16 December 2011

SCIENCE / all wound up

Yesterday morning, I had a brush with the dangerous side of science.  While I tell you the story, I am going to show you my latest handspun.


If you would like to complete your own very scary science experiment, try the following steps (by which I really mean, "DON'T DO THIS; IT'S A VERY BAD IDEA."):

1. clean your tub with Comet or another chlorine-based cleanser

2. shower and decide the tub is just not draining fast enough

3. dump half a bottle of some hydrochloric acid-based drain opener down the drain and leave for 15 minutes


 What do you get? NOXIOUS FUMES. They smelled like farts or rotten eggs or sulfur. It was the worst thing ever. Oh man, when they tell you not to mix certain chemicals, you really shouldn't do it. I called the drain opener company to ask if I had just succeeded in corroding my plumbing, and they said, "No, you just caused a chemical reaction that makes dangerous fumes. Ventilate the area, dump some baking soda down the drain and rinse well, and, if you start to experience any discomfort, call us back so we can connect you to poison control."


The baking soda did, in fact, make the smell go away, and I have not experienced any discomfort. Phew. But the moral of this story is that you really should read the directions on cleaning product labels before you just go using them all willy-nilly. You are smart, though, and you probably already knew that.



The fiber is Girls Like Boys Like Fiber in colorway Night Must Fall, handspun on my drop spindle and finally washed, set, and wound yesterday.


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