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Author Topic: If you like soft drinks, you might not like to see this... Carl James Valentine Film Handler Posts: 8 From: Shawnee, OK 74804 Registered: Dec 2003 posted 10-24-2004 10:48 PM                     Tonight, my projectionist helped the concessionist with the soft drink drain because it was slow draining. After pulling out the pipe that the drain empties into, he pulled out this... No, its not fat of a piece of steak, or any other thing. All I can figure is that it's Soft Drink residue... pretty sick  |  IP: Logged Rachel Craven Madam Moderator Posts: 2190 From: Pensacola, FL Registered: Dec 2000 posted 10-24-2004 11:02 PM                     When was the last time your soda machines were serviced? The heavy content of sugar in soda as well as the carbonation is known to corrode items, I've seen similar. I still drink my coke.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 10-24-2004 11:07 PM                        It's carbonated sugar and mineral snot. A small one at that! It doesn't take long to build one up, depending on your water. Most people don't notice they're even there unless they've got drain problems.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-24-2004 11:20 PM                     Not exactly. It's a slimy coating of bacteria and mold that grows on the inside of the drain pipe. It ain't nothin', though! When I was a kid, my parents used to own a bar. The "slop tray" under the beer taps had a similar kind of drain but it didn't go down the normal drain. (You'll understand why in a minute.) The drain went to a sump in the basement. The sump pump had a heavy metal screen around the intake. All the beer and slop water drained into the sump before it was pumped out to the sewer. The yeast and sugar from the beer would start to grow into a slimy film inside the pipes. It would form a layer about 1/16 inch thick on the inside of the 1-1/2 inch dia. PVC pipe. When the layer got any thicker than 1/16 inch it would start to get too heavy to cling to the walls of the plastic pipes. Gravity would start to pull it down. New slime would grow in its place. The process would repeat until a 20 - 30 foot long "slime snake" would creep its way down the pipe and end up coiled in the bottom of the sump. It was a whitish yellow color and smelled like stale beer! If the drains went directly to the sewer they would quickly clog up the main drain line with this slimy, yeasty mess. The screen on the intake kept the slime snake from getting into the pump and gumming up the works. After 2 - 3 months of building up, the slime snake would fill the bottom of the sump and clog the intake screen. Somebody would have to go down to the basement and clean out the sump with a shovel. Guess who got that job!? We finally got sick of the clogged sump and plumbing so we decided to try to nip the problem in the bud. Every night, at closing, we would pour hot water and clorine bleach down the drains to kill whatever was growing down there. It didn't stop the problem all together but it certainly slowed it down enough to where the slime growth wasn't such a problem. I suggest you do a similar thing every night at closing. Even if you don't stop the problem completely you should at least keep it down to a manageable level.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 10-24-2004 11:24 PM                        Most Pepsi reps will recommend warm water and bleach to manage it, too. I've yet to find a Coke rep that will recommend it, except for one who said they heard about it from a Pepsi rep.  |  IP: Logged Brandon Willis Expert Film Handler Posts: 216 From: Richmond, VA, USA Registered: Apr 2004 posted 10-25-2004 12:21 AM                     I've pulled similar residue out of the drain hoses coming out of my ice bins. One of the drains will back up and all the melted ice will stand in the ice bin. It happens maybe once a month. I pull the hoses out and clean them as much as possible. I recommend creating some type of tool for cleaning out the hoses. I created one out of an unfolded coathanger.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 10-25-2004 12:39 AM                        Blasting the stuff out by jaming the end of a hose in the tube is more fun (and faster), if you can remove the tube, and a hose will fit in it. A hose fitting will fit into a tube used on a standard sized drain of an ice box.  |  IP: Logged David Yauch Expert Film Handler Posts: 206 From: Mesa, AZ, USA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 10-25-2004 04:10 AM                     The biggest slime snake I have ever seen was pulled out a drain for an ice bin. I was trying to unclog the drain so the water would drain from the bin and noticed a slimy gel coming out of the end of the pipe. I put it in a cup but couldn't get anyone to eat it. An air compressor works well for getting all sorts of drain clogs out.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 10-25-2004 11:59 AM                        Agggh, a slime snake.. I'd recommend warm water nightly to help keep down this occurence. I dont' know that you'll ever eliminate it completely. If you have black felx hose under your ice bin (past the elbow at the bottom of the bin) you can always bend down on your knees, reach up under and 'massage' the hose from the elbow to the drain to help 'coax' out any of the nasty buildup. At the same time, I'd pull the drain tube off the elbow and take it to the mop sink and flush well with hot water. I periodically use an enzyme based digester to combat this problem. This works well and it also smells decent.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 10-25-2004 12:02 PM                        I think it's a Canadian Condom.  |  IP: Logged Shane Hoffmann Film Handler Posts: 68 From: Fond du Lac, WI, USA Registered: Feb 2003 posted 10-25-2004 06:23 PM                     quote: Daryl C. W. O'Shea I've yet to find a Coke rep that will recommend it, except for one who said they heard about it from a Pepsi rep. Our Coke rep told us to do this about a year and a half ago. I think I'm the only one that still does it at our theater.  |  IP: Logged Barry Martin Expert Film Handler Posts: 203 From: Newington, CT USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 10-25-2004 10:45 PM                        We had a plugged drain a couple times and I called Pepsi asking if they had ever seen this before or could recommend a chemical/process to keep it from happening. Having an agreement not to "mess" with the machinery and always call a tech I didn't want to go pouring something into the tray of the machine that might harm it and have them bill us. They had no idea what it was or why it was happening. Having never seen this happen at the 20 plex I worked at with 6 soda stations, I thought it might be something from our water supply, and just started pouring really hot water down the drain every night and haven't had a problem since. If it happens again, will see about the bleach too.  |  IP: Logged Greg Davis Film Handler Posts: 96 From: Vista, Ca, USA Registered: Sep 2004 posted 10-26-2004 07:01 PM                     Sweet! Cokejerky! Will you sell it to me? It preserves well in long hiking trips.  |  IP: Logged Steve Scott Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1300 From: Minneapolis, MN Registered: Sep 2000 posted 10-26-2004 07:12 PM                     Today's sugar/mineral sludge pulled out of some thin plastic line is tomorrow's hot fashion item. It's science... /feeling like Ron Burgundy today  |  IP: Logged

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