If your tub or skin started retaining water, the chances that you are dealing with a drain clogged with hair are pretty much high. What is more, when you reach down to solve the issue, you are left with a disgusting slimy hairball in your hand.
This probably makes you so angry because you try to throw as much hair as you can in the trash, and you still couldn’t catch it all.
Instead of reaching for strong chemicals right away, first, try natural solutions like baking soda and vinegar. If clogs are strong and stubborn, you can go for chemicals such as bleach. Clogged drain with hair will be a thing of the past.
Type of Hair That Clogs Your Drains the Most
Even though facial hair is not that thick and long, it still can clog your drains and cause a headache.
Mustache hair clogs your drain all-year round, even if you don’t shave your beard at all.
Some hairs will always fall off into the drain while you are washing your face or trimming it.
You could already suppose we would mention long hair in this section, especially if you are a lady with a luscious and thick mane.
As you are washing your hair at least twice a week, count on the fact it will gather somewhere down there in the drain
It actually doesn’t matter if you try to pick as much of it as you can, while it falls off while you are shampooing it, and the part of it continues its way right through the drain.
The third risk factor for your drains is dog hair.
Yes – if you have pets, you are not the only one spreading hair all around the house, including sinks and tubes.
We guess you don’t find it funny at all to play with your pet’s hairballs, and it is not funny either to find it in the drain.
No matter of the type, we have a couple of techniques that will clean through that drain clogged with hair, and here they are.
Clogged Drain With Hair – How to Break Through?
If you are dealing with water pooling around while you are taking a shower, and your drain is clogged with hair, here are proven methods for unclogging it:
1. Use Baking Soda and Vinegar
A combination of baking soda and vinegar is so powerful it can unclog almost anything in your pipes – including hair.
We bet you have already used this combination for fixing something around your house before, as everybody prefers the natural route.
First thing you need to do is to boil some water in a tea kettle.
Now, pour the boiling water into the drain and wait for a minute.
While waiting, mix one cup of vinegar and a ¼ cup of baking soda, and then run it down the drain.
You will hear a reaction down there, but that is exactly what we want to achieve.
Repeat the step with boiling water after 15 to 20 minutes.
Now run water and see if there is any improvement.
There is a great chance this method will unclog the drain clogged with hair, but even if it doesn’t – we have a couple of more solutions down below.
2. Try Baking Soda and Salt
Seems like baking soda does wonders with clogs, right?
If the previous method didn’t work, we have an alternative for stubborn hair clogs in your drain.
This time you will mix a cup of baking soda and a half cup of salt.
Pour the mixture down the drain and leave it overnight.
It will fuzz numerous times and dissolve balls of hair in the drain.
In the morning, boil two cups of water and flush it down the drain with it.
3. Bleach Is Also An Option
We told you we want to avoid chemicals, but bleach is one of those which won’t make a mess in your pipes, while it dissolves hair in an easy way.
As hair has acidic properties, and bleach is a “basic” chemical, it will create the neutralizing reaction between these two.
Sip a cup of liquid bleach into the drain, and it would take about a half hour for bleach to dissolve the clog.
If you notice an improvement, but a part of the clog is still there, pour another cup of bleach.
If you care about the budget, then you should know bleach is not as expensive as bottled drain cleaners, while it is much more efficient.
However, make sure to protect your skin with gloves, and your eyes with goggles before going into action.
4. A Hook and Snake Are Alternatives
One of the oldest methods with a fairly high success rate when it comes to hair clogs is using a hook.
As you probably don’t want to pull out balls of hairs with your hands, a hook is a perfect alternative.
However, if you don’t have a hook in your home, a wire coat hanger will do as well.
Anything thin and firm, with a curved end, would catch the hair and pull it out.
Another, similar tool to a hook, is a plumber’s snake, as it is effective with various drain clogs, including hair.
You need to push the snake down, turn its handle after you have reached the clog, and bring it up.
It is easy to detect the clog, as a bunch of hair in one place would make it a bit harder for a snake to come through.
That is when you will know when to bring it up.
5. Heavy Chemicals As Last Option
If you have tried all of the above-mentioned methods and your drain is still clogged with hair, then there is only one solution for this – the use of chemicals.
We know you would like to avoid using them, but sometimes there is no other option on this.
Make sure to wear gloves and goggles and follow the instructions on the packaging.
We truly hope our methods will help you solve the situation with a drain clogged with hair.
In the continuation of this article, we will give you some tips on how to avoid getting your drain clogged with hair at all.
What Is That With Hair and Drains?
If you were curious about problems hair causes in your drain, then you should know that hair is not the only one to blame when it comes to such clogs.
However, as it tends to collect in balls and it is sticky, that causes further, serious clogs.
Even though hair tends to clog shower drains the most, some of the hair can sneak into the drain in your kitchen as well.
And, as you know, kitchen drain and pipes are already prone to clogging due to grease and oils, which makes the problem worse.
However, this is not the end, as the risk of hair clogs gets higher if you have hard water.
The minerals from hard water create soap scum when in reaction with soap, which makes a sticky environment, perfect for adhering hair.
What is more, hair sometimes travels right to the larger drain line or the main sewer line, where the unclogging seems very tough, and you would have to call a plumber.
Hair Clog Prevention
You can always take a few steps in order to prevent any issues.
Even though it is impossible to catch all the hair, as some of it will simply fall off seamlessly to the drain, here are some useful tips on eliminating the possibility of dealing with a drain clogged with hair.
- When shaving, make sure to run the tap during the whole process.
- This way, all of the fall-off hairs will run out with water, instead of sticking to the pipes.
- Hair tends to fall off on a daily basis. That is why you should brush it before taking a shower. As you already know, each time you run your hand through your hair, you get a handful of hair.
Hence, if you brush it before shampooing and putting a conditioner on, you will notice a bunch of hair on your brush.
Of course, it is much better to take it off like this than to wash it off down the drain.
- One of the best advice we can give you when it comes to prevention is to make sure to use a drain protector or sink stopper.
- It will catch all the excessive hair, while it doesn’t block the drainage – exactly what we are looking for.
Clogged Drain with Hair – Recap
We will be honest here – hair clogs are one of the most stubborn ones.
Once the hair gets meshed with soap scum and other debris, you may have a hard time to solve this issue.
However, hairballs and hair clogs, in general, are not impossible to dissolve.
Some of the above-mentioned proven techniques we suggested will make that clog stay in the past.
Drain clogged with hair won’t ever seem so terrifying again, even if they appear sometimes in the future again.
Avoid throwing long hair in any drain including toilet.