Bleck!! Disgusting hair clog!!!

[Curlsgirl]

The sink in our bathroom was very stopped up and DH tried some drain opener to no avail and so I picked up a "Zip It" drain opener (long skinny plastic thing with stick-out things all over to catch the hair when you pull it out of the drain) from Lowe's today. The man said it is very good for hair clogs. I used it and oh my gosh I was SO disgusted at what came out. I never knew that the sink where I don't even WASH my hair would be like that. I am going to tackle the bathtub drain next. Heeeeeeeellllllpp!!! It's almost enough to make me want to cut. On the upside, at least I found something that works very well for about $2.00 and some change.

Do you all find hair everywhere and do you get clogs a lot?

[annarose]

Oh uggg Curlsgirl, I know what that is like.

I've pulled it out by hand before...soap scum clogged into hair over time is not a pretty thing. :puke:

[BlndeInDisguise]

I know exactly what you mean. Our drain isn't good for people with long hair. My sister and I both have long hair, and I clean our drain out probably once every couple of months, and it's a huge handful of icky, slimy disgusting hair.

How can hair be so beautiful when it's on someone's head, but so ICKY when it's off?!

[AJoifulNoise]

There's not much worse in the world than a hairy, goopy, soap-scummy clog. I've pulled one out of our tub drain. I know there's another one forming at the moment, but I'm in denial. I keep trying to remember to put the drain cover in before I shower... But I keep forgetting.

[GlassEyes]

My curly hair clogs up a drain at least once a month or so, plus with my sister's hair (she has waist length straight hair) and you've got drain problems. And it's gross.

[Curlsgirl]

Well I went to do the bathtub and it has a different kind of drain with little holes so the thing would not go down there. I guess it catches the hair better. I am going to see if I can get a sink drain that looks the same. I don't care if it has the ability to hold water anyway. I think I saw some there when I was in that section. I asked hubby if he is disgusted by all the hair he finds everywhere and he said no because he doesn't want me to cut it. I remember when I had long hair (well BSL) when I was about 12 and my sister used to get disgusted by all the hair she found everywhere. Of course she has always had short cuts. Rambling..sorry time to go to bed AFTER I scrub myself with bleach LOL (just kidding).

[yogachic]

Oh yes, I've pulled one out of the bathtub drain, It was almost as thick as a ponytail and longer then mine too.
I bought a hair catcher that works well with catching the hair, but it won't work if its forgetten, before the showers. ;)

[Antares]

My bathtub drain has little holes, not just one big open hole, but it collects hair anyway. I try to remain in denial about it, and if it's draining slowly I'm more likely to hit it with Drano than unscrew the drain cover and fish around with a wire. Ugh.

[Curlsgirl]

Antares, yeah I would do that too except we have a septic tank and most strong enough drain cleaners like that are a no-no for septic tanks. DH would KILL me if I used one like that and I don't relish the thought of having a septic problem either! I have been there and done that and paid the ridiculous price!!! Better a little slime on the hands. Believe me.

[yogachic]

My bathtub drain has little holes, not just one big open hole, but it collects hair anyway. I try to remain in denial about it, and if it's draining slowly I'm more likely to hit it with Drano than unscrew the drain cover and fish around with a wire. Ugh.


It was an amazing difference when all that hair came out. Draino can't eat away all that hair.
:)

[Antares]

CurlsGirl - we had a septic tank too until about a year ago (now we're hooked up to the city's sewage system). Fortunately, I was going to college away from home at the time, so I tended to clog the drain while I was home and then escape back to school. I imagine my mother will forgive me someday.

[eadwine]

I try to clean out the drains (sink and shower) once every two weeks. It's easy enough to reach in there, but I take out a rat sized glob every time hehe.

[Anje]

I've got a sink strainer over my shower drain, but stuff still manages to get around it (probably because I use it upside down). It rarely gets slow, but the zip-it does a great job of getting the slime monsters out when it does.

