If you ask any professional plumber about the most common material found in drain clogs, they will likely say human hair. The other substance is probably stick soap scum that’s coated with bacteria. Together, these two materials can quickly form a clog that can be difficult to dislodge. The hair may be coiled or matted closer to the drain entrance, where it may be removed before it goes further into the drain. This article will cover a few tried and tested ways to remove hair and clogs from your drain.
Identifying the Problem
In many cases, it may be obvious that you have trapped hair and a drain clog that’s slowing the draining of water from your sink, tub, or shower. But this can occur slowly, and you may be surprised that the drain isn’t draining. At this point, it’s easy to panic because you have a plumbing fixture that may be filled with dirty water. Try to stay positive; using the techniques in this article may dislodge the hair or clog and restore normal functionality. If these approaches don’t work, it’s time to contact a local professional plumber to investigate. There may be an underlying plumbing problem, or the hair clog could have gone further into the drain, where it’s harder to reach.
How to Clear Hair from a Drain
To start, gather the following items to ensure that you have everything on hand when you need it later: a hair removal tool, rubber gloves, safety glasses, baking soda, white vinegar, a drain snake, a bucket, a plastic funnel, and paper towels. The hair may be mixed with other debris and likely saturated with bacteria you don’t want to touch. Whenever you touch materials like this, wearing rubber gloves is a good idea. Try three approaches: the hair removal tool, the drain snake, and a homemade chemical drain cleaner. Let’s take a look at each method in more detail to help you choose the correct approach:
The Hair Removal Tool
This thin, flexible, and inexpensive tool is designed to remove hair efficiently. This hair is closer to the surface of the drain, where it can easily be seen wrapped around the entrance. A hair removal tool has a set of sharp edge teeth that can be used to trap and wrap up the hair for pulling. These are disposable tools; they are thrown away after use to limit interaction with the bacterial material in the hair. These tools are straightforward to use if you follow these steps:
- Remove the Drain Stopper: These are found in sinks and tubes to prevent hair, soap, and other materials from entering the drain. They are an alternative to a traditional plug that can be found in many well-appointed modern bathrooms. There are multiple designs, but they are easy to remove with a screwdriver or pliers, depending on the specific design. If you don’t have a drain stopper, you can avoid this step entirely.
- Insert the Hair Removal Tool: Carefully insert the tool into the drain until you can feel it hit a blockage. Then, wiggle it up and down, which should loosen the hair clog. Wearing rubber gloves will help because you’re less likely to catch your fingers on the plastic teeth.
- Remove the Hair Removal Tool: Now, slowly pull the hair removal tool out of the drain, and you will see the hair clog stuck to the tool. The hair can be removed with a paper towel and placed in the trash. Don’t throw the tool away because you may need to make multiple passes to catch all the hair.
If no hair is removed from the drain and it’s still draining slowly or not at all, it’s time to move on to the drain snake.
The Drain Snake
This is also called a plumbing drill, which can reach further into the drain than shorter hair removal tools. These inexpensive tools can be purchased in different sizes; many seasoned DIY plumbers own more than one. These tools consist of a flexible cable with a crank at one end that drives a cutting bit at the opposite end. The drain snake is pretty easy to use if you follow these steps in order:
- Remove the Drain Stopper: Refer to the same step above.
- Remove any Standing Water: The water in the sink, tub, or shower stall should be removed with the towels and bucket to create an easy space to work in.
- Insert the Drain Snake: The screw end of the drain snake should be slowly fed into the drain until it meets some resistance from the drain clog. At this point, you need to maintain the pressure and begin to turn the crank. This will tighten the snake to the hair clog and coil it around the drum.
- Pull the Hair Clog: When the hair clog is fully attached to the tool it’s time to pull out the cable from the drain. Wearing gloves, you can remove and dispose of the hair clog to clear the tool for the next pass. Hair can be persistent; it’s hard to remove in a single pass, and you need to repeat the process until the tool is clear.
A Homemade Chemical Drain Cleaner
We cannot recommend using chemical drain cleaning products for your home plumbing system (more on this later). But you can make your own chemical cleaner at home using two ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen. These ingredients are baking soda and white vinegar. The former is a formidable antibacterial cleaning agent that can fight mold, and the latter is an excellent cleaner that can be used in its own right. When these two ingredients are combined, a gentle chemical reaction takes place, providing considerable cleaning power with no risk to your plumbing pipes. To get the best results from this approach, follow these simple steps:
- Add Hot Water: To start, pour some hot (not boiling) water into the drain to remove any surface debris that could prevent the active ingredients from reaching the hair clog.
- Add the Baking Soda: Pour one cup of baking soda into the drain.
- Add the White Vinegar: Follow up with a cup of vinegar and observe the chemical reaction as the white mixture fizzes and bubbles in the drain. This delivers the cleaning power and sanitizing effects that you need.
- Wait: You can wait as little as five minutes to flush the drain or even leave the mixture in the drain overnight if you don’t need to use the drain earlier.
- Flush: Now, you can flush the drain with ¼ gallons of hot (not boiling) water to remove the hair clog.
- Assess and Repeat: Now it’s time to check if the process worked and check the drain to see if it’s working properly. If the water is still draining slowly or normal function has not been restored you can repeat the process multiple times.
Why Not Use Chemical Drain Cleaners?
Many chemical drain cleaning products offer a convenient solution for busy people. But, these products typically use caustic chemicals to generate heat that melts the drain clog. There are a few problems with this approach that homeowners need to understand before they consider using them.
The first problem is that these products use toxic and hazardous caustic chemicals. Because they are designed to interact with organic matter, they can burn exposed skin and eyes. Inhaling the fumes from these chemicals is also dangerous, and they should never be used in a room that isn’t well ventilated. Rubber gloves and eye protection should always be worn, and the instructions must be carefully followed.
The significant heat reaction of many chemical drain cleaners can melt modern plastic plumbing pipes. Even older metal pipes can be warped and become prone to leaks and bursts later. This damage can be expensive to fix, and the price of convenience can be very high.
The final problem with these types of drain cleaners is that their effectiveness is limited. Although the hair clog may be removed, it tends to return later. Plumbing experts always prefer manual clog removal over chemicals for lasting results.
In Conclusion
The hair clog-clearing methods shown in this article may be sufficient. If you want to use a commercial drain cleaning product, it’s a better idea to go with an enzyme or non-toxic product. These are kinder options for your health and the environment. Avoid using chlorine-based bleaches if you have a septic tank because these products damage the bacteria that break down the waste. If none of these approaches are working for you, it’s time to contact a local plumbing professional to inspect your home plumbing systems.
