Sorry, Gross Question

[atlantaz3]

My husband pulled a sink full of my hair out of our shower drain. He is follically challenged and it's only the two of us in the house. Yes it was all my hair. In my defense it was three years of hair! (remodeled bath 3 years ago). This was preventative as we had slow drain not clog. I thought I was doing well clearing drain cover after each shower, but apparently not! How do yall keep the drains clear? (Why the husband felt the need to show me the amount of hair still baffles me!)

[Madora]

It helps to thoroughly brush your hair before stepping into the shower. Also, if you use a drain strainer, perhaps the holes in your strainer are too large? In which case, find a strainer with smaller holes. You might also want to use a Zip It once a month..or just rely on Liquid Plumber when you notice the water draining slowly. Your hair looks lovely, Atlantaz3! Good luck!

[tiny squirrel]

I don't... pretty sure no one else does either. I'm actually careful to catch as much of the shed hair in my hand as possible while washing. I also clean the drain after each shower. With hair this long it really doesn't matter how hard you try to catch it all and clean up after yourself. Some hair is going to get by and some will go partially down the drain. Then it gets all tangled up together over time and voila... nasty, gross, clogged drain.

I try to remember to remove the drain cover and grab everything I can every couple to 6 months. That stretches the time between the need for drain-o or a drain snake... As long hairs, The perpetual war against slow drain is our cross to bear.

Incidentally, my boyfriend cleaned out his drain once and decided to jokingly give me a hard time about it. I said, "You want me to cut it? I'll cut it all off up to my chin." I was bluffing of course. He loves my long hair and told me so. Thus I told him... deal with it. Clogged drains are forever in your future. ;-)

[tiny squirrel]

I never thought to look for a strainer with smaller holes, Madora! Who's going to the hardware store this weekend? THIS girl.

[DreamSheep]

I use a mesh in the shower, and then gather and bin the hair it collects. :)

If this is not an option, brushing sheds out before washing may be a good alternative

[DweamGoiL]

My landlord installed a drain cover with itty bitty holes. The hair floats in the tub and then is caught in the cover. I guess he doesn't appreciate renting to 3 females all with long hair as much as I thought.

[lunalocks]

The husband ALWAYS shows what he pulls out of the drain. Partly it is the same reason, I guess, for showing how much he sweats after a run, or how cold his hands are after changing the oil on a below freezing day, or how big the pile of english ivy is that he has pulled off of our trees. But it is also work he has had to do because of ME. He chose the drain protectors we currently have - white hat like things that trap whatever. We already have a drain that has small holes in it but it wasn't enough, apparently. These seem to work pretty well. Haven't had to do major drain clearing since we started using them. They do get gross and discolored after a bit, so I replace them about every 6 months to a year.

[Angela_Rose]

Ew! I try to catch whatever I can in the comb before the shower, then scoop up anything that came out in the wash. I should buy stock in Draino...

[Nadine <3]

I stick my sheds to the wall while I'm washing. Sometimes I like to move the hair around the wall to make a picture, and then I forget to wipe it off when I finish... someone always comes out of the bathroom half laughing and half disgusted and then I wipe it up. We have a drain cover for the bath that works well, but we need to get another for the sink. I detangle over the sink and we have to unclog it at least once a week. Everyone knows it's me too, I have the longest hair in the house. My mom has shoulder length hair and the rest are all boys with crew cuts.

[Angels+Eyeliner]

I pull it out more often. It seems like a gross job at first, but if you do it once a week (or at least once a month) it hasn't had chance to get too stinky or bunged up. My mum uses a short pole with a metal hook on the end (I think it's supposed to be a curtain pole) but I just use my fingers or whatever I'm using to wipe down the bath.

[JadedByEntropy]

I use a mesh in the shower, and then gather and bin the hair it collects. :)

If this is not an option, brushing sheds out before washing may be a good alternative

You can use a sink drain mesh cover upside down over a bath plug that sticks up too

[Majorane]

I regulairly fish and poke around in the bathtub sink and the smaller sink in the bathroom to remove all my hair because no matter what small sifting devices we use, there's always hairs planning the next major clog-up.... knitting needles and crochet hooks are kept in the bathroom for this purpose!


But, I'm always sort of disgustingly proud of the long slimey streamers of hair I fish out. Is that weird?

