Rice breeding breakthrough could feed billions.

I'm more interested in the sea grass that grows rice grains. The potential for that is incredible.

There's a restaurant that specializes in it. Until sea urchins seriously nailed their sea grass. The restaurant now also serves sea urchins...

Congrats on out-nerding me Wink

But.. I don't have the slightest nerdy tendencies in any way...

Rice breeding breakthrough could feed billions.

Japanese news stories about this were heavily pixelated.

Bodolza wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 16:25:

Bent wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 14:46:
Thrift is a base (like lye) which won't corrode your pipes but is very effective at dissolving gunk.

FYI, Thrift isn't "like lye". It's literally lye. If you look at the bottle (I've got one sitting in front of me) it says "CONTENTS SODIUM HYDROXIDE" (aka lye)

And that's no lie.

So I'm not the only one known to use a plunger on the sink or tub! Whew! 😅

Congrats on out-nerding me

Bodolza wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 16:25:

Bent wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 14:46:
Thrift is a base (like lye) which won't corrode your pipes but is very effective at dissolving gunk.

FYI, Thrift isn't "like lye". It's literally lye. If you look at the bottle (I've got one sitting in front of me) it says "CONTENTS SODIUM HYDROXIDE" (aka lye)

Actually, Thrift also contains an extra safety measure. It is encased inside another material in these solid flakes which must be dissolved in slightly hot water before letting the sodium hydroxide out.

Also, lye doesn't always refer to sodium hydroxide. These days that's the most common form but it frequently used to refer to potassium hydroxide.

rjdriver wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 13:40:
I have found a substance called Green Gobbler works wonders on horrific sludge. Where the more caustic stuff repeatedly failed to unclog, this one did the trick, especially for clogs that a snake has trouble reaching. Available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. or Amazon.

But which one. They make a Liquid Drain Clog Dissolver (active ingredient; Caustic Replacement CAS-No.: Trade secret) which may be corrosive to metals, causes serious eye damage, causes skin irritation https://greengobbler.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/2037
And an enzyme based drain cleaner https://greengobbler.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/1861
I guess it's good they put Green in its name?

Bent wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 14:46:
Thrift is a base (like lye) which won't corrode your pipes but is very effective at dissolving gunk.

FYI, Thrift isn't "like lye". It's literally lye. If you look at the bottle (I've got one sitting in front of me) it says "CONTENTS SODIUM HYDROXIDE" (aka lye)

Yeah, snaking should be the first resort.

If that doesn't work, all sink drains should have an un-screwable U shaped section underneath that tends to be where the gunk collects.

However, if the pipes are made of old corroded metal, they can be very dangerous because they can break into razor sharp edges while you twist them. You also may not be able to get very corroded pipes back together without leaking.

Thrift is a base (like lye) which won't corrode your pipes but is very effective at dissolving gunk. Acids like Draino can slowly dissolve metal pipes. Thift is cheap and heat activated. You need to pour slightly hot water in the drain onto the Thrift flakes to dissolve them.

Some people use Thrift periodically every few months as a preventative.

Plastic pipes are cheap and so much better for a variety of reasons. Thrift is safe to use on plastic pipes.

Anyway, don't mix acids and bases because they can release toxic gases and also spray out the corrosives when the gases quickly form.

This comment was edited on Jan 17, 2023, 14:57.

But dealing with grossness is one of my roles in the household

Preach, brother, Preach!

My wife has luxurious long curly hair...and I've had long hair here and there over the decades....so regular drain maintenance is a scheduled thing at the Chrome household.. As has been stated earlier, try to avoid chemicals at all costs. A bent clotheshanger works fine in a pinch or get an actual snake from Lowes. Usually takes less than 15 mins once you get the process and twists down.

I have found a substance called Green Gobbler works wonders on horrific sludge. Where the more caustic stuff repeatedly failed to unclog, this one did the trick, especially for clogs that a snake has trouble reaching. Available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. or Amazon.

Snakes don't work for me, since whoever designed my bathroom made it just about impossible to get it to travel the right direction behind the wall. As long as water is still flowing some, I've found lye to work pretty well. It won't damage pipes as long as it doesn't sit for hours, and I don't have a septic tank to worry about.

Also, I can't help but see China's slowing population rates as nothing but a good thing. This concept that we must continue to multiply just so we can keep our growth-based economies running is insane.

The Flying Penguin wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 11:57:
Snipped for brevity, but good advice.

What I typically do is once a year take off the plumbing from the wall up to the bottom of the basin. I have a half-round brush that attaches to flexible shafts that then go in to my cordless drill. I run it through the pipe after dipping the brush head in hot water completely. Then with the drill on high and torque set to "I want you to drive a screw through granite", I run it back and forth through the pipe repeatedly until it is clean. Most plumbing under sinks are connected with ear flanges so they're easy to take apart by hand. This lets me know I have as clean an inner diameter as possible.

