If you have long hair, then you know how easy it can clog the drains in your home. Whether we are talking about the shower drain, the bathroom sink drain, or even the kitchen sink one, a hair clog is a severe issue and a significant cause for concern.
That being said, removing a hair clog from your drains is relatively simple if done quickly and may not even require you to call a professional plumber.
Here is how a clogged drain behaves and what you need to do to clean hair from them.
Why Does Hair Get Stuck In Your Drains?
Drains should be able to handle a few hairs that fall into them when you take a shower, right? Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Drains are narrow and frequently go up and down before they reach the sewers.
Furthermore, hair is not the only thing that travels through the sewers. Pieces of skin, soap, and all kinds of oils and fats also find themselves in there, creating an exceptionally sticky mass that allows the hair clog to form and latch itself to the sides of the drain pipe.
Use Vinegar and Baking Soda To Clean Your Drains
Vinegar and baking soda are an excellent choice for unclogging your drain.
Measure about 1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar, then remove all remaining water from the sink
You can use a plastic box and a sponge to remove the water
After you have cleaned the sink, pour the baking soda down the clogged drain, immediately following up with vinegar
You should give this sodium hydroxide and vinegar combo at least 15 minutes to do its job
Alternatively, combine two other things with baking soda instead of vinegar
The first one is salt
Salt and soda make great drain cleaners when combined, although it takes more than using vinegar
This is a perfect choice if you want to clear a shower drain, as using something like needle nose pliers can be difficult when you first need to crouch down to the ground.
Use Boiling Hot Water To Clean Drains
Another excellent method to remove hair from your drain is by using boiling hot water. Hair doesn’t clog the drain all by itself: there is usually all other sorts of filth and even debris.
Boiling water can clear hair by dissolving this debris, allowing the drain to start working again.
Use Chemical Drain Cleaners
Liquid drain cleaners are an excellent choice for cleaning hair clogging a drain. Powerful liquid drain cleaners can actually dissolve hair and are readily available for purchase in almost every local hardware store.
The chemical reaction is sure to clean the clogged tub drain, but there is a downside: these cleaners are extremely bad for your skin, so you will need to use rubber gloves when working with the harsh chemicals.
Furthermore, you can combine a chemical drain cleaner with other methods, such as using boiling water to flush the drain afterward.
Use a Coat Hanger
If you don’t have a plumbing snake and you need to clean a minor drain, you can use a hanger to remove hair clumps. Simply insert the hanger into the drain and try to reach clogs of hair with this makeshift snake.
While it is likely to fail if the hair clog is deep in the pipe, most of the time, this method will save you a lot of time.
Afterward, use hot water to rinse further to clean out the remaining hair from your bathtub drain.
Using a Toilet Plunger
A simple hand method to clean a drain is by using a toilet or a cup plunger.
Remove the drain cover, then start using the vacuum caused by the plunger
Try to dislodge the hair clogs or other debris from the drain
While more stubborn hair clogs will likely require a different method to allow your bathtub to start draining correctly again, this simple solution is more than enough most of the time.
Are There Any Downsides To Using a DIY Method To Clean Your Shower Drain?
When faced with a hair clog in your shower or tub drain, you may always attempt to remove it yourself.
Still be cautious, as if you fail to remove all the hair and it simply creates another clog deeper within the pipe system.
If this happens, you will be forced to call a professional plumber and raise extra expenses, so be careful. In extreme cases, removing the drain or bringing in additional equipment may be necessary.
Not to mention that a sink drain that remains clogged for a prolonged time is a significant flood hazard.
How To Prevent Hair From Clogging Your Drain?
While cleaning a hair clog from your drain is certainly doable, it is much better if you never get a hair clog in the first place.
You can do several things to prevent hair from clogging your drain, such as installing a removable cover to your sink drain.
Additionally, you can clean your sink after each use and use needle nose pliers to remove hair that gets stuck before it can create a clog.
Finally, baking soda, vinegar, and a chemical drain cleaner are just as effective before a clog is made. Follow the steps explained above, put a drain stopper to allow them to work, then flush the sink when enough time has passed.
It is an excellent way to prevent the formation of a hair clog, and remove any other debris that may have gotten lodged in the drains.
Quick Tips On Keeping Your Drains Clean of Hair
Don’t Allow Hair To Get Into Any Drain That is Filled With Grease
Hair in the bathtub or lavatory drain is one thing, but you should never allow it to find its way into the kitchen sink. This is because kitchen sinks are usually full of cooking grease, which makes it much easier for the hair to stick and form a clog.
Clean Your Drains Before the Clog Forms
There is no need to wait for a clog to form to clean your drains. Frequent usage of a mixture of baking soda and vinegar will go a long way towards keeping your drain free of things such as soap scum and grease, reducing the likelihood of a hair clog.
Use the Drain Stopper Before You Wash Your Hair
Using a drain stopper before you step into a bathtub or shower can go a long way towards preventing a hair clog. After all, if your hair never reaches the drains, it won’t have a chance to clog them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will dissolve hair in a drain?
Dissolving hair in a drain is doable, but it isn’t as simple as you may imagine. Chemicals powerful enough to dissolve hair are just as likely to damage the pipes themselves.
As a result, it is a much better idea to simply remove hair from the drain when it clogs, using one of the many available methods; from compounds that cause a chemical reaction that can help dissolve the clog to using a brute force method like pulling the clog out with a wire hanger.
How Do You Get Hair Out of a Drain Pipe?
There are many effective ways to remove hair clogs from your drains, from using baking soda and vinegar to flush the drain to simply pulling it out with a wire hanger.
No matter which method you choose, you should use rubber gloves to protect your hands and make sure you aren’t using too much force to avoid damaging the drain pipe.
Does Coke Dissolve Hair?
No, Coca-Cola will not dissolve hair in the drain. It will, however, have the same effect on the grease as the soda vinegar combo would, allowing you to flush the hair with hot water and clear out the clog.
Does Baking Soda Dissolve Hair?
No, a cup of baking soda won’t exactly dissolve the hair clumps in your drain, but that doesn’t mean it won’t help. It is a great choice for dissolving grease, especially when combined with white vinegar.
As a result, you will be able to remove the hair clump much more easily, sometimes not even needing a way to pull it out.
Conclusion
Cleaning hair from a drain can be quite an arduous task, especially if the clog is deep within the pipes.
That being said, there is a number of things you can try to clean the clog, before you decide to call in a professional.
Just remember to wear gloves when working with the drain opening, as drains are usually extremely filthy and can be a source of disease. Not to mention that most chemical compounds used for drain cleaning are bad for your skin on their own.
Finally, exercise caution when working with any drain to avoid damaging it and causing your home to be flooded.