On 30/10/19 08:07, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message ,
writes
On Wednesday, 30 October 2019 02:44:07 UTC, Jake wrote:
I poured caustic soda down my shower hole and it has harderned any leads ?
Im panicking

water dissolves it. Vinegar dissolves it faster, but beware of splash
from caustic, a chemical that can blind you.

Some brands of caustic soda 'harden'. With others, there's a rapid,
heat-producing reaction with the water, and dissolve totally without a
trace. Why is this? Have the former been 'cut' - ie something has added
to bulk it out (such as washing soda)?

It's probably due to the amount of water added and the complex hydrates
sodium hydroxide forms with water, particularly the eutectic mixtures of
varying solubility:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide#Hydrates

"A hot water solution containing 73.1% (mass) of NaOH is an eutectic
that solidifies at about 62.63 °C as an intimate mix of anhydrous and
monohydrate crystals."

--

Jeff