Does sodium hydroxide break down over time?



Hey all,

I spilled some sodium hydroxide(lye) in my house on the floor, and
have cleaned it up. I'm concerned some of it may remain and I realize
it is an extremely toxic chemical, so I am wondering if sodium
hydroxide breaks down over time into less harmful chemicals(which
ones)? Is there a way to speed up this break down? And the same goes
for sodium hypochlorite(bleach). Does this break down and how can I
make sure it breaks down faster and into safer chemicals? I have pets
who walk these floors and I don't want the Liquid Plummer that spilled
to go on their paws. Some of it ended up on the carpet. I had a
slight bathroom explosion yesterday after adding Liquid Plummer to a
clogged drain, and I ended up breathing in a lot of sodium hydroxide
and sodium hypochlorite, but I'm ok now, getting plenty of fresh air.
Thank you for any help.
.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Does sodium hydroxide break down over time?
    ... I spilled some sodium hydroxidein my house on the floor, ... it is an extremely toxic chemical, so I am wondering if sodium ... Sodium hydroxide is not highly toxic unless you consider boiling water ... uy guess is that is what soap does. ...
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  • Re: Does sodium hydroxide break down over time?
    ... I spilled some sodium hydroxidein my house on the floor, ... it is an extremely toxic chemical, so I am wondering if sodium ... It is the high alkalinity of NaOH that makes it corrosive. ... That is what makes it feel slippery like soap. ...
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