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Just had the first weekend in a while where my feet haven't been standing in inches of water at the completion of my shower. Have been getting vigorous with the wooden BBQ stick and repeated for good measure, seems to have done the trick. Not kidding myself that this is the end of the drama! Shower tray for the new bathroom will be chosen with care, practical over modern. Ongoing hair loss is a pita.
Why's that then?Adding powder to water brings the concentration up from zero, adding water to powder brings it down from (effectively) infinite, too high concentrations can be very bad. Very hot, lots of spitting and vapour production.
TBH, i've been doing it water to powder for years. But i've got the right quantities of powder and water premeasured and ready to go. So it's never been an issue. But i'm well aware it could be. Like it was when we used to muck around at school blowing stuff up.
Shower tray for the new bathroom will be chosen with care, practical over modern.
Just seen your comment – we got this shower tray – apparently the design of the waste is self-cleaning and minimises blockages. We have had it for about 14 years now, and the very occasional blockage (like once a year at the most) is easily removed (and my wife has lots of long curly hair).
Why's that then?
Pretty much what Mert said, the reaction is highly exothermic (it generates a lot of heat) so adding water to powder results in that water boiling, filling the room, your face, your lungs, eyes, etc with caustic fumes.
Adding powder to water means there's a bucket of water to absorb that heat. It still get's surprisingly warm which is why you shouldn't overdo the concentration as it will start steaming if you go too far.
There's also less chance of splashing. I'd disagree with Mert that you can add the water if it's pre-measured, you're then risking the solution splashing around, crystals/dust becoming airborne, or knocking buckets over. It's just inherently less risky to take half a bucket of cold water, half a cup of crystals and add the crystals to the bucket slowly whilst stirring gently so the crystals don't just form a boiling cake on the bottom of the bucket.
I'd disagree with Mert that you can add the water if it's pre-measured, you're then risking the solution splashing around, crystals/dust becoming airborne, or knocking buckets over.Oh, i know it's not clever, but i've been doing it that way, on and off, since i was living in a place with plumbing that could be blocked by a single pube... in hindsight, the place should probably have been condemned. (But according to google earth, it's still there and looks unchanged!)
Shower tray for the new bathroom will be chosen with care, practical over modern.
What you need for your new shower tray is a waste trap which is accessible from above. mine just pulls out from inside the shower cubicle and has a little cup that makes up the trap. you can take that out, empty the oomsk and clean the cup out. Doing so affords direct access to the downstream waste pipe without a u-bend in the way so a quarterly skoosh of a dose of your pre-emptive cleaner of choice straight down the waste pipe is easy then you replace the trap and the cleaner can dwell in the pipe as long as you like.
Well there you go, every day is a school day