All of my basins have cross bracing where the plungers screw in to as they are of the tap to pop up and down kind. I'll run the brush head up from the bottom to those cross braces and then use a bottle brush from the top down once the plunger is removed. The plunger itself can be scrubbed with a bit of Simple Green and a fingernail brush. Then I just put it all back together. Never had a clogged or slow drain since I started doing that. I'll even do it in the kitchen, too, since you'll get food debris build up from simply doing dishes.

If you're on a septic system, never, ever use Dawn. It's a great way to get a thick "blanket" of off-white grease floating on top of your tank and those tablets/pouches you're supposed to flush down every month often end up with the granules just hitting that blanket and never making it to the bottom where they are supposed to go. Mrs. Meyers and Seventh Generation make products that are safe for septic systems but are all natural that don't create that "blanket".

So Blue, is the vinegar-baking soda mix work for you? I've had mixed to poor results with both chemicals and snakes. I've recently heard a tip to run a liter of boiling water mixed with a tablespoon of dish soap down the drain once a month to keep fat deposits from forming. I suppose that only applies to the kitchen sink though.

The Flying Penguin wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 12:02:

Burrito of Peace wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 11:36:
Note to Blue:
If drain gunk nauseates you that much, never, ever pull and replace a toilet.

I forget comedian who said it, but it was 'If you can make a plumber gag, you've really accomplished something.'

My plumber says the drain at the local butcher is the one thing that will make him retch.

This comment was edited on Jan 17, 2023, 17:08.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 11:36:
Note to Blue:

If drain gunk nauseates you that much, never, ever pull and replace a toilet.

I forget comedian who said it, but it was 'If you can make a plumber gag, you've really accomplished something.'

I wonder if 30% Vinegar would be useful for drain gunk. (do not get this stuff on your skin, do not splash in your eyes, do not inhale - https://pfharris.com/products/harris-30-vinegar-128-fl-oz )
The top load washing machine where i house sit smelled like it was used to wash road kill. I tried a hot bleach water load and that dampened the stench but did not wipe it out.
The home owner hired a house cleaner and she used 30% Vinegar in it.
It did the job, the machine is no longer smelly.

For catching hair before it clogs shower/tub drains my ex swears by these https://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Bathtub-Stopper-Protectors-Cleaning/dp/B091YT7HKL/
,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,.
Renner is lucky to be alive.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Jan 17, 2023, 11:36:
Note to Blue:

If drain gunk nauseates you that much, never, ever pull and replace a toilet.

Everyone, please PLEASE never resort to chemicals to fix a sink clog. Chemicals damage pipes, and kill off good bacteria in your septic tank, if you have one, and bad for the environment and dangerous to you. They also usually don't work, because it's an acid, and it often just melts the bacterial mat and hair into a big nasty blog of sticky goo.

99% of clogs are due to a bacterial mat (black sludge) that grows in the drain. Hair that falls in the drain (even just short hairs from shaving) gets tangled in it and turns it into sticky mess. This is more of a problem for those of us on well water because city water has chlorine in it which helps reduce the amount of bacteria growth (it still grows, just slower).

If you let it build up, it gets trapped in the elbow, and you may need to remove it from the elbow drain (if you have one) or just remove the whole elbow (they are designed to be easily removed, often by hand if the nuts are plastic). If you put some draino down there, it doesn't fix it. You maybe open up a bit of space, but the glob is still there, or worse, you push the blob farther down the line and now you need a plumber.

The secret is to never let it get that bad. To keep it from getting that bad in the first place, all you need is a simple, cheap plastic sink snake like this: https://www.amazon.com/Remover-Upgrated-Unbreakable-Cleaner-Cleaning/dp/B089R694YM

You can find them at any hardware store. I keep one under every sink in the house. You don't even need to remove the sink stopper. Just snake it past the stopper on all four sides, going as far in as you can, and pull it out, while running hot water. Yes it will snag - that's the point, it grabs all that tangled goo/hair and pulls it out. It's nasty and usually stinks. If it feels stuck, pull harder. The teeth are plastic and it will give if hung up on the stopper or the stopper lever. Rinse and repeat.

Example video here: https://youtu.be/0e1oOWucYrk
He took the stopper out because he had to. That was a massive clog. If you just run it down the sink regularly before it gets that bad, you can avoid removing the stopper.

This comment was edited on Jan 17, 2023, 12:14.

Note to Blue:

If drain gunk nauseates you that much, never, ever pull and replace a toilet.