Dissolving Hair

[Hemisaurus]

What can dissolve hair from your casters (small wheels, not Strats) without harming the plastic, rubber and metal parts?

I've tried HCl (muriatic) acid that I used to etch the jam room floor before painting, but all it did was remove the brass coating on the metal parts.

This is an awkward caster as it's riveted together, and I don't want to have to drill it out to get at the hair, and it's press fit, so it's not as easy to just replace as one that screws to the outside of the cab. Couldn't find one with the same size fitting at the hardware store either, maybe try another store if I can't melt the hair.

[zachoff]

Maybe liquid plumber?  I know that stuff melts hair but I don't know if it's harmful to the metal or plastic parts.

[justinhedrick]

Maybe liquid plumber?  I know that stuff melts hair but I don't know if it's harmful to the metal or plastic parts.

you could try this. i would also recommend trying to cut it out. that's what always has seemed to work best for me.

also. GET A HAIRCUT!!!! damn kids.

[Lanticus]

Maybe liquid plumber?  I know that stuff melts hair but I don't know if it's harmful to the metal or plastic parts.

that's what I was thinking, too.  It's safe for plumbing, so that's copper and PVC.

[RacerX]

Yeah, drain cleaner sounds like the answer. Dissolves clogs, doesn't hurt pipes.

For a cheapskate Scot such as yourself, I'm sure the generic stuff'll work just as well as Liquid Plum'r^R.

[Lanticus]

cheap?  How about fire?  the hair should burn up before it can mess up anything else.  Stink of course, but maybe easier than messing with the liquid plumber. 

[apekillman]

Nair?

[Metal and Beer]

Fire. Pencil torch even, heavens to murgatroy

[Chovie D]

Have your mother in law scream into the caster. all the hair will fall right out.

[fallen]

Nair?

Winner.

[yesca]

fire!

[BrianDamage]

fire!

Calm down Beavis.

[Hemisaurus]

Yeah I think fire would melt the caster first. I think I got my liquid plumr and regular toilet cleaner confused. Regular bowl cleaner is muriatic acid, hence me using the super strength stuff, must have used the last of my liquid plumr, I been snaking the drains out recently, rather than using chemicals.

[Metal and Beer]

Hair would combust much, much sooner than the caster material, unless you were trying to smoke the wheel   

[jibberish]

i think some sodium hydroxide based drain cleaner would be worth a shot.  very caustic, but not big on dissoving things beyond large molecules like organics.  std fryer boil out ingredient too. it wastes all the grease and remnants and is itself non-toxic, just very chemically active.

you have to watch it with solvents around plastics and acids around metals. i believe muriatic acid is a combo of several acids and is meant to dissolve minerals(cement).

[Hemisaurus]

I'm with you on the drain cleaner, but afaik muriactic is just HCl. I learned this doing the concrete etching, the same stuff they often put in bowl cleaners, uk chemistry didn't give us the olde new-world names for things, we just called it hydrochloric.

[jibberish]

ahh ok... wonder what i was thinking of.  i know i wasnt thinking of aqua regia.