We have all been there at least once when we found ourselves in a shower where the shower drain clogged and the water rose to our ankles. The water rose to our ankles, making our shower a bath. You step into the shower, turn on the rain, and realize flooding in the bathroom sink. Even if you use the drain stopper, hair can still enter inside the shower drains.
All the hair entered the bathroom sink drain, eventually clumping and clogging the whole drain. To fix such problems, you need to break up the hair clump entirely so that the water can flow. Or you can pull out all the hair yourself.
In this article, we will be discussing some of the best methods to remove stubborn hair clogs from your shower drains and make your shower up and running.
Many of us don't want to unclog hair from the drain. Most of us feel disgusted by the sight of the hair messed up with soap scum and other rubbishes. And some people are physically unable to lift the hair clump themselves from the shower drain.
If you feel nauseous just by the hair clog, we have some other methods that you can try instead of prying the drain open and cleaning the hair with your fingers. We are listing some techniques that are way more convenient than traditional drain cleaning. You can try these methods if you don't want to pay extra money for hiring emergency plumbing services.
This is an excellent entry-level method for those people who don't want to dip their fingers into the hair clogs. It is a straightforward and effective technique for cleaning the clogged hair without touching it. You have to pour some water on top of your stove and then heat it. Then carry the water in a bowl and pour it slowly and steadily into your shower drain.
Wait for a few seconds to allow the water to take action. The hot water will dissolve the clogged hair and soap scum. Then turn on the shower to check if the clog has been removed or not. This is an entry-level method to remove hair clogs from the shower drain. Whenever you notice your shower drain clogging, you should use hot water rinse before anything.
If the previous method doesn't work, you should try this classic natural method. You will need some dishwashing soap, a cup of vinegar and baking soda, hot water, and a bowl.
First, you need to pour dish soap into the drain. Then pour some baking soda into the drain to chase the dish soap. It would be best to make sure that the baking soda enters the drain. Pour some vinegar right after you pour baking soda. Now you are wondering what will happen after this.
This will start a chemical reaction inside the drain, and you will hear a buzzing sound coming from the drain. If you hear this sound, that means the response is taking place. This fizzing sound will continue for a few moments. You should wait until the fizzing sound discontinues. Then for the final step, you need to pour boiling water slowly into the shower drain. The reaction between baking soda and vinegar will dissolve the hair clog, and the boiling water will make its way through the clog. This should be able to clean your blocked drain, hopefully.
This method is preferred over others because harsh chemicals can work more effectively than this, but it can also damage your whole plumbing system. You should not use harsh chemical drain cleaners after diagnosing the shower drain clog.
If using chemical drain cleaners doesn't work, you should use a hand method for removing hair clogs. Needle nose pliers are an excellent tool for such operations. You need needle-nose pliers, a screwdriver, gloves, and a flashlight for this method.
First, you need to dislodge the drain stopper. You can pry it open with your pliers. For a removable cover, you need to use the screwdriver. There might be long hair clogged with your drain cover. It would help if you utilized this chance to clean the drain seal.
After that, you should look inside the drain with your flashlight and identify the clogs. Put your gloves on and insert the pliers to pull the hair clog. If you can reach clogs, you should be able to clean your hair quickly. But if the clog in the drain is not reachable, you should use an extension to reach the hair clog. Try to wash as much hair as possible—also, clean other debris such as soap, scum, and greases. After clearing away the hair, pour hot boiling water into the pipe before reattaching or restoring the drain stopper. Now, turn on the shower to check whether the drain is working.
What will you do if you can't reach the hair clog? Yes, a hook will get you to places your hands can't reach for such cases. This hook is also known as a zip-it tool. It is a flexible, long, barbed stick designed to clean hair from the drains.
This tool is very effective for those areas where your hands can't reach. For instance, a tub drain opening can be too narrow for the hands, where a hook or barbed stick can quickly enter inside it. It would be best if you got the pin. They are inexpensive, reusable, and available in a local hardware store.
First, you need to shine your flashlight and insert the spiked end down the drain opening. Keep inserting down the drain to the end of it. Now start to pull the hook out; the spikes will grab any hair in the drain when you pull it out.
You can also add a twisting effect to make the hook work even more efficiently. You should repeat this process multiple times to extract every trapping hair from the drains. You can also pour hot water each time you use the hook to pull the clog. The barbed hook is an excellent tool to have. It would be best if you bought extra pair of barbed hooks to be prepared for the next time.
Is it still clogged after using the methods listed and described above? Then removing the whole draining system might be the last resort to you. This is more tiring and time-consuming than the previous methods we have mentioned. It would help if you had some equipment such as a screwdriver, wrench, ordinary adjustable wrench, needle nose, standard pliers, gloves, hot water, etc.
How will you work with all these required equipment, right? Well, don't worry. Here's how to do it-
There is no denying that any plumbing work related to toilet drains and kitchen drains is supposed to be gross. It doesn't have any alternate solution. There's no shame in fixing the minor problems yourself. It can save you a lot of money. We strongly suggest you should diagnose the problem yourself first. If you experience any clog in your shower drain or kitchen drain, you should check and proceed according to the methods we have mentioned above.
This article answers one of your most frequently asked questions "I have clogged hair in the drain; how can I remove it?" We have provided the easiest and most effective methods confirmed by our highly experienced plumbers. Before calling for professional plumber services, we recommend you follow the abovementioned methods and save your money.
And if you have tried all these methods mentioned above and still have trouble, we request you to call QUEEN CHARLOTTE PLUMBING for a safe, reliable, and fast solution to any household plumbing problems.
QUEEN CHARLOTTE PLUMBING
8424 Old Statesville Rd Charlotte NC 28269
-704-707-3339
