Caustic soda

cleverish2001

looking for some advice 🙈 I stupidly used caustic soda by accident today an poured it on the dogs chair to clean it thinking it was bicarbonate soda I’ve not had the dog in the living room since I done it this afternoon as just found out about 10 mins later I had it on my hands 

I’ve opened my windows in the living room an closed the door how long is it till it’s safe to go back in Yeah I’ve scrubbed my hands with cold water then had a shower too it’s just the dogs chair I’m worried about I tried to wipe the cushion down with a damp cloth I had already took the covers off it before I done it do you think if I left her chair a few days before recovering it with the covers it will be ok 

I tried googling that stuff but no getting anywhere to be honest 

Brie

Think you need to take any covers off and wash them if possible.  A wipe with a damp cloth seems inadequate.

Some info here on page 5....Caustic_soda_Dow.pdf (griswoldandwagner.com)

edited - Ah - you'd taken the covers off first.....can you hose the cushions, outdoors on the line perhaps.  There's something mentioned about rinsing with a mild acetic acid solution (aka diluted vinegar).  The danger with that is it will smell a bit like a chip shop.  Bicarb might help resolve that though.  

GDB2222

cleverish2001 said:

looking for some advice 🙈 I stupidly used caustic soda by accident today an poured it on the dogs chair to clean it thinking it was bicarbonate soda I’ve not had the dog in the living room since I done it this afternoon as just found out about 10 mins later I had it on my hands 

I’ve opened my windows in the living room an closed the door how long is it till it’s safe to go back in Yeah I’ve scrubbed my hands with cold water then had a shower too it’s just the dogs chair I’m worried about I tried to wipe the cushion down with a damp cloth I had already took the covers off it before I done it do you think if I left her chair a few days before recovering it with the covers it will be ok 

I tried googling that stuff but no getting anywhere to be honest 

Stop panicking.

Was this caustic soda in liquid form, or the white powder?  Roughly how much did you put on the chair?  A whole bottle, or a couple of spoonfuls? 

You say you have wiped it off the chair, so there's just a film left perhaps?   

How bad does it smell in the living room? If it's not too bad, I'd put gloves on, grab the chair, and leave it somewhere outside for the rain to rinse it off some more. If you can, throw some water over it. Then have a look in the morning how bad it is. A plastic chair might be a bit smelly, but it should clean up okay. 

cleverish2001

So it was the powder form an about quarter of the bottle 
would I be ok at putting the shower hose on it in the bathroom? It’s only material at the bottom the rest is leather 
Only god send was I removed the cousin covers before I done it 

GDB2222

Yes, probably okay to just rinse it with the shower. 

How bad is the smell? The advantage of leaving it outside is that the smell is outside, too!

cleverish2001

There isn’t too much of a smell I’m thinking I could hose it an leave it in my bathroom with the window open?

GDB2222

if it is not too bad, maybe you should just wash it with a damp cloth? Water may get into the filling of the cushions?

cleverish2001

Yeah I will wash it with a cloth won’t take so long to dry them too 
thank you so much for the advice 

theoretica

Caustic soda is not going to remove itself with time or airing, you need to remove it until it isn't alkali. But probably you don't have any pH test strips.  Wash with lots and lots of water, not just a wipe.

QrizB

theoretica said:

Wash with lots and lots of water, not just a wipe.

My chemistry O-level agrees with this.

Caustic soda is solid sodium hydroxide. It reacts with fats to turn them into soap. Great if you've got a blocked drain, not good if you get it on your skin (it turns your skin to soap), far worse if you get it in your eyes or mouth.

It dissolves in water so give everything a thorough dousing and make sure the runoff goes down the drain. Don't let it drip around the house.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide#Safety for more details.

GrubbyGirl_2

Unless you can be 100% sure you've removed the lot I certainly wouldn't let the dog anywhere near it