I am such a nerd. I cracked myself up when I came up with the title hair today gone tomorrow. Even though it definitely won’t help me “rank in google” I think you get the idea about what this post is about… (and in case you don’t – it’s about how to unclog hair from a drain.)
We’ve all experienced the dreaded clogged drain situation. More often than not a clogged drain is due to the buildup of hair – which then collects soap residue and anything else that accidentally goes down the drain.
Most people search google for “how to dissolve hair” or “what will dissolve hair in a drain” but more often than not the answer is to stick some type of chemical down the drain. I’ve been slowly switching to a chemical free life for years now so throwing drano down the drain is not in the cards for me, nor would I recommend it to anyone especially after what I’ve learned from the plumbers we’ve used over the years. (I’ll go over that in more detail below!)
(But before I go on, I must tell you that this most contains affiliate links where I make a small commission from recommending awesome stuff to you guys.)
This post not only answers the question how to unclog a drain with hair in it but how to unclog a drain naturally – and truth be told, it’s the most satisfying way to unclog a drain, almost like powerwashing (or is that just me?)
Long story short I visited a friend’s house and she mentioned that her bathtub was draining extremely slow. Like good homeowners, we both try and not let our hair go down the drain by catching what we can and placing it somewhere in the shower to be thrown away later (and more often than not it’s found later by someone else because we forgot!) Figuring it was probably hair, she said she was going to buy a snake. I told her I had something that might work just as good as a snake and be wayyyyy cheaper.
I ordered this (affiliate link), which through the magic of Amazon was delivered the next morning. We immediately couldn’t wait to use it, ran upstairs and shoved it down the bathtub drain.
Her drain is divided up into four sections so we pushed down each quadrant and pulled up little bundles of hair each time. It was incredible how much hair a drain can hold – and from someone trying hard NOT to get hair down the drain! Imagine what it would look like if you recklessly let all the hair flow down there.
So how’s it work?!?
The snake is made of durable plastic with little points down the shaft, it reminds me of a Christmas tree. The points are meant to catch hair and debris and not allow it to slide off as you’re pulling the snake back out of the drain.
Step 1 Slowly push the plastic snake down the drain until everything but the handle is in the drain.
Step 2 Holding the snake by the handle, push up and down as well as rotate several times to get the hair good and tangled on snake.
Step 3 Slowly pull the snake and hair/debris out of the drain and toss in the trash.
You can repeat the process a few more times to make sure the entire clog is clear!
This same friend asked for “a little education on continuous use of liquid drain unclogger and whether it’s bad for pipes.”
So the short answer is yes, it’s bad for pipes. I mean think about, it’s a liquid that creates little chemical reactions to remove/dissolve hair. It may not hurt your pipes to use once in a blue moon but repeated exposure to chemical reactions will eventually harm almost anything it touches that frequently.
According to all the plumbers we’ve used over the years, prevention of drain clogs is the easiest thing to do. So here are a few words of wisdom straight from the plumber’s mouth.
- Get a drain cover for all shower, bathtub and sink drains to catch any debris! Yes even if you have a garbage disposal.
- Garbage disposals are not meant for large debris like those from peeling carrots or entire egg shells, it’s designed for small food scraps from plates and bowls (AFTER scraping the plate into the trash.)
- Even one ounce of grease can be too much; grease can harden halfway down pipe and cause a clog. Good ways to dispose of grease? My mom would let it harden and scrape it into a plastic bag and immediately throw it away. Todd’s Nana had a coffee tin she’d throw it into warm and throw it away when it was full.
- Enough chemicals over time will eventually eat away at the pipes so it’s best to try manual methods of clog removal (like plunging or snaking or the plastic thing I mentioned above!) before resorting to chemical liquids.
- Don’t put tissues, paper towels or feminine products down the drain – they are all designed to absorb moisture and can expand in the pipes causing blockages.
- Something near and dear to my heart, if you’re swishing with coconut oil do not spit it down the drain! Just like grease, it can harden in the lines and cause a clog or back up.
And that my friends is how you clear a drain with hair in it without using chemicals. Hallelujah!!!
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