You might have spotted pet or human hair strands in the sink or shower drain and brushed it off as nothing to worry about.
But did you know these individual hair strands can build up and form a clog over time? Hair is one of the most common culprits behind blocked drains.
Are you dealing with hair clogged in your bathtub, shower, kitchen, or bathroom sink drain? You might want to try a few handy techniques to remove that tangled mess.
These methods can get your plumbing back to its usual flow. Let’s dive into the top seven ways to deal with hair clogs.
How To Get Hair Out Of Drain
1. With The Help Of Vinegar And Baking Soda
A baking soda and vinegar solution is one of the most tried-and-true remedies for clearing out clogs of all kinds, including those caused by hair. To get the best results, pour a little dish soap down your drain, then follow that up with a cup of baking soda and vinegar.
Let the fizzy reaction from the baking soda and vinegar work on that pesky hair clog—give it about five minutes. Next, pour a cup or so of boiling water down the drain. It should help shift most of the blockage.
After pouring hot water, if there is still hair clogging your sink drain, you can use a cup plunger to get it out.
Always use a cup or “flat” plunger instead of a standard plunger. If the blockage persists, you may need to perform this procedure several times. Turn on the faucet to see if the water is draining correctly.
2. Use Tweezers Or Needle-Nose Pliers To Remove Hair From the Drain
If your drainage is clogged with hair strands and a hand method, a toilet plunger, drain snake, baking soda, vinegar, or pouring boiling water on the clogged tub drain aren’t doing the trick, you can try pulling all the hair out with the help of tweezers. First, you need to remove the stopper.
Considering your drain model, you may use either physical effort or a screwdriver. Then, shine a flashlight into the drain for a clearer view of the blockage.
Afterwards, you can use the needle-nose pliers to snip away the hair clog. Repeat this method a few times before the clog is entirely removed.
3. Use Drain Snakes
Need to tackle a stubborn hair clog? A snaking device could be your best bet if the vinegar and baking soda trick, or even a plunger or tweezers, haven’t done the job.
Depending on the severity, you have choices. For milder clogs, a wire coat hanger might just do the trick. Put on some gloves, and give that wire a nudge down the drain.
You can find these plastic cleaners in many local hardware stores and on many different websites because they are inexpensive, disposable, convenient, and widely accessible.
Also, you can find electric drain snakes and other drain plumbing snake tools at your local hardware store or on the internet, each suited to a specific clog size. Snaking the drainage should break up obstructions and scrape the inside walls. Even after that, you might need to do the baking soda and vinegar procedure or flush the clogged drains with warm or hot water, to be specific. If that does not help, you have the chemical drain cleaners to your rescue.
4. Install Drain Guards
Drain guards are designed to trap hair strands, keep them from falling down the shower drain, and keep the drain opening unclustered. For the water to flow freely, ensure that the shower drain guard is routinely cleaned and that any hair that has accumulated is discarded.
An adequate drain cover helps prevent hair from moving down the drain. It is also helpful if you have pets in the house. If some hair clippings slip through the drain guards, you will still have to snake the drain occasionally.
5. Remove Your Hair From The Shower Drains
Got a drain stopper in place? That’s great, but hair clumps can still sneak into your pipes over time. These can turn into nasty clumps that slow down your drain water.
You can prevent a blocked drain by brushing it away from the drains and picking up loose strands of hair that fall on the floor. Doing so will prevent the hair from becoming wet and sticky, preventing it from going down the drain. Also, when shaving, you can keep the hair clippings you cut off in a bib or any other object that serves the same purpose.
6. Maintain Your Drains
When it comes to removing stubborn clogs, one effective approach requires a bit of elbow grease. Sometimes, clogs persist even after you’ve tried all the above tricks.
If that sounds familiar, consider taking out your drain to tackle the hair clog directly.
If your bathroom sink drain is clogged, remove the p-trap, a p-shaped drainage pipe below the sink designed to release sewer gases. You should always have a bucket under the sink to capture water that may leak from the p-trap.
You will require a plug spanner to remove the drain from your shower or bathtub. This device is intended to fit in your drain’s crossbars to simplify removal. To reiterate, you should always use rubber gloves when removing a drain because it’s a rather unsanitary task.
7. Take Preventive Measures
If you’re careful, you’ll avoid half of the problems we discussed. For example, consider wearing a shower cap to keep your hair locked away from the drain to tackle hair clogs.
Preventing Hairs From Clogging Drains
Clearing hair from your drains is vital to keep them flowing smoothly. If you still face problems or aren’t keen on getting your hands dirty, consider calling a plumber.
Keep in mind that whatever you do, avoid using liquid drain cleaners. These products not only tend to be ineffective, frequently sitting on top of a clog rather than eating through it, but they also contain harsh chemicals that will eat away at your pipes.
These tips will be helpful if you are wondering how to get the hair out of the drain. Contact a professional plumber in Bankstown from Fixed Today Plumbing if you are dealing with clogged hair drainage issues. We have the means and technology to clear drains of all kinds of debris, including food waste, hair strands, soap scum, tissue paper, and more. Our team in Sydney is qualified and licensed in NSW and maintains a healthy reputation among our clients.
If you have a clogged drain, fix it before it worsens!
