Imagine taking a shower or a nice relaxing bath, just to see the water not draining and spoiling your fun. Out of all reasons why your water is not draining properly, there is one, the yuckiest of them all- your drain is full of hair.
Another problem with hair clogs, besides being gross, is that they are impossible to dissolve without chemicals. But if you use strong chemicals you are risking damaging your pipes, so how do you choose?
Types of Hair
Moustache Hair
You may be thinking that the only culprit for hair clogs may be long hair, but mustache hair is just as equally dangerous. Because shaving usually includes heavy and thick shaving foam, there are more chances of hair sticking together and creating a clog.
Long Hair
If you have long hair or you live with someone with long hair, you know by now that they are inescapable. And you can bet most of them will end up in your drains, weaving themselves into a thick mass of soap, hair, and oils nearly impossible to dispose of
Pet Hair
If you have a dog or a cat, their hair can easily get into your drains too. But with their hair being a lot shorter but thinner, the hair clogs from these types of hair are much harder to break.
How Are Hair Clogs Created?
Hair, by itself, is not a problem, but there are other factors that in combination with hair create a perfect recipe for a clog.
As hair tends to collect in balls and it is quite sticky when wet, other substances latch on easily onto it- soap, shampoo, grease, and oil. The situation gets even stickier if you have hard water since hard water creates a sticky soap scum, especially hard to get rid of.
How to Get Rid Of Hair Clogs?
There are many methods of unclogging hair clogged drains and here are some of them:
1. Baking Soda and Vinegar
A DIY favorite and ultimate combination of baking soda and vinegar can clean almost anything in your home. That includes hair clogs.
Boil some water in a kettle and pour the boiling water down the drain. While waiting (approximately 1 minute or 2), mix one cup of vinegar with one-quarter cup of baking soda, then pour it down the drain. You will hear something happening down there, but don’t be alarmed. This is what we want.
Repeat the process after 15 minutes and run the water to see if your drain is unclogged.
2. Baking Soda and Salt
In case of vinegar doesn’t work, replace it with salt. Mix a cup of baking soda and a half cup of salt then pour it down the drain. Leave it overnight and in the morning pour two cups of boiling water down the drain. Flush away and see if there is any progress.
3. Bleach
While we are not a big advocate of chemicals, bleach is the only one we would advise you to use for unclogging. It won’t do any damage to your pipes and at the same time, it would dissolve the hair.
Sip a cup of bleach (liquid) into the drain and leave it for half an hour. Flush away and if you notice that water flow is better, but not great, pour another cup of bleach.
IMPORTANT: Protect your eyes with goggles and skin with gloves before handling bleach.
4. Auger or a Plumber’s Snake
If all else fails, use the old and tested method of mechanically removing the clog with a plumbers snake.
If you don’t know how to handle a snake, there are millions of tutorials online and you will see it is a pretty easy job. But in case you are unsure, call a plumber and they will unclog your pipes in no time.