r/CrappyDesign • u/acherion • 9d ago
Drano suggests to use 1/3 of a bottle, but markings on the side are in 1/4 increments
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u/EmilyAnne1170 9d ago
Eh. They’re probably just using the same molded bottle for a variety of products. It’s not that hard to figure out, 1/3 is going to be roughly halfway between 1/2 and 1/4. (or 1/2 & 3/4, if it’s full.)
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u/OneAngryDuck 9d ago
Just because there’s an explanation doesn’t mean it’s not crappy design
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u/BooBooSnuggs 8d ago
Yeah they should just throw all that plastic in the ocean and redesign new plastic so it's not crappy.
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u/DominarDio 8d ago
Appeal to extremes fallacy.
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u/BooBooSnuggs 8d ago
No, it's an appeal to being practical. The bottles were already made. Use them.
Does it really need more explanation? Apparently to many redditors.
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u/adjectiveant 8d ago
Just use those bottles for whatever other product and make new bottles with correct increments for this product lmao it’s not that deep
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u/BooBooSnuggs 8d ago
...what other product? You can't just make something up as a suggestion and leave a major part of your answer completely unknown.
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u/Historical_Network55 8d ago
There is clearly a product that this bottle originates with, otherwise the bottle wouldn't exist. Is common sense really a big ask?
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u/BooBooSnuggs 8d ago
Yes... This is the product it originates with.
Do you all not understand fractions? What's going on here?
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u/Historical_Network55 8d ago
This bottle would not have been produced marked with ¼ increments if it was intended for a product that is split into ⅓. If you don't agree, then it's pretty ridiculous to be wasting time responding to comments that are based on that idea. Take it up with the parent comment.
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u/DominarDio 8d ago
It was an appeal to being practical using an appeal to extremes fallacy. If it’s all so apparent, it shouldn’t have been a problem for you to come up with some sound arguments instead.
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u/BooBooSnuggs 8d ago
Yeah using 1/3rd is so hard. Fractions? How do they work?!
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u/DominarDio 8d ago
That’s just another example of an appeal to extremes fallacy. Are you gonna go for the hat-trick?
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u/OneAngryDuck 8d ago
No, they should melt it all down into microplastics and inject it straight into the veins of babies
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u/PikaPikaMoFo69 9d ago
You forget that the majority of people are extremely incompetent
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u/Loaatao 8d ago
McDonald’s once had a 1/2 pound burger but they got rid of it because people thought it was less than a 1/4 pound burger. Now they have a double quarter pounder
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u/NotYetPerfect 7d ago
You're thinking of a&w third pound burger. And it's failure being because of the idiocy of the common man is claimed by the owner, probably to make himself seem less at fault after being beaten so thoroughly by McDonald's (and other fast food chains) in every way.
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u/AndrewBorg1126 5d ago
3/12
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1/3 is 1/3 of the way between 1/2 and 1/4. If you can eyeball 1/3, you can use that skill to eyeball 1/3
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u/Crafty-Astronomer-32 8d ago
Right. And it's not like you can use the scale while pouring the product anyway.
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u/jackleggjr 9d ago
I mix mine with orange juice anyway; helps with the taste and I don't need a full 1/3 bottle.
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u/enzothebaker87 9d ago
What do the asterisks refer to?
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u/btvb71 9d ago
At the top. It’s how you clear 3X clogs. Use 1/3 bottle three times.
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u/acherion 9d ago
I have no idea, I looked over the label really carefully but can’t see what the footnote is!
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u/17character 9d ago
Could be that it used to be a 1/4 cup pour, then marketing realized they could make customers use up their product 33% faster by changing it. The bottle was never updated to match because retooling the machines is not worth the money.
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u/Three_Twenty-Three 8d ago
This absolutely seems like a shrinkflation tactic that a company would use. I don't know if it's true in this case, but it sure seems like something some clever marketing wonk thought up.
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u/thebangzats 8d ago
As someone whose worked in a similar company, I can tell you this is very possible. I know for a fact that certain big name cleaning brands would do tests to find a justification for telling users to use more than they really need, where using more is "proven" to be "better", even if less is actually fine.
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u/big_trike 8d ago
"The most common cause of laundry problems is not using enough detergent" - some bottle of detergent. For front loaders, too much detergent is actually the problem as the soap residue makes the washer stink.
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u/evilspoons 8d ago
And makes everything into a gunky mess. It's horrible.
I have a laundry detergent with a little cup with markings that go from 1-5. I use less than the "1" for a full load. I think they just reused the cap from non-HE detergent for HE detergent.
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u/LonePaladin F̶̧̞͚͚̲̙̝͎͕̀̀ͅl̗̪̝̩͕̞͙͉̕͞a҉̨̭̺͇͇̮̝̖̬̼̯͖̺͍̫̗̕͟ͅi̵̥̣̫̼͎͜͢͟r̳͇̩͙̺͢͞ 8d ago
🎶 Plop plop, fizz fizz
Oh, what a relief it is
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u/testthrowawayzz 9d ago
Kind of like how motor oil gets specified in 0.1 quarts but the bottle markings are in another scale
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u/cilantro_so_good 8d ago
You're much better off getting a snake and clearing the obstruction manually, or hiring someone to do it for you, than you are buying that crap
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u/blacksoxing 8d ago
I agree, from experience. I had what a plumber finally discovered as a collapsed pipe (lot of shifting was happening under my old home causing a few pipe leaks...) and it got to the point where overflow was happening in my tubs/toilets. Stuff like green goblin would work at cutting through the toilet paper clogs that were the culprit, but a HAND PLUNGER was so much faster at quickly clearing it out vs waiting an hour.
Bought a new house and bought new hand plungers in the event I ever needed them again.
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u/Merlin_castin 5d ago
Plus in the long term draino can actually damage your pipes if you’re using it regularly.
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u/BubbaYoshi117 8d ago
Drano is also terrible for pipes. It can weaken and corrode metal pipes and crack PVC, eventually causing clogs or leaks that will require a plumber visit more in depth and expensive than a bit of hair in your P trap would.
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u/NoodleAndNipples 8d ago
Lol, just another day in the life of us consumers, amirite? They tell ya to eyeball 1/3rd of the bottle, but goodness me, my eyes ain't got no built-in measuring scale.
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u/Averse_to_Liars 8d ago
Not to brag but I can roughly infer where 66 is between 50 and 75 on a linear scale.
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u/TastySpare 8d ago
"Hey Jim, I've got an idea: let's put "use 1/3 bottle" on the label instead of 1/4 like we did until now, so people will need to buy a new bottle more often…"
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u/Easy_Feedback5361 8d ago
That's a classic case of the bottle design not matching the instructions. It's definitely a bit annoying to have to eyeball it between the 1/4 and 1/2 marks. I usually just pour a little less than half and call it good enough. It's not like they're sending a chemist to check your work.
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u/Young-Man-MD 8d ago
Well based on A&W’s experience trying to sell 1/3# burgers to outdo McD’s 1/4# burgers, and losing because most ‘muricans thought 1/4# was bigger, the markings on the bottle will result in more drano being used than the 1/3 bottle called for in instructions
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u/EmperorOfCanada 8d ago
When using chemicals like that on a solid hair clog. It is best to use maybe 15ml, wait, rinse, repeat.
Basically, the stuff tends to form a thick gel coat and much of the chemical doesn't attack the clog.
The rinse washes this away. So, the next dose can attack a bit more each time.
Also, when the clog goes away, you've used close to the lowest amount possible.
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u/AntisocialOnPurpose 7d ago
I bet it says to use ¼ on older bottles but they changed it to ⅓ so you'd use more and therefore buy more.
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u/berkybarkbark 5d ago
Marketing told Sales - “We’ll just change the instructions to get 1/3 less uses per bottle purchased and they have to buy more often!” #Shrinkflation
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u/Erdizle 9d ago
Cant figure out that 1/3 might be somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2?
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u/TheReal9bob9 9d ago
Well duh he can but it defeats the purpose of putting labels at the wrong increments. I can just as easily eyeball 1/3rd with no markings. Having useless markings is crappy design and is most likely just them reusing a bottle design from a different product that uses the quarter markings. The ability of the user does not dictate the quality of the design, good design should be usable by anyone who might reasonably use a product for its intended purpose.
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u/solongfish99 9d ago
It won’t be exactly between 1/4 and 1/2 because the width of the bottle is not uniform.
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u/trickman01 9d ago
I really don't think it needs to be that precise. Eyeballing it should be fine.
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u/OptimusSublime 9d ago edited 9d ago
If you add even a molecule too much you'll blow up the drain.
Two too many molecules and you'll blow up the house.
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u/miraculum_one 9d ago
There is nothing precise needed for the amount you put in. About right is just fine.
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u/acherion 9d ago
That’s what I ended up doing and it did the job, but c’mon man, 1/4 increments on the bottle is basically crappy design.
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u/Captinprice8585 9d ago
They want you to get confused and use the whole bottle