How To Unclog Drain Hair And Clear Drain

When you need to get hair out of your drains and prevent it from happening again, this is what you need to do.

Most of us have faced a clogged drain at least once in our lives. Not only does it block the flow of the water, but it’s also embarrassing when we need to show guests to the problematic bathroom.

Clogged drains are a common problem in homes, and one of the most common causes of clogged drains is hair. Unclogging drain hair can be a challenge if you don’t know what you are doing. Hair can wrap around the drain and trap gunk inside your sink or tub.

While you can try using chemical drain cleaners, there are alternative ways to get the hair out of your sink before you call a plumber. In this article, we will show you how to remove a hair clog from a drain using a few simple tools.

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What you need

There are a few things that you can do in order to remove hair from a bathroom drain.

Tweezers – Using tweezers, you can remove hair and other objects in the drain with ease if the obstructions are just a few centimeters away from the drain opening.
Baking soda & vinegar – Mixing baking soda with vinegar creates a chemical reaction that bubbles through clogs and breaks them up. The weak acid in vinegar reacts with the basic nature of sodium bicarbonate, and the carbon dioxide created by the reaction helps foam up the mixture.
Boiling water – Boiling water is a smart do-it-yourself trick for clearing away some of those nasty buildup in your drain so it runs again.
Hair removal snake tool – You can use a straightened wire hanger to clear a clog in your drain. However, if you find yourself facing an especially tough clog, you may need to purchase a drain snake from your local hardware store or one from an online retailer.
Plunger – A classic plumbing hand tool can dislodge clogs using pressure created when the rubber cup of the plunger is sealed against a drain opening and the handle is pushed up and down rapidly.

How to remove the hair clog

Dealing with a clogged drain can be frustrating. If you are lucky, the clog is caused by a build-up of hair and can be easily removed with a few simple steps. After removing the hair clog from the drain, it is important to clean the area to prevent future problems.

While hair clogs can be a real pain, you can remove them quickly and easily with a few steps. In this article, we will discuss how to unclog drain hair using three different methods: using vinegar and baking soda, using a plumbing snake, and using a plunger. We will also provide tips on how to prevent hair clogs from occurring in the future.

1. Using Vinegar and Baking Soda

When your drains get clogged and you need to clean them out, try this classic trick of vinegar and baking soda.

Remove any excess hair or debris. You can do this with your hands or a pair of tweezers. Yank away hair and other objects that may cause obstructions from around the drain opening. Be sure to dispose of the hair in the trash can, not down the drain.

Proceed with baking soda and vinegar solution. Pour a cup of baking soda down the drain and let it sit for five minutes. Pour a cup of vinegar down the drain and let it sit for another five minutes. Baking soda and vinegar will react together to form a foaming solution that will help break up the clog.

Finish off the process. Pour a big pot of boiling water into the drain. This will clear out all the hair, vinegar, and baking soda.

2. Using a Plumbing Snake

To get hair out of the drain, you might try fishing the hair out with a wire coat hanger. Or you can buy a drain snake tool in the hardware store or online shops. I recommend this hair drain clog remover tool for its length, effective loop design, flexibility, and quality. The best way to clear a drain is to use thin and firm tools with a curved end that you can slip up underneath the drain and pull the hair out.

Lower the snake down into the drain opening. After you have pushed your snake down the drain pipe, you should twist its handle to reach the clog.

Search the clog and pull up. It is easy to find a clog in a pipe if several pieces of hair have built up and stuck together. You can also feel it with the plumbing snake. Now to get the hair out of the drain, you pull it up slowly to prevent the hair from breaking and falling down the drain again.

Follow up with vinegar, baking soda, and boiling water. After snaking your drain, you should run some hot water through it followed by vinegar and baking soda to make sure any remaining debris has been cleared.

3