[Nadine <3]

But, I'm always sort of disgustingly proud of the long slimey streamers of hair I fish out. Is that weird?

Nope! Not weird, I'm pretty proud of them too, especially when it really grosses out my family.:eyebrows:

[velorutionista]

I use a really fine meshed screen thingy that is pretty good...has been almost two years since we moved into our house (had new pipes before we bought it) and no slowdown in sight. I do pour a kettle of boiling water down all the drains about once a month though, as a preventative (to get rid of soap scum and the like).

[Majorane]

Nope! Not weird, I'm pretty proud of them too, especially when it really grosses out my family.:eyebrows:

:hifive: I already suspected, since you make hair-art too with your sheds! Dirty drain fishers for the win!

Also, I didn't know boiling water helps remove the soap scum. Will try! It's also because of that, that my hairs clog and clump so bad. Would vinegar or citric acid also help? Since that removes soap leftovers from the washing machine, too.

[woodswanderer]

Yep, DH uses the Zip It tool once a year due to me. I told him he has to do it because if I see all that funky hair goop, I will hurl for sure.:puke:

[velorutionista]

Also, I didn't know boiling water helps remove the soap scum. Will try! It's also because of that, that my hairs clog and clump so bad. Would vinegar or citric acid also help? Since that removes soap leftovers from the washing machine, too.

You can use vinegar + baking soda to blast out a mildly clogged drain, so I bet it would, Majorane!

[Flowerness]

^^ This. I do this from time to time and it works great. Plus, it is fun to watch the fizzle go down the drain!

[darklyndsea]

I remove as much loose hair as possible before showering, and stick my shower sheds to the wall. Drano for hair clogs works well when it eventually builds up.

[arelrios]

I recently had to call my landlord to help me with the clogged bath tub drain. The building is very old and my hair escaping onto the drain, doesn't help. To avoid costs and a plumber call, they sent someone with a plunger and that made the drain move.

Sometimes, when the drain starts to get slow, I pour some drano but that time was not effective. I am totally getting the zip it thingy that woodswanderer suggested.

[spidermom]

There's also this rubbery device you can put into your drain hole that has little nobby things on it that catches hair. Then you can just clean that after your shower. I like to set mine aside on a paper towel for awhile because it's so much less gross to clean it after everything dries.

[maborosi]

I keep drano handy and I have a zip-it (I think that's what they're called. They're like long sticks with barbed edges that pull out clogs)

I have to clean the drain every week to keep it from clogging, sadly.

I try to not let my hair go down the drain because it clogs FAST

[cathair]

Shed hair is so much less disgusting when it's not covered in conditioner shudder:

Haven't had to unblcok the drain yet in 4 years of living here. I think this the only place in the world where that might be something to not be proud of! Also stick shed hairs to the wall. Then I flush 'em! Not sure if you are supposed to do the last part. I get fed up of emptying the bin.

[Anje]

I stick a Zip-It down the drain every couple months, when I notice the tub is draining slowly. That's enough to maintain it and my husband doesn't have to deal with it.

[Jorja]

I stick my sheds to the wall while I'm washing. Sometimes I like to move the hair around the wall to make a picture

:D That's hilarious. Imagine leaving them for a year, you could have a whole wall made of hair!

[Stray_mind]

My shower drain can be opened, so i open it and take my hair out. You can pour some chemical liquid that dissolves all the things stuck in the drain down there.. Keep it in some time and then wash it down with water...

[jasper]

If you are grossed out by hair in the bathtub drain, you should have seen the hair ball my husband pulled out of the dishwasher! I'm baffled by that one. It wasn't a lot of hair, but at my length, one or two hairs can form a respectable hair ball, and this was more than a couple. But in the dishwasher?

[veryhairyfairy]

I don't... pretty sure no one else does either. I'm actually careful to catch as much of the shed hair in my hand as possible while washing. I also clean the drain after each shower. With hair this long it really doesn't matter how hard you try to catch it all and clean up after yourself. Some hair is going to get by and some will go partially down the drain. Then it gets all tangled up together over time and voila... nasty, gross, clogged drain.

I try to remember to remove the drain cover and grab everything I can every couple to 6 months. That stretches the time between the need for drain-o or a drain snake... As long hairs, The perpetual war against slow drain is our cross to bear.

Incidentally, my boyfriend cleaned out his drain once and decided to jokingly give me a hard time about it. I said, "You want me to cut it? I'll cut it all off up to my chin." I was bluffing of course. He loves my long hair and told me so. Thus I told him... deal with it. Clogged drains are forever in your future. ;-)

Lol! :lol:

I had something very similar happen with my SO this summer;
Even though we'd only been living in the summer house for a few months, the drain slowed considerably and he decided to try and unclog it... when he pulled the first nasty slimy wad out, I took over to spare him the disgusting-ness. I then showered/washed my hair, and when I let it out of the towel SO couldn't see it very well and said: "What happened to your hair?!"
Me: "What do you mean?" as I pulled it to the front to start detangling
Him: sounding very relieved "Oh my god, I thought you cut it all off because I was grossed out by the clog!!! I'll deal with that stuff the rest of my life if I get to see your long hair!"

How sweet! :crush:

[atlantaz3]

Wow thanks for all the replies. I think we call a zip-it a drain snake, it looks like a coat hanger that has been twirled at the end.
He did add the clog buster that comes in two sides in one bottle, mixes as pours down drain, wait an hour than run water for several minutes to clear lines. It seemed to work well. I like the boiling water idea of but a little concerned for my caste iron pipes / pvc, melt rust issues there. I also think I will send him to the hard ware store for a strainer with smaller holes. Nice to know I'm not alone!

[MeAndTheMaz]

Of course, it doesn't seem like having to clean the drain every three years is that much of a hardship.

I have a bent piece of wire that I use to fish out the drain when it starts to run slow. I'm not as artistic as Nadine <3, I just fling my caught sheds at the wall and leave them be. :shrug:

[Hibernis]

Extra strength drano, which is just straight up lye. We have awful pipes anyway so we just do it once a month to maintain anyway. No fumes. Pretty much the best thing ever. We also use one of these (http://www.danco.com/Products/Sink-Parts/Strainers/Bath/TUB-DRAIN-MESH-STRAINER-STAINLESS-STEEL-88821), which is awesome at catching most of the hair and also super cheap.

Just of note: If you get a drain cleaner that's sulfuric acid, do NOT leave it in more than 15 minutes. It will dissolve your pipes. I like the lye because we can leave it in overnight if we have to, but ALWAYS follow the instructions on the bottle because otherwise your basement will be sad.

[askan]

Hahaha some post in this thread has really made me giggle... I lived a year with a roommate with long hair and sometimes I would find these long blonde hairs stuck to the bathroom wall, always the same place. I really couldn't comprehend how on earth they could have ended up there - now i know!! :D

[arelrios]

Yup, that is the Drano I use (for lack of the commercial name of the product) it is basically lye. Sometimes we leave overnight too... just like Hibernis.
As for the little colander mesh thingy... I cannot use that... I have a drain that the stopper is long gone... I only have the whole with a little piece across... thus making the use of a snake impossible (I've tried different sizes) ... it seems like the zip-it will do it though...
This weekend I will be on unclogging duty :D

[MadPirateBippy]

I squirt nair down the drain every few months. It dissolves hair from the head as well as hair on your legs, and then the clumps break up and go down the system. I also try to pour a big stock pot of boiling water down all my drains once a month, that dissolves the soap that can gum up and cause clogs.

Hope that helps.

[gwenalyn]

I squirt nair down the drain every few months. It dissolves hair from the head as well as hair on your legs, and then the clumps break up and go down the system.

This is so smart! Why didn't I ever think of that? I wonder if it's really cost-effective compared to stuff like Drano though?

[Yozhik]

I stick my sheds to the wall while I'm washing. Sometimes I like to move the hair around the wall to make a picture, and then I forget to wipe it off when I finish... someone always comes out of the bathroom half laughing and half disgusted and then I wipe it up. We have a drain cover for the bath that works well, but we need to get another for the sink. I detangle over the sink and we have to unclog it at least once a week. Everyone knows it's me too, I have the longest hair in the house. My mom has shoulder length hair and the rest are all boys with crew cuts.

Nadine - I call those works of art my "Jackson Pollock" period. :p

As for the drain clogging issue, yeah, I just try to be vigilant and comb out before each wash. Every few weeks I still end up pulling out baby clogs, though - better than a momma clog, however! :)

[Gertrude]

I pull up such clogs as I can, there are two of us longhairs now, my seven year old has thick long hair, and I need to plunge more regularly. Despite combing and sticking sheds on the wall. I use a maintenance biological washing powder soak in the sink. Plug the drain with a cloth so the solution goes down the overflow and wash it through. It shouldn't be hot, enzymes don't work in hot water. This is more for the mouldy goop we get in the pipes, really smelly goop. We live in an apartment and can't use lye products or masses of boiling water. This works as well as long as the sink isn't fully clogged. Then I plunge first.

I use Biotex prewash powder. It digests organic matter, including hair. I use an upright vacuum cleaner and need to defur the beater bar every two weeks as well. The brushes get choked with hair.

[MadPirateBippy]

This is so smart! Why didn't I ever think of that? I wonder if it's really cost-effective compared to stuff like Drano though?

Not sure how cost effective it is vs. lye, but I get pure lye and use it for soap making, so it always feels a little odd throwing something that useful down the drain- literally.

I do know it is very cost effective vs. calling a plumber.

[TatsuOni]

I'm the one cleaning the drain at home. My boyfriend tells me that it's my work since it's all my hair (he shaves his head). I have to clean it after every fourth hairwash because the water will pretty get stuck in the bathub if I don't... I only have BSL and brush the hair before I wash it, so the drain shouldn't get full so fast...

I've never heard of a drain cover before but it sounds good! Does anyone know what it's called in swedish?:cool:

[MINAKO]

omg, i though imwas doing a good job being careful and cleaning wel too, until i bought one of these long spirally metal things the other day at the 99ct store. yikes...... that was easly two months worth of shaed hair i pulled out. gunky, disgusting and tangled up in there like a dead rat. :/

[mindwiped]

I'm the one cleaning the drain at home. My boyfriend tells me that it's my work since it's all my hair (he shaves his head). I have to clean it after every fourth hairwash because the water will pretty get stuck in the bathub if I don't... I only have BSL and brush the hair before I wash it, so the drain shouldn't get full so fast...

I've never heard of a drain cover before but it sounds good! Does anyone know what it's called in swedish?:cool:

I have no clue if it's a decent translation or not, but I found an English webpage that has a translate pull down tab, with Swedish as an option. Here's the site: http://www.stainlessdrains.com/stainless-steel-sediment-baskets.html

[TatsuOni]

I have no clue if it's a decent translation or not, but I found an English webpage that has a translate pull down tab, with Swedish as an option. Here's the site: http://www.stainlessdrains.com/stainless-steel-sediment-baskets.html

Unfortenly it doesn't seem to be right but thanks for trying! I will continue my search for a swedish name so that I can find somewhere to by it. I told my boyfriend about it yesterday and even though he never cleans the drain he thought it would be a good idea to by one. Guess he's tired of slowrunning water when he showers even though he wants me to have long hair:lol: If I sometimes doesn't remove the hair after three to four washes, we have water all over the floor 'cause it's stop in the drain:whistle:

[TatsuOni]

Returning to this old thread just to tell that I got one of thoose wonderful drain covers a couple of weeks ago! So everyone in Sweden who wants one... I find mine in a grocerystore:cool: They can also bee found on a couple of internet sites such as animal stores, but the sizes aren't clear... One of the best thing I have bought!:joy:

[JustPam]

I definitely need a finer hair trap, drain snake does nothing!

[truepeacenik]

Returning to this old thread just to tell that I got one of thoose wonderful drain covers a couple of weeks ago! So everyone in Sweden who wants one... I find mine in a grocerystore:cool: They can also bee found on a couple of internet sites such as animal stores, but the sizes aren't clear... One of the best thing I have bought!:joy:

Looking for 13 months is dedication!

I actually pair a silicone trap that domes over the drain with a wire mesh trap that sits inside the drain.
I have to clear them each shower, and check the drain itself every other, because hair doesn't always do what it's supposed to, and some just slides vertically through.

[TatsuOni]

Looking for 13 months is dedication!

I actually pair a silicone trap that domes over the drain with a wire mesh trap that sits inside the drain.
I have to clear them each shower, and check the drain itself every other, because hair doesn't always do what it's supposed to, and some just slides vertically through.

Spending a couple of moths looking is less work than constantly cleaning the drain:smirk: