I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but I'm going to make one this year. I hereby resolve to never, ever, ever mention a drain-cleaning product of any kind in this column again!

In fact, I intend to avoid all comments pertaining to plumbing of any sort, regardless of how innocuous those comments may seem to me at any given moment.

Why? I'll tell you why.

Because I hate controversy, or rather I hate being in the middle of a controversy. To my way of thinking, life is just too short to waste time arguing the merits of one point of view over another. I feel no need to bring others around to my way of thinking and I am rarely brought ‘round to theirs.

I am an island of indifference in a sea of - to quote W.B. Yeats - "passionate intensity." About most things, I just don't care, folks. Not enough to quarrel, anyway.

What does this have to do with plumbing? Well, a lot, as it turns out.

Several weeks back I wrote about my experience with a clogged drain and the supernaturally strong drain cleaner I eventually used to clear it out.

It seems I'm not the only person in America with a clogged drain, as the mail literally poured in, most of it requests for the name of the aforementioned drain cleaner. Most readers had clogs of their own and just wanted to get rid of them once and for all. Many of the requests were humorous. A couple were a little scary. And one was flat-out illegal. (I checked with the DNR and it is against the law to dump large quantities of acid on tree stumps, even if you don't live near a lake.)

At any rate, I received so many requests that I went ahead and mentioned the name of the stuff in a subsequent column. That's when the trouble really started.

The drain cleaner, as I reported in the first column, is terrifically powerful, essentially a nearly 100 percent solution of sulfuric acid, and it's dangerous as all get-out. From an environmental point of view, it is a nightmare, or can be if used improperly.

The day after the column in which I mentioned the product's name ran, the plumbers began reporting in. The first letter - and by far the kindest - came from Phil Liszewski of Action Plumbing and Mechanical.

Mr. Liszewski pointed out that the product should be used, even by experienced plumbers, only as a last resort, after all else has failed.

"It's a bad idea to have everyone start throwing acid down the drain," Liszewski wrote. "You do realize where the drain water ends up, don't you? Right back in your tap."

To be honest, I hadn't considered this. Mr. Liszewski also noted that acid-based drain cleaners could damage septic systems, wreak havoc on the environment and even harm the very drains they are intended to clean. He suggested a safe, environmentally friendly alternative, a bacteria-based product called "Bioclean." Bioclean works more slowly, but in the long run does a better job, and with no risk to the user or the fishies.

I mention all this now in an effort to atone for my sins and make amends with readers who are passionate about preserving the world we live in. I want to start the New Year fresh, acid-free and environmentally friendly.

And I resolve to never mention a plumbing product again! Ever!

Now then, let me tell you about this great stuff I discovered the other day for removing old paint from concrete floors...

To contact Mike Taylor with your questions, comments, or predictions of environmental calamities, e-mail mtaylor325@gmail.com or write via snail mail to: Mike Taylor, c/o Valley Media, Inc., PO Box 9, Jenison, MI 49429.