When you shave, you understandably want to find a comfortable and convenient place to do it. Your bathroom sink may sound like the best possible option since it offers you a mirror to see yourself and it seems to be the best place to collect and discard your shaved hair. However, you may want to rethink this last benefit, since it may backfire.
You shouldn’t let your shaved hair go down the drain, because it may clog your pipes and require a professional to fix it. Ideally, you should collect your hair and dispose of it so that your hair doesn’t go down the drain at all. If your sink gets clogged, you should contact a plumber to help you.
If you want to know more, stick around! I’ll explain why sometimes it’s not a good idea to let your shaved hair go down the drain. Moreover, I’ll offer some possible solutions that can help you decide what to do in case you clog your sink.
Can Your Shaved Hair Clog the Drain?
While letting your shaved hair go down the sink may seem like the best possible solution, it may sometimes result in more issues with your plumbing in the future. Sure, it’s convenient, and it only requires you to let the water run and take the hair down the drain, but the hair may become a problem.
The hair may start to collect somewhere beneath your sink, and it will create a net of sorts that will catch any particles that go down the drain. Before you know it, you’ll notice that the water isn’t going down swiftly as before, and you’ll need to take steps to unclog the drain.
Generally, a small amount of hair may not be able to do much damage, so it may be relatively safe to shave your five o’clock shadow over the sink. However, if you have a thick beard, you need to find a way to collect your hair.
What To Do if You Let Your Hair Clog the Drain
While it’s best to avoid the problem of shaved hair clogging your sink altogether, sometimes you may just find out too late. If you’re used to shaving over the sink, you may be surprised to notice one day that the hair has clogged the drain, and you need to do something about it.
The first thought would be to use the typical unclogging chemicals that you use for your kitchen sink, but they may not be as effective in this situation. These chemicals are generally made to dissolve oily substances, so they may not be able to do much damage to the hair clump that’s clogging your drain.
The best option, in this case, is to call a professional plumber. Your plumber will know exactly what to do in your particular situation and will ensure that the blockage is gone for good.
Typically, a plumber will use a plumber’s snake, which is a flexible cable that can dislodge any clumps and blockages inside the plumbing pipes of your house. Alternatively, the plumber may use a plunger or some other suction equipment to get the same results.
If you have some plumbing knowledge, you can buy a drain snake and try to unclog the drain by yourself. The snake is not particularly hard to figure out if you know what you’re doing. However, if you want to be safe, always contact a professional.
How Can I Avoid Clogging the Drain While Shaving?
While the solutions I explained above are very effective, the best possible scenario is to avoid clogging your drain altogether, saving you the time and money spent on fixing this issue. There are several different methods you can use to collect and discard your hair without clogging your drain:
- Vacuum the shaved hair before you run the water. Before you start shaving, make sure your sink is completely dry, and then use a vacuum cleaner to remove most of the hair before you rinse the surface.
- Get a beard-trimming mat. These mats have suction cups that attach them to your bathroom mirror, keeping the mat under your neck to collect your hair.
- Put a towel on the sink before you start shaving. Place a cloth or towel on your dry sink so that it can collect all your hair and you can easily dispose of it when you finish shaving.
- Remove the sink plug and put a drain protector in its place. When you run the water, the hair will be caught in the sink protector, so it won’t have the chance to go down the drain.
Final Thoughts
While letting your shaved hair go down the drain may seem like the most convenient solution, it may become a problem especially if you’re shaving off a significant amount of hair. As a result, your sink may become clogged, which means you’ll need to call a plumber or buy tools to solve this issue.
To avoid clogging the drain in the first place, you can place a towel on the sink before shaving. Alternatively, you can vacuum the hair or you can buy a trimming mat to collect everything.
Sources
- Before and After Plumbing: Beware of Cutting Your Hair Over the Sink
- Winters Home Services: Tips for Men: How to Shave Without Clogging the Drain!
- Quora: When shaving in the shower, shall I let the hair run down in the drain, or try to pick it up and throw it in the bin?
- Plumbing Solved: Does Shaving in the Shower Clog the Drain?
- Columbia Drain: Shave Without Clogging Your Drain
- The Spruce: How to Use a Plumbing Snake to Unclog Drains