Abandoned Plastic Bottles May Be 'Drano Bombs'? | Snopes.com

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Here at Snopes, we are all too familiar with baseless, fearmongering posts on Facebook. Sometimes, however, these rumors actually have merit.

Back in 2010, we investigated a claim that homemade bombs – made out of popular drain clog remover Drano and aluminum inside a plastic bottle – presented a real danger to the public. More recently, social media posts warning about the phenomenon were once again circulating on Facebook and in our mailbox in mid-September, 2024. One particularly popular copypasta read as follows:

Kids are putting Drano, tin foil, and a little water in plastic drink bottles and capping it up - leaving it on lawns, in mail boxes, in gardens, on driveways etc. just waiting for you to pick it up intending to put it in the rubbish, but you'll never make it!!! If the bottle is picked up, and the bottle is shaken even just a little - in about 30 seconds or less it builds up enough gas which then explodes with enough force to remove some your extremities. The liquid that comes out is boiling hot as well. Don't pick up any plastic bottles that may be lying in your yards or in the gutter, etc. Pay attention to this. A plastic bottle with a cap. A little Drano. A little water.

A small piece of foil. Disturb it by moving it; and BOOM!! No fingers left and other serious effects to your face, eyes, etc. Please ensure that everyone that may not have email access are also informed of this. Share this with everyone you know

The warning was indeed true; dozens of official police notices and news clippings over the years have reported on these homemade bombs posing a real danger to anyone who accidentally comes into contact with them. "Drano bombs," as they are commonly known, have the power to sever fingers, cause second and third degree chemical burns, and induce blindness.

Since at least 2010, local police stations have encountered Drano bombs in people's front lawns, on playgrounds, and on sidewalks. In 2012, a safety alert went out to all 76 police precincts across all five of New York City's boroughs. "These devices, sometimes called 'Drano bombs' or 'bottle bombs,' are exploded by mixing readily available household products in plastic containers," it read.

Drano bombs have seriously injured many people as a result. For example, in 2017, one such device severely burned a 12-year-old girl in Harlem, New York, when she kicked the object on a playground, thinking it was only a bottle of soda. "My main issue is to get the word out so, being aware of this new chemical bomb these children are creating copying off YouTube," her mother said.

In 2018, we posted the following video on X, further illustrating how extensive this public safety issue was.

Fact Check: Are people leaving Drano bottle bombs in unsuspecting residents' yards?Full Report: https://t.co/6KV4TCqPq2 pic.twitter.com/o9lcODCj6k

— snopes.com (@snopes) June 17, 2018

Most recently, a series of explosions in Ohio in August 2024 appeared to have been caused by Drano bombs, according to the Streetsboro Police Department, however the official results from the lab had not been reported as of this writing.

"It looks like a Drano bomb, but we are not bomb experts, so the lab actually has to tell us what it was made out of," police chief Tricia Wain said. "The closest thing we can describe it as is a Drano bomb, which unfortunately is pretty easy to build."

On one online forum, a responder to a question regarding the potential danger of Drano bombs explained that sodium hydroxide – the active ingredient in Drano, commonly known as "lye" – reacts with aluminum to produce hydrogen gas.

(stackexchange.com)

In sum, Drano bombs have been extensively documented, are very real, and are very dangerous. As we reported in 2010, police recommend:

1) If you find a soda bottle or any other bottles, examine it carefully before you touch it or get near it. If it shows signs of swelling, or melting in any way, DO NOT TOUCH IT! Call 911 and let us respond to take care of it.

2) If you find a soda bottle that has any liquid in it, DO NOT TOUCH IT! Call 911 and let us respond to check it / dispose of it.