Perhaps you have noticed pet and human hair strands in your sink or shower drain and thought nothing of it.
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.
If you have issues with hair clogging in the bathtub drain, shower drain, kitchen or bathroom sink drain, you can try some techniques to remove clogged hairs. This should restore normal drainage in your plumbing. Here are the seven best methods for removing hair from your pipes.
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 amount of dish soap down your drain, then follow that up by pouring a cup of baking soda and vinegar.
Pause for the chemical reaction caused by the baking soda and vinegar to take effect on hair clog, which should take around five minutes. Follow up by pouring a cup or more of boiling water into the drain, which should be sufficient to remove most hair 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
Breaking apart a hair clog with a snaking device may be necessary if melting it with white vinegar solution into baking soda or using a plunger and tweezers for removal has failed. Depending on the seriousness of your obstruction, you may have various options. Clogs that are not too severe can be broken up by stretching up a wire coat hanger. Wear gloves and force the wire hanger 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
Even if you install a drain stopper, hair can still build up in your pipes over time. This can form unpleasant hair clumps that cause your drain water to move much more slowly.
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
The final and most effective cure for removing stubborn hair clogs is also one that requires adequate effort. A clog might continue to exist even after you have attempted each procedure described above. In that case, you can remove your drain and try to clear your hair out.
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 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 the issue of hair clogs.
Preventing Hairs From Clogging Drains
Cleaning hair out of your drains is crucial to keep them working correctly. Call a professional plumber if you still have problems with your drain or prefer not to get all gross.
Keep in mind, 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 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!