Honestly, the slimy hairballs are gross, but you can get used to amazing levels of disgusting pretty quickly, when you have to deal with it regularly. Alternatively (if a bit less environmentally friendly), I've heard that those lye crystal drain openers work very well on drain clogs by burning away the hair.

[naomimcc]

Been there...done that...I've used both Drano (industrial) and a wire to fish it out. Total. Pukage. Ick.

[Teacherbear]

I LOVE the Zip It drain cleaner! Last year, Walgreens (in my city) was putting them on clearance. I literally bought more than a dozen of them. They are GREAT. What you pull from the drain is disgusting, but there is no sense in putting harsh chemicals down the drain when a simple tool like a Zip It can clear it out in no time flat (with just a quick gag-reflex).

;)

[darkwaves]

Those Zip-it sound good -- what section of stores are they in?

[Teacherbear]

Those Zip-it sound good -- what section of stores are they in?

I found mine with the brooms and mops (at Walgreens, but they no longer carry them).

[littlemiss]

Oh yes, I've pulled one out of the bathtub drain, It was almost as thick as a ponytail and longer then mine too.
I bought a hair catcher that works well with catching the hair, but it won't work if its forgetten, before the showers. ;)
very interested
What does a hair catcher look like???

I leave the top of disposable razors in the plug hole and it catches all my hair clean it about once a week!! this works well for me!!

[hrimfaxi]

Someone called them Drain Ferrets in an old drain ferret thread... which is an excellent name for them. They are horrid. I live in a house with 3 guys, 2 of whom are also longish-haired (longer than shoulder, at least), and what I find in our haircatcher alone is pretty terrifying... I hesitate to investigate what could be IN the drain, though at least we are extremely diligent about using the haircatcher...

[maskedrose]

I know what you mean about the bathroom sink :( I didn't realize how much of my brushed out hair was making it's way down the drain until I pulled up the plug about a month ago - disgusting!! I am definitely going to have to try one of those Zip-Its or whatever they're called - sounds like a godsend for scummmy hair balls :)

[fae]

shudder:Ewww...I pulled one out of my bathroom sink drain last week. Disgusting. I am afraid to look in the shower drain.

[Finoriel]

For me the solution was very simple. When I comb my hair in the bathroom and in front of the sink I close the drain and remove the hair out of the sink before I use the tap. So there are no more hairs washed down. If all family members do that and don´t spool down hair they find in the sink, sometimes it happens that there "materializes" hair out of the blue ;) Just resist the impulse to wash it down and put them into the bathroom-bin instead. I never found any clogs again since I do that.
And for the shower we have a hair-sieve, which works very well.
:magic:problem solved without disgusting surprises :)

[tiny_teesha]

we have a little guard on our drain so the hair build up on top so it doesn't get so nasty. With 3 girls with BSL+ hair it gets cloged pretty fast!
Working in a pet shop though, i have an extremely high level of tolerane to grossness. (hey i pick up poo for a living!!!)

[Curlsgirl]

Darkwaves, I got mine at Lowe's in the "plumbing" section. I am sure Home Depot and maybe even Walmart have them too. They also have the hair screens that are supposed to fit over any type of drain. I can't get those to work too well though. They don't seem to stay where I put them :confused:

I will definitely have to try fishing the hair out while the drain is stopped up though before washing anything down. I wouldn't care if I NEVER had to do that again! :eek:

[MadPirateBippy]

My boyfriend does the hair drain cleaning, and when he cleaned the drain, not only did he find hair but a long blue shoelace.

No joke.

Honestly, I figure having to get a new vacuume once a year and the drains are just the price I pay for being this drop-dead sexy. It's a hard life. What can you do? :)

[Nightshade]

Yeah, gross to the ∞. I've got a strong stomach but when I haul the Drain Monster out and then think that I empty my mooncup in the shower, that's enough to turn my stomach. :(

[enfys]

Nightshade, thanks for the tip; I just bought a mooncup and my word I am *not* emptying it down anything that collects hair.

I don't wash my hair in the shower as such, I stand at the edge of the bath with just my head under the showery bit, and manually catch loose hair. Seems to work, the plug hole is fine most of the time. My other half's bathroom sink is another matter. I know the water is slow to drain because he shaves into the sink, and sheds hair at an alarming rate. I am not digging about in there. It's his gunk.

[Gemma]

Our bathroom sink clogged up a few weeks ago. My dad put drain cleaner down it but it didn't do much good, so I re-applied the stuff, got a flashlight, and peered down the drain.

It was coated in black goo. I used an old toothbrush to scrub down the sides and remove the gunk. Turned out it was a mixture of old rotting hair, toothpaste, and the facial oils I use to cleanse my skin.

GROSS.

I don't know how so much of my hair got down the drain, but there ya go. It was nice and clean once I'd finished with it, though!

[lora410]

I wonder if thats what's blocking our toilet constantly:lol: and yes i get the nasty hair clogs to.

[Meli]

I used to lose furry animals in the shower so I have removed some really disgusting clogs from the drain too... But with no shampoo and gentler washing technique I have got rid of those drain-clogging rats and lose almost no hairs in the shower anymore. However, I have a dog... And he requires regular baths so unfortunately I will have to continue remove clogs from the drain...

[pookatrina]

If anyone is on the fence about getting one of these check out the website (http://www.zipitclean.com/)it's got a video on there. I love mine & have one in both bathrooms.

Now if only I could solve the vacuum beater bar issue............

[Curlsgirl]

If anyone is on the fence about getting one of these check out the website (http://www.zipitclean.com/)it's got a video on there. I love mine & have one in both bathrooms.

Now if only I could solve the vacuum beater bar issue............

Oh ICK!!!! That's it! That's what I pulled outta my sink!!!

(runs out of thread screaming!)

[Patrycja]

HAHA curlsgirl!!

I just unclogged both my bathtub drain and sink drain.I can totally understand what you mean about the sink,I don't wash my hair in there but my husband shaves there every morning.You'd think those tiny itty bitty red hairs wouldn't clog up the drain,but since its a old house(hence,old drainage system)they clog it up every few months or so.

I am to blame for the shower one.That looked like something my cat wouldv'e hacked up...:barf:

btw-after I posted that response,I saw the video.I need that thinkgy but that was one nasty hair clog.You could still see the soap scum in it....ew

[Neon Gloss]

Agh.. It's so difficult getting the hair out of the drain we have. We get so much of it, even with a hair catcher! After about 7 uses, the water is up to our ankles. I didn't dare sticking my fingers in there, so I used an old tooth brush. It STILL didn't get it all out. I just leave the dirty work for my stepmom.

[domonic_uk]

I cleared mine last night, it wouldn't have been to bad but my flat mate poured bleach down the drain instead of getting it out. It made it worse as the bleach had settled on it as it couldn't pour a way.

[young&reckless]

I have a septic tank too so chemical solutions are limited. I use and old crochet needle to pull it out so I don;t have to touch it.

On the plus side I'm shedding less since my cassia treatment. So maybe I wont have to do it as often.

[ale]

Haha, monsters in the bathroom, I think we've all had this! Once I pulled an enormous disgusting one out; next time I used some chemical product and the deed was done.

[Sarahmoon]

Next time any of you has to clean the drain of hair clogs, think of me:
I live in a student flat. 4 of my room mates are girls and they all have at least armpit length hair and they wash their hair at least twice as often as I do. Every week someone is supposed to clean the corridor, including the shower drain, but you can imagine a lot of people frequently skip that dirty job so every time it's my turn there's a looooooooot of hair and dirt in it and it smells afwul.
My advice: Tie a towel or scarf or something like that around your head to cover your nose. It will make the smell less bad. And put on cleaning gloves! This creates a distance between you and the dirt and makes it less bad in my opinion.

[Kittee]

I also use the "Zip IT" tool. Safe, and non-toxic way to clean out the drains.

[Wavelength]

Zip-Its are great. We get ours at Home Depot.