Hydrolysis of starch by means of amylase to unclog bathtub drain

Question

After my son decided to pour a substantial amount of uncooked rice down the bathtub drain, I find myself in the situation of removing it.

After trying some common methods - to no avail - I thought I could resort to chemistry. Specifically, I thought about dissolving (hydrolysis) the main component of rice (starch) by means of amylase (possibly bought in a shop, not salivating over the drain).

Would this be a good solution to unclog the drain? Under what conditions should I operate to achieve the result hoped? Would there be a better solution?

As you might guess, I'm not a chemist.

Answer 1

The problem you'd face using any chemical to dissolve the rice is that rice forms a thick gelatinous surface coating as it dissolves, so that it would take an extremely long time for the amylase to penetrate... perhaps months or years. You'd be better off using some of the standard mechanical drain-cleaning techniques:

• Disassembly of the sink trap (and drain, if needed) and cleaning or replacing it
• Drain auger
• Drain snake
• Water-pressure drain cleaner

Note that augers and snakes can scratch sinks or toilet bowls, and that water-pressure cleaners can cause pipes to come apart.

N.B. If you've already poured a potentially dangerous cleaner into the drain, remove it safely before trying anything else!