Cleaning PVC for Dummies

PVC pipe in various sizes

While a few of our DotD nominee's posts were written by people who are supposed to know what they're doing, the vast majority are the output of freelancers who were well and truly lost in terra incognita. We like finding those, at least in part because some of the rubbish they published is downright hilarious. Never mind the egregious math errors or the instructions to use tools no one has ever heard of, though, because sometimes the writer just didn't understand the question. We suspect that Melly Parker should have thought a while longer before she tackled "How to Clean the Inside of a PVC Pipe" for HomeSteady.com.

Parker conflated two different uses for PVC in her answer: she assumed that the OQ was installing PVC plumbing lines, but went to a site for people building PVC furniture to get an answer. Her biggest problem, however, seems to have been unfamiliarity with the stuff. Check this from her introductory paragraph:

"PVC pipes are flexible and strong. They can be formed to be waterproof, holding both hot and cold water with ease. Some people even make musical instruments out of PVC pipe. Before you connect a PVC pipe to anything, you should be sure that the inside of the pipe is clean and sterilized, especially if it's going to be used in a place that could be warm and damp. You want to avoid having any mold or other substance growing in the pipe when it has been set."

"Flexible"? Mostly no, and those that are flexible are small-diameter. "Sterilized"? That seems unlikely, and we're pretty sure that plumbers don't sterilize PVC before installing it. In all honesty, we suspect the OQ needed to clean gunk out of a run of PVC or a PVC trap, and wanted to know whether it's safe to use drain cleaners.

But Melly had different ideas: according to her, you use a bottle brush and some "powdered cleaner." She had no suggestions for that cleaner: scouring powder? powdered soap? What? Even more damning is Parker's suggestion that you use the bottle bush on your PVC. That would need to be a lo-o-o-o-ong brush handle for a 10-foot length of pipe.

It's a good thing plumbers don't perform this step, since roughing up the interior wall of water supply pipes could lead to increased growth of algae or bacteria. The photo Parker chose to illustrate her article, for what little that's worth, is of schedule 80 pipe; rarely (if ever) used by DIYers. More important, though, is that Melly's only references for cleaning PVC are from blogs about crafts (furniture and a PVC flute). Both of those are entirely focused on cleaning the exterior for those projects. When it comes to cleaning the inside, though, they have nothing to say. Oh, and OQ? according to several sites, PVC plumbing can be cleaned safely with bleach or vinegar; and more stubborn grime or clogs can be cleaned with drain cleaners or muriatic acid. You might need a snake... but don't listen to our Dumbass of the Day, OK?

copyright © 2018-2023 scmrak

DDIY - PLUMBING