How many times a year do your shower drains get clogged with your hair?

[Priska]

With me I think it's about every 3rd or 4th months. Is that a huge amount? (I'm not quite sure but now I start to mark this to my calendar.) That's how often I must pull a wig out of there to get the water go down. Yes I feel bitter about that... because there's my hair in so many other places also.

[pisinoe]

I clean the shower drain every time I shower so it doesn't really happen to me. :bigeyes:

[Priska]

Yes I do that too... but I don't manage to catch them all, they slip from me. After shower I take the hairs that I can see.

[Priska]

But I don't open the grid every time.

[lapis_lazuli]

Have you tried a hair catcher to put over the drain? I have a plastic starfish that does a good job of collecting sheds.

[rosenester]

I am currently moving & looking for a new hair catch for a tub drain. I can tell my hairs will find a way through the catch that is there, even with brushing before showering and trying to catch any and stick em to the wall. Some always get through if the holes are too big. I’d rather clean after each wash than have the drain back up and have to fish out a rat of my own hair down the drain- yuck! I have been reading old threads here for what people use.

I saw the starfish one, but reviews said it get moldy if you leave it in place (i guess the alternative is to remove it to let it dry after each shower, currently looking into the tubshroom :confused:

[neko_kawaii]

I have a screen that goes over the drain and with two long hairs in the house have never had to clean the pipes. The screen does need to get cleaned after every shower as it is very good at catching lint as well and clogs up.

[Cyclamen]

Usually it doesn't, at least not because of long hair. I comb through when washing hair (as a part of curly routine) and all shed hairs stay on the comb.

[Lady Stardust]

I use a dome shaped catcher thing that I put over the plug hole. Even my husband uses it, and he has short hair. It’s easy to clean the hair off after each use.

[lapushka]

Never. We do, however, do regular maintenance on the drains though, meaning we use a drain cleaner once to twice a year on it.

[Chromis]

We have dual strainers on our shower drain. One is a mesh basket kind and the other is a flat metal disk with holes that sits on top. The flat one does catch some hair, but mostly it keeps you from stepping in the drain. The mesh is great! It needs frequent cleaning since like Neko, I find it clogs with lint easily. We have never needed to use drain cleaner and with this set up, have not had any clogs or needed to snake the line or anything.

[knobbly]

Lmao I have always rented so I don’t care? I clean hair out after each shower of course but I don’t lose my mind over it or buy anything special to catch hair either. We’ve had to have our drains snaked before but never because of my hair. It’s usually within a few months of moving into a new place which tells me the problem was there to begin with.

[Obsidian]

I saw the starfish one, but reviews said it get moldy if you leave it in place (i guess the alternative is to remove it to let it dry after each shower, currently looking into the tubshroom :confused:

I bought a tub shroom when my hair was longer, it works really well. It does get kinda gross sometimes, I use a old toothbrush to clean it.
I've had it a few years, suppose its about time to replace it.

[MusicalSpoons]

Never, we just have one of the little flat colander-type catchers. I can imagine in a wet room with that awkward type of drain it would be harder though, would need a much more specific type of catcher to go over and round.

[Priska]

Thanks for the answers but actually I was only thinking of the amount of shed hair... I think it's smaller trouble for me only empty the drain a few times a year.
But maybe it anyway is not 4 times a year, now when I think about it I think it's 2-3 times a year.

[rosenester]

Lmao I have always rented so I don’t care? I clean hair out after each shower of course but I don’t lose my mind over it or buy anything special to catch hair either. We’ve had to have our drains snaked before but never because of my hair. It’s usually within a few months of moving into a new place which tells me the problem was there to begin with.
:lol: I rent also, but my new place I know the family who owns the building and nowI want to be responsible!

I bought a tub shroom when my hair was longer, it works really well. It does get kinda gross sometimes, I use a old toothbrush to clean it.
I've had it a few years, suppose its about time to replace it.
I just bought one! And a star shape one for back-up :p


Thanks for the answers but actually I was only thinking of the amount of shed hair... I think it's smaller trouble for me only empty the drain a few times a year.
But maybe it anyway is not 4 times a year, now when I think about it I think it's 2-3 times a year.
4-6 times a year we put an enzyme treatment down the drains… mostly because of hair. 3-4 times a year I pull my hair rat out of the shower drain… gross. And this is WITH brushing before and attempting to catch as many as I could on the shower wall. Basically, I think you’re dealing with a normal amount of hair in the drain :o

[lapushka]

Yes! Drain catcher "thingy" here as well. It saves your drains. And it costs pennies.

[neko_kawaii]

Yes! Drain catcher "thingy" here as well. It saves your drains. And it costs pennies.

And is SO much less gross than pulling hair (or anything) out of a drain.

[illicitlizard]

Literally never and I don't know why - my hair just doesn't seem to clog drains? At my last place I had to pull a small creature out maybe yearly, but when you look at the hairs collected it was almost entirely my at the time partner's hair. He clears his up after every wash day or the water is not going anywhere.

Mine hairs tend to accumulate outside the shower, probably due to brushing dry...I only lose maybe 1-2hairs when I shampoo/condition which I think is a bit atypical, so not many hairs lurking in the shower nor the drain, even now with slightly longer hair.

[-Aithne-]

I am currently moving & looking for a new hair catch for a tub drain. I can tell my hairs will find a way through the catch that is there, even with brushing before showering and trying to catch any and stick em to the wall. Some always get through if the holes are too big. I’d rather clean after each wash than have the drain back up and have to fish out a rat of my own hair down the drain- yuck! I have been reading old threads here for what people use.

I saw the starfish one, but reviews said it get moldy if you leave it in place (i guess the alternative is to remove it to let it dry after each shower, currently looking into the tubshroom :confused:


I bought a tub shroom when my hair was longer, it works really well. It does get kinda gross sometimes, I use a old toothbrush to clean it.
I've had it a few years, suppose its about time to replace it.

I second? Third the Tubshroom!

I love my tubshoom. I even got the cover to take baths with it :) I got it 10 months ago (checked Amazon) and haven’t had to pull out the Draino until 2? 3? months ago…because SO decided to take it out because the birdfood would get stuck in it (but that’s what's supposed to happen!). I was sooo happy while it was in all the time. I don’t like Draino… Sigh. To clean it I’d just get two squares of TP and twist it around the base and down and everything came off. I did that once a week. It’s not moldy at all. I stick it in the PineSol bucket when I clean the tub. It did yellow a tiny bit. I got bright white, though.

[tuanyiji]

Never, I detangle first before my wash, and I stand in a big water bucket to keep my shed in control. I recycle the bucket of water to flush the toilet, more environmental friendly this way.
Also, you can put a cheap dollar stocking over the drain filter if you’re in a pinch.

[foreveryours]

Never. I use a strainer but I notice that as my hair has grown from just long to really long, very little rinses out. All the sheds get removed with a combe after it dries. The day after a wash is always provides the greatest amounts added to my coffee can which gets emptied every 2 weeks.

[KokoroDragon]

The only thing that has clogged my drain is pet hair. Also tree roots, but that's a separate problem in a different part of the pipe. I don't know why my hair hasn't clogged it, I don't even use a drain catcher most of the time.

[Priska]

Ok I don't brush before showering, for a long time I brushed my hair in the shower. That probably explains a lot...

[C_Bookworm]

Tub shroom user here. I clean it out every 2 washes or the water starts draining slow. I think it’s less about there being *that much* hair in it, and more that the hair is coated in conditioner and gets clumpy.

[lapushka]

About "good practices". I am one who also detangles pre-wash. It's just the right thing to do. I mean especially with me. A lot comes out after a week of no brushing and I couldn't imagine that getting in the drain, even with a strainer and even if it does hold most of it away from it. I don't take chances with the drain anymore. I was far too careless in my teens and 20s. Not that my mom ever complained, but we had to use the big guns back then. I remember that well!

I don't buy name-brand for the shower thingies. I just measure well (for the kitchen sink it is necessary) and well when I come across some for 99cts or 2 for €1.99 that claim to be stainless steel (and sort of are), I just snap them up.

I mean there's plenty on ebay if you search for them.

And during the wash, that thing gets cleaned out. After shampoo. After a conditioner (especially after a conditioner, because hair tends to slip out then). And then once afterwards.

[pisinoe]

But I don't open the grid every time.

This here is probably the issue

[lapushka]

Some drains can be very difficult to "get to". I know that my mom's bathroom sinks have this different plug (a black rubber one) and mine is this French style (decades later), with the plug that goes down in it. Easy enough to put a drain catcher on it, for those though.

[shelomit]

My shower/tub drains very slowly at the best of times. When I'm washing my hair, I put a strainer over the drain, but the rest of the time I leave it as is since it literally takes hours to drain out with the strainer in. I've had to Drano it once since I moved in last September. In my case, I blame the old plumbing much more than my hair ( ; The bathroom sink drains agonizingly slowly as well.

[Priska]

Before I had such great problems with tangles, that it wasn't worth it to try to brush it dry. I did like curly girls and brushed my hair under running water with conditioners, that was the easiest way to get the tangles open.
Thanks for your advices to buy products to my drain. My bathroom drain anyway is quite easy to empty and there's something I like to see this wig made of my hair... 😂

[MusicalSpoons]

For some further context to my drain never being clogged - I comb thoroughly the night before, then again before I pre-poo condition (basically the start of my wash routine, although that part is not in the shower), and I detangle in the shower during the wash too. Depending on how much hair I'm losing I often have to clear it from the drain catcher during the wash otherwise it blocks the water from running through. Definitely have to remove the hair after the wash at least, every time, otherwise the water won't drain for the next person.

[lapushka]

My shower/tub drains very slowly at the best of times. When I'm washing my hair, I put a strainer over the drain, but the rest of the time I leave it as is since it literally takes hours to drain out with the strainer in. I've had to Drano it once since I moved in last September. In my case, I blame the old plumbing much more than my hair ( ; The bathroom sink drains agonizingly slowly as well.

Oooh that's not normal, but I bet you know as much. If de-cloggers do 0 then there's fairly little you can do.

[spidermom]

Rarely. I have a domed hair catcher over the drain, but a few hairs get through and need to be cleaned out every once in awhile - ewwwwwwwwww! Yuck!

[lapushka]

Rarely. I have a domed hair catcher over the drain, but a few hairs get through and need to be cleaned out every once in awhile - ewwwwwwwwww! Yuck!

Yes there's always those few that escape. :lol: :p

[TatsuOni]

I'm also using a net hair catcher thing.

[vampyyri]

I don't have a catcher on my drain since it's an older tub with one of those twisty drains that's attached so you can close it for taking a bath. I take too many baths to really care enough to put a catcher on. :lol:

So I just wait until the water starts to back up and break out the drain snake. I've only been in my house for about a year now and only had take apart the drain to do it once. :shrug: Yeah it was gross, but sacrifices must be made for my self care soaks :3

[neko_kawaii]

I don't have a catcher on my drain since it's an older tub with one of those twisty drains that's attached so you can close it for taking a bath. I take too many baths to really care enough to put a catcher on. :lol:

So I just wait until the water starts to back up and break out the drain snake. I've only been in my house for about a year now and only had take apart the drain to do it once. :shrug: Yeah it was gross, but sacrifices must be made for my self care soaks :3

There are hair catchers that sit up over that style of stopper. In the apartment, I opted to remove the built in stopper and used a rubber stopper instead.

[shelomit]

Oooh that's not normal, but I bet you know as much. If de-cloggers do 0 then there's fairly little you can do.

Yeah, I'll eventually come around to complaining at the landlord, but I don't want to push my luck as he already had to fix the screen door earlier this year.

[lapushka]

I don't have a catcher on my drain since it's an older tub with one of those twisty drains that's attached so you can close it for taking a bath. I take too many baths to really care enough to put a catcher on. :lol:

So I just wait until the water starts to back up and break out the drain snake. I've only been in my house for about a year now and only had take apart the drain to do it once. :shrug: Yeah it was gross, but sacrifices must be made for my self care soaks :3

If I know what you mean by twisty drain, you can usually pull that "thing" out and cover it with a plain drain catcher. For washing the hair, the water needs to run anyway.

And then put the thing back when you're done. I do this for my tub.

If we're talking the same kind of plug.

[vampyyri]

There are hair catchers that sit up over that style of stopper. In the apartment, I opted to remove the built in stopper and used a rubber stopper instead.

Oh? :writer:

I'll have to do some research, I didn't know such things even existed. I can have a hair catcher and still make people soup several times a week? What a world we live in! :lol:


If I know what you mean by twisty drain, you can usually pull that "thing" out and cover it with a plain drain catcher. For washing the hair, the water needs to run anyway.

And then put the thing back when you're done. I do this for my tub.

If we're talking the same kind of plug.

I don't think it's the same type of "twisty thing" sadly (technical terms LOL)... I needed to get my husband involved to pull the mechanism out because I couldn't figure it out for the life of me :bigeyes:

[blackgothicdoll]

I started using a hard catcher over the shower drain, or a glob would form right underneath. The bathroom vanity sink I also use a trap for. But it still gets clogged a few times a year due to how narrow it is. Three strands of coiled hair are basically all it takes, at least it seems that way.

[ExpectoPatronum]

I rent and the drain we have SUCKS. It's been clogged at least three times since we moved in a year ago. I have long hair and my partner has a dog with fine hair and between the two of us, it gets backed up easily. Due to the structure of the drain, we can't put in a good hair catcher. We have one that goes over the top and it does help, but the drain inevitably gets clogged again at some point.

It's rather irritating, actually.

[Shorty89]

Ugh. This reminds me that I should deep clean my drain again. I do have a shower drain cover but with the way my drain is, some still slips through and it can get clogged quickly.

[EdG]

My shower drain pipe corroded so that the cover could no longer be screwed on. This inadvertently made removing hairs from the drain after every shower easy. ;)
Ed

[baanoo]

Our tub had an integrated stopper that you pull up and down from the wall beneath the tap but the whole mechanism was recessed beneath the drain-hole, if that makes sense. It didn’t seem to work so we used a rubber stopper for baths.

For ages I couldn’t figure out why we were having such slow draining; no amount of drain cleaner or snaking seemed to do anything! - and I knew we weren’t sending much hair at all down the drain - we use a metal sieve-style hair catch that even holds lint and thick conditioner; next to nothing slips through.

Finally, I unscrewed the wall plate and got in there with a pair of needle nosed pliers and discovered the whole thing had rusted out and it was stuck in a state of perpetual 1/4 open with a dangly chain. I removed the entire assembly (full of other peoples hair, yikes) and we haven’t had an issue since. This has been a few years at least.

[foreveryours]

Renting, here expense to fix plumbing clogs caused by the tenant (so tree roots are ok) falls on the tenant - it's very expensive. Paranoid, I use this metal seive

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=44680&d=1615150119

Hair doesn't get through and traps a lot of soap scum. It's emptied every shower, hair is washed with dish soap and added to the the pile. Four years and drain still drains.

[vampyyri]

You know, I commented on this thread a few days ago about not having to unclog my drain often... and guess what had to happen today. :justy: I jinxed myself! It was all of my long hair too, it was like the ghost of my hair past and I couldn't help but laugh :lol:

[lithostoic]

They don't. We clean them often.

[GordonMurphella]

They don't. We clean them often.

This. Every time, because otherewise ... bruhhhh. Common sense :)