Leave Liquid Plumr Too Long (Don’t worry, Try this method)

Do you hesitate to keep a liquid plumber for too long in your drain? And the reason is obvious since liquid plumbers are very caustic solutions.

And so, most of us always try to remain extra cautious while using a liquid plumber. Because you don’t want to damage your drainage or piping system or worsen the trouble that you’re facing.

But the question that we all are curious about is if you leave a liquid plumber for too long inside your drain, will there be any positive or negative effect of it on the drain?

That is what I’m going to discuss throughout this article. Have a look!

If your purpose for leaving Drano in the drain for too long is unclogging a very difficult and stubborn drain clog, you might get successful in your mission. For more details refer “What Happens If You Leave Drano in Too Long” article.

But the issue here is that this temporary success might lead to permanent damage to your drainage system. Along with that, it might also result in severe health risks for yourself and your family.

Besides, there are several types of Drano available all for distinct purposes and functions. Many of these types of Drano aren’t suitable for keeping in the drain for too long.

Several types of Drano products are highly corrosive and include caustic ingredients that can severely harm the piping system and your health.

But several other Drano products are lightly corrosive and contain a corrosion inhibitor.

The Drano Max Build-Up Remover is designed to be kept inside the drain for a longer period of time. You can keep it up for 6 to 8 hours or even overnight without any danger.

This Drano product doesn’t have any harmful or caustic ingredients within it except for only caustic soda as a pH adjuster in a very small amount.

It doesn’t have super harmful ingredients such as bleach, sulfuric acid, and many other corrosive components that other Drano products have.

Drano Max Build-Up Remover is harmless to human health and pipes because it is composed of natural bio cleaners that utilize bacterial enzymes to consume the clogs and build-ups in the drain.

Such bio cleaners only consume organic materials and that is why they will not eat up your pipes made of plastic or iron.

Moreover, they are safer for human health as well as they do not emit any toxic fumes that can be caustic to human skin and tissues.

Can I Leave the Drain Cleaner Overnight?

Whether you can leave a drain cleaner overnight or not completely depends on the type and constituents of the drain cleaner you are using.

If you are using a drain cleaner that is safe to be left overnight, then you can definitely go for it. Such drain cleaners are made of bio cleaners or contain a good proportion of corrosion inhibitors.

So, it is essential to check the ingredients of your drain cleaner before opting to leave it overnight.

Because if your drain cleaner contains a lot of caustic and corrosive substances, then leaving it overnight will not only severely harm your piping system, but will cause massive health risks as well.

That is because drain cleaner with highly caustic ingredients causes strong harmful fumes that have the potential to damage the internal skin of your nose and throat.

Again, many times having corrosion inhibitors in the ingredients isn’t enough as well.

Because it can’t defend the pipe from getting damaged by the harmful chemicals of the drain cleaner for too long since the amount of the corrosion inhibitor is very limited in comparison to the proportion of the caustic and corrosive components.

That is why, if you need to leave a drain cleaner with corrosion inhibitors overnight, then make sure it is when you don’t have any other choice.

And avoid doing it often or in near future again as it will lead to severe damage in your drain pipes gradually due to repetitive use for too long.

Can Liquid Plumr Damage Pipes?

Most Liquid Plumrs are made of highly corrosive ingredients such as bleach, sulfuric acid, and caustic soda. And so, they have all the potential to damage the pipes of your drain.

But once again, it depends on what type of liquid plumber you are using. As well as, it also depends on how long you are keeping it inside the pipe and if you are using it too often.

Because Liquid Plumrs produce a huge amount of heat when they get into contact with the clog and that very heat gradually removes the clog.

But if you keep the Liquid Plumr for too long than it is required, then after eating up the clog, the Liquid Plumr will also eat up the interior wall of the pipes.

Again, many times, the Liquid Plumr fails to eat up the clog but due to being deposited on the clog inside the pipe for a long time, it damages the pipe interior causing it to get thinner or even leak.

Moreover, if your drain pipes are made of PVC plastic, then the glue in the joints of the pipes will get easily eaten up by the Liquid Plumr further resulting in leaks in the pipe joints.

Thus, it is highly suggested not to use Liquid Plumr in your drain if your drain pipes are made of PVC plastic, let alone for too long.

And it is better to leave any chemical Liquid Plumr maximum of 15 minutes inside the drain and then wash it away with hot or boiling water.

If it doesn’t help, then you can try it in batches. But it is better not to keep it for a long time if it consists of highly corrosive chemicals.

Can Liquid Plumr Make a Clog Worse?

A Liquid Plumr can make a clog worse if you don’t apply the right type of product on the right type of clog.

Liquid Plumrs are made for unclogging normal clogs made of the accumulation of starch or any other fibrous food components if it’s for the kitchen sink.

But if it’s for bathroom drain, it is prepared to treat the deposition of keratin substances such as hair.

Liquid Plumrs are not designed for toilets generally. They are very harmful to the toilet drains and have the possibility to melt away the internal ceramic surface of the toilet seats.

A few types of clogs are caused due to the accumulation of solidified grease at the very bottom of the drain pipe.

Such types of clogs aren’t appropriate for cleaning with Liquid Plumrs. This is because they generally are rock solid and cause complete blockage of the drainage line and lie at a very down portion of the drain pipe.

When Liquid Plumrs get into contact with this type of clog, they are unable to remove it. Rather they form more of a gummy, slimy, and soggy texture, which gets more difficult to remove.

And so, in such cases, Liquid Plumrs really do make the clogs worse. So, you need to observe first if the clog formed in the drain is in a too lower portion of the pipe and if it is caused by grease build-up.

Is It Safe to Leave Liquid Plumr Overnight?

Some Liquid Plumr that are made of bio cleaners are absolutely safe for leaving overnight as they are designed for that purpose.

But most other Liquid Plumrs are not completely safe for keeping overnight. Not only because they might harm the pipe of the drain but also because they will produce extremely toxic fumes.

And such fumes can be very caustic to human skin and tissues. Especially, the internal skin of the nose, throat, and eyes are very sensitive and get damaged too easily when injured.

If you leave Liquid Plumr overnight, then it might produce a double or triple stronger fume than it does generally. And the fumes will easily spread to your whole house.

And this can cause serious health issues to your family members with nose and throat pain and eye burn.

Many times, these strong fumes produced by the Liquid Plumr can even reach the lungs of people while breathing and cause lung problems. Drano fumes also will damage to lungs.

Besides, if you have children in your house, it can be an absolutely lethal move for your children as the skin of the children is very softer and more sensitive than the adults.

Hence, you don’t want to risk your family’s health to remove a clog. Do you? So, make your decision wisely.

Final Words

I hope I was able to clearly make you understand the effectiveness of using a Liquid Plumr for too long along with the risks of doing so.

Now it’s up to you if you want to focus on the good side or the bad side of the coin. Or just get a little smarter and try out any better and natural alternative instead.

James Miller

James is an organic fertilizer professional who owns a successful organic fertilizer company in new jersey. He is an expert in waste management in both houses and community cases. In his free time, he loves to write about his experiences in the field.