drain opener for lye

[Sauboon]

I currently reside in Saudi Arabia. They sell drain opener. Can I use this? Is this lye or does it contain other ingredience? On the bottle it says contains caustic soda

 

[Vinca Leaf]

Caustic soda is sodium carbonate, which is different. I've not known lye (aka sodium hydroxide) to be called caustic soda.

It should be 100% sodium hydroxide to use in soap. The label should say so if it is. And yes, it's used as a drain opener.

 

[Guest]

Drain opener can have nasty ingredients that you should never use in soap. Best to purchase pure sodium hydroxide.

 

[Lindy]

I'm moving this over to the CP Soap Forum so more people can respond....

Lindy

 

[carebear]

The short answer is maybe. Lye is referred to as caustic soda in some areas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caustic_soda). Drain cleaner, though, can often contain other materials like aluminum chips so you will need to either see something like "100% (or 98-99%) sodium hydroxide (or caustic soda)" on the label and nothing else. If the label is not perfectly clear on the matter you will need to check with the manufacturer. Here in the US there is usually a phone number to call. Or you can request an MSDS.

 

[Sauboon]

Thanks alot you all are very helpful. I looked on wikapedia and it does say that caustic soda is sodium hydroxide. I have some drain opener and I heard that if it contains other than lye it will have grey or black flakes or chips in it. Does anyone know if this is true?