What Will Dissolve Hair In A Drain
- Posted by:
- Admin
- Tags:
- Posted date:
- 28-07-2022
If your drains are blocked because of excess hair build up, you may ask: what will dissolve hair in a drain? We look at solutions for drains blocked with hair.
What Dissolves Hair in a Shower Drain
There are several effective natural hair removal methods. However, most of the time, the ideal technique is to utilise some type of tool; this guarantees that all of the hair is removed without causing any damage to your shower drain.
Professionals do not advocate chemical drain cleaners since they are tough on your pipes.
They can cause more harm than good, which can result in corrosion, leaks, and costly water damage.
Steps To Take If You're Dealing With A Hair Clog:
Pull It Out with Tweezers
In contrast to heavier clogs, the stringy texture of hair can be difficult to remove on occasion. If you've tried a plunger and failed to remove a hairy clog from your drain, you might need to try tugging it out with tweezers. If your drain has a stopper, you must first remove it.
Depending on the type of drain, you may also need to do this by hand on occasion, but you may also require a screwdriver. While you're about it, clean any hair that has gathered on the stopper.After that, use a flashlight to illuminate your drain so you can see the clog more clearly.
The unsightly hair accumulation should then be easy to remove using your needle-nose pliers. Wear gloves while doing this since yanking out hair may be unpleasant, and run some hot water down the drain when you're done to get rid of any newly sprouted hairs.
Purchase a Snaking Device
If using baking soda and vinegar to melt your hair blockage and then diving out and extracting it with tweezers didn't work, you might be able to use a snaking instrument to break the impediment apart. You may also buy a variety of alternative drain snake tools, all of which are made to handle obstructions of various sizes.
However, you might also want to follow up with the baking soda and vinegar method described above or, at the very least, flush your drain out with hot water to make sure the blockage is entirely gone. Snaking your drain should efficiently break up any jams and assist scrape the walls of your line clean.
Use Baking Soda and Vinegar
Baking soda and vinegar may be used to efficiently unclog a variety of obstructions, including hair blockages. Pour a little amount of dish soap, a cup of vinegar, and then a cup of baking soda down the drain first. Add a cup or more of hot water after giving the vinegar and baking soda about five minutes to chemically react.
After doing this, you should still use a cup plunger on your drain to remove any last bits of hair to eliminate the remainder of the hair blockage. If the obstruction is still there, make sure you are specifically using a cup or "flat" plunger and repeat this process as necessary.
Remove Your Whole Drain
The final and most intense home cure for clearing a hair blockage is baking soda. After using each of the aforementioned ways without success, you might completely remove your drain and attempt to clear it out that way. Remove the p-trap in the case of your sink drain, positioning a bucket below for any water that may leak out.
A plug wrench, a tool made particularly to fit into your drain's crossbars so you can easily pull it out, is required to remove the drain from your shower or bathtub. Use rubber hands once again if you are removing a drain because it is an unkempt task.
Call for Professional Drain Cleaning
Even though clearing a hair blockage might be challenging, you can call professionals to have your drains cleaned if everything else fails.
Remember to avoid using liquid drain cleaners at all costs, these treatments include hazardous chemicals that will corrode your pipes in addition to their propensity for being ineffectual, frequently resting on top of clogs rather than eating through them.
How do I Know if My Drain is Clogged?
It is typically an indication that your shower is blocked or that a blockage is developing if your shower drains slowly and you frequently notice that water continues to linger in the shower for many minutes after you have turned off the faucet.
Another indication of a clogged drain is an unpleasant stench coming from it, which might be the result of material blocking the pipes' inner walls. If a drain obstruction is severe enough, the bathroom may potentially flood, or leaks may form as standing water may seep through the joints of the shower.
What Causes Drain Blockages?
Smaller shower drain obstructions are typically brought on by the accumulation of soap scum, grime, and hair. Since soap makes hair attaches to drain walls more readily than it normally would, it makes the problem of long hair clogging drains worse. This build-up obstructs the flow of water over time to the point where a blockage occurs.
If your shower drain keeps backing up despite successive fixes or if there are several obstructions in your house, this can indicate a more serious obstruction in your main sewage system.
How to Prevent Hair From Clogging Drains:
Do a Hot Water Rinse
Pour one litre of hot water down your drains once every week.
This will aid in cleaning out any gunk in your pipes and stop hair blockages from developing. A small amount of bleach wouldn't go amiss either.
Use a Fabric Softener Sheet
Directly over the drain opening, lay a used fabric softener sheet.
The sheet is porous, so any hair or dirt on the surface will be trapped while still allowing water to pass through. Be sure to dispose of the sheet afterwards.
Brush Your Hair Before Showering
This is especially advised for those with long hair. Before taking a shower, brush your hair to reduce the amount of stray hair that might fall out and into the drain. Give your cat or dog a thorough brush before washing them in the bathtub too.
Use a Kitchen Strainer
For catching hair, a kitchen strainer that fits your shower, tub, or bathroom sink drain might be useful. The ideal strainer is one with a wire mesh that traps hair while allowing water to flow freely. To prevent hair buildup, remove the strainer frequently and clean it.
Are you looking for blocked drains clearance in the Ipswich and Suffolk area? Find out more about our local drain jetting services below.