ESSENTIAL DEPOT Pure Lye Drain Cleaner/Opener, 2 lbs. Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Micro Beads

I bought this for soap-making and it was shipped quickly and worked great. The pellets are small which makes it easy to pour and weigh. What I really like about this brand is that it is so well packaged. I have purchased lye in the past that was not securely packaged and it ended up making a mess in my mailbox. If you are familiar with lye, I don’t have to tell you what a big problem that is. This brand fully seals the plastic container in a thick plastic bag that is not just glued or “zipped” at the top, but is actually….like… pressed closed with heat so the plastic is melted to itself? I don’t know what that process is called so let’s just say it was SECURE and nothing was going to be escaping even if the plastic container had been compromised. (which it wasn’t. Just saying. If it HAD been). Anyway with just about any other product I would consider it over-packaging but I think we can all agree that for lye, better safe than sorry. So to summarize… I didn’t have to call a hazmat team, it was easy to weigh, and it made nice soap. Full marks.

I bought a smaller bottle of this food grade lye a few years ago. It did the job quite nicely! So I decided to buy the 2 pound bottle this time since my bath tub drain was draining very slow again. Well, I used a small amount with some hot water and it did not really do anything at first. I added some more with hot water and still nothing. I used a plunger and some tub water again to try to break up the clog, but nothing happened. So I said I will use just a little more and see what happens. So I did this and still the water did not drain out if the tub. Even after I was plunging and plunging. I thought at that point I was going to have to call a plumber because I could not get the lye to clear the pipe of the clog. So I decided to wait a while and see what happens. Three hours later I came back in the bathroom and the small amount of water was still not draining out of the tub. I tried plunging again. I decided that maybe my plunger was not strong enough. The one I was using was kind of a cheap version anyway. I had a better plunger actually I that bathroom at the time. So I decided to try it. This was my last attempt and I was really worried I would have to call a plumber and pay alot to have him come out and snake the drain to get it open again. After covering the head of the better plunger with tub water, I plunged again and after a few good plunges, sure enough the drain opened up and the water went down the drain as quick as you please! Wide open again! The clog was gone and the lye did the job! But boy, was I worried that I had spent alot of money on lye that was not going to work! My advice to everyone trying to clear out a bathtub drain: add the lye and hot water, maybe two small doses total, and then wait awhile for it to work. In most cases it does not happen right away! And always use a good quality strong plunger to plung the drain after you have waited for the lye to do its job! It should work just fine after a few good plunges and clear the drain completely of the clog! Yipee! All clear! I would recommend this food grade lye to clear your bathtub drain. It worked fine! Two pounds of the lye on hand is better then just one pound to remove future drain clogs! Thank you!

(Update:) Better value than any plumber or drain cleaner out there. We live in a home built around 1900. When we first moved here, the previous tenant left it with some clogged drains. I opened the shower drain and pulled a large hair clog that was not from my household. I have bright pink hair and my husband is bald.Best thing an old plumber ever told me: The 4 P's of Plumbing: Pee, Poo, Puke & Paper are the only things that should ever go down your pipes. If it's anything else then do your very best to strain it out and put it into your trash (sort it if your waste company does). That includes food if you have a disposal especially because grease is the worst mixing in with hair. Teach kiddos early about toilets. Working with special needs twins I know it's impossible nearly. Toys and stuff can be the #1 culprit and I watched my bil on father's day dealing with a massive s### show. Wet wipes, thick towels and personal products you can't dissolve in a glass of water don't dissolve in plumbing either. Don't flush them just because it's awkward. If you're like me (TMI warning) and have a type of IBS flush early, haha, it's ok to be weird and save yours/a friend's pipes. Plumbing calls are expensive and having plumbing trenched is an experience (been there) you really don't want, trust me!First thing I did moving in here was use a bit of drain cleaner we had leftover. No luck. Green Gobbler I ordered in a hurry also did not work - huge waste of money. I purchased this product which I have before to use in our last home. Following the directions for lye from a plumber and the label on the product, I put the recommended amount down each of our drains and waited (safety on of course). It took two treatments and on the second the shower made an audible gurgle burp. Big ugly bubbles coming from the deep. Unfortunately the pipes were still running slow.Calling the city out is free here for them to service their lines which we did. Tip from my parents and best ever! They came out and ran their side that November which solved our issue temporarily since they kindly ran up our side too. The gentleman told us that we had old clay pipes and all of our side was shifted and rooted up bad. The city serviceman ended up pulling stuff from the main line out which came from a neighbor's servicing just before that had pushed through and gotten caught up.We still have over half of a bottle! Two thumbs up and we usually put a treatment down our pipes every other month or so (two person home). Our pipes have stayed completely clear.

They are well packaged and work good for making homemade soap.

It works great and fast. Don’t do it unless you know what you’re doing. Use COLD water. I read reviews where people are using super hot water and trying to clear drains and surprised when their glassware blows up. Darwinism in action.