters: MSDS. It stands for Material Safety Data Sheet. If you search by trade or product name putting MSDS after it you will find out what precautions you need to take.

In your example here is an MSDS for Drano:

http://www.daycon.com/msds/DRAINO-msds.pdf

Handling and spill cleanup are addressed. There's a lot of information on the MSDS. Learn how to use it! One day it could save your life!

 

[manlymatt83]

Says seek immediate medical attention for my burns. What will they do? They don't look like burns. They look like small blisters, and there's only two of them.

 

[Alone]

Says seek immediate medical attention for my burns. What will they do? They don't look like burns. They look like small blisters, and there's only two of them.

Well, considering your original post explicitly say burns, and the fact that burns tend to blister...I'd say you've been chemically burned.

But what do I know?

 

[krakherjack]

since you have cats it will be easy - cat litter to absorb it then soap and water to was away the residue
i myself spilled some on my carpet (how i got here) and on myself. i saw that it said to "seek immediate medical attention" but i have no burns so i called poison control and they said just to run it under water. i have had chemical burns before and as long as you get all the chemical off you, you won't continue to burn so you can just treat it like any other burn and slap a band aide on it and call it a day.

 

[gorcorps]

since you have cats it will be easy - cat litter to absorb it then soap and water to was away the residue
i myself spilled some on my carpet (how i got here) and on myself. i saw that it said to "seek immediate medical attention" but i have no burns so i called poison control and they said just to run it under water. i have had chemical burns before and as long as you get all the chemical off you, you won't continue to burn so you can just treat it like any other burn and slap a band aide on it and call it a day.

You replied to a thread that's over 3 years old.

 

[brainhulk]

pour lemon juice on it

 

[SearchMaster]

Thanks for bringing up sad memories, necromancer. Matt's cat died the next day from licking up all the old Drano and he passed a few months later from cancer spreading from his untreated blisters.

We miss you Matt

 

[Squisher]

When dealing with trade materials remember these letters: MSDS. It stands for Material Safety Data Sheet. If you search by trade or product name putting MSDS after it you will find out what precautions you need to take.

In your example here is an MSDS for Drano:

http://www.daycon.com/msds/DRAINO-msds.pdf

Handling and spill cleanup are addressed. There's a lot of information on the MSDS. Learn how to use it! One day it could save your life!

:thumbsup: