U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: Eau de Javelle ( Javel )

Re: Eau de Javelle ( Javel )




Finally, to avoid releasing chlorine gas, do not mix household bleach with an acid. Lime and scale removers, which often contain a metabisulfite, and acidic drain cleaners (generally sulfuric acid), will liberate chlorine gas from household bleach, as many people have found quite by accident. (I seem to recall that Dick Sullivan had a tale of generating a cloud of chlorine gas while trying to clear a plugged drain.)


"Acidic drain cleaners" can also eat a hole in your plumbing pipes... Caustic drain cleaners mixed with stuff that blocks your drain can also make cement... quick hardening cement IME... often leading to enrichment of plumbers (if you can get one in a hurry).

Which is to say, if ANYTHING other than normal water and waste is to go down your drain... the wise will proceed with great caution and extreme dilution.

J.