[quote]Can he open the plug (?) under the sink ?



Personally I use a (small) bottle of coca-cola once a month to clean it (yep, the same you drink...)

[/quote]



Hey, that's a good idea! I think it doesn't hurt to do this over-night.

I remember someone recommending it also to get car-windshields clean.

Larger quantities of caustic soda may be difficult to get by. AFAIK, sink-cleaners used to contain it, but do so no longer for various reasons ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide#cite_note-9
rainer_d, Jun 18, 2009 @ 19:24

you can buy chemicals for this use in the pharmacies in Geneva, but very expensive. Or you can go to any bigger supermarket in France and get it there very cheaply.
Paxxie, Jun 19, 2009 @ 10:54

dannydo, Jun 19, 2009 @ 11:24

dannydo, Jun 19, 2009 @ 16:01

Hey, that's a good idea! I think it doesn't hurt to do this over-night.
I remember someone recommending it also to get car-windshields clean.
Larger quantities of caustic soda may be difficult to get by. AFAIK, sink-cleaners used to contain it, but do so no longer for various reasons ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide#cite_note-9[/quote]

Many thanks for your response, particularly for the hazard alert, to which I would add the following comments: Caustic soda needs to be handled with extreme caution. Hand and eye protection is an absolute must, and mixing caustic soda with any other cleaning agent must be absolutely avoided to prevent the potentially lethal release of chlorine gas. Obviously the stuff should be kept well out of the reach of children and pets - in fact, best not to have it in the house at all. 

    
dannydo, Jun 19, 2009 @ 16:15

Thanks for the reply.

Hopefully, the problem can be resolved without resorting to the use of such a hazardous chemical.
dannydo, Jun 19, 2009 @ 16:18