Answer to Question #38093 in Inorganic Chemistry for Mikayla Eckel Cifrese

Question

I mixed vinegar and cabbage water after boiling the water and cabbage leaves for 5 minutes approximately. Then I mixed crystal Drano, containing lye, into it. According to my chemistry book, it should've quickly turned yellow and released heat. While it did release heat, it did not turn yellow, but rather took a couple minutes, than started producing what appeared to be a yellow oil at the bottom of the beaker, then there was this weird bubbling and the white balls from the drano starting turning black. The middle of the mixture became cloudy and white. When I dumped it down the drain, it smelled faintly of ammonia. Can someone explain what happened on a molecular level here, and why it didn't do what the textbook said it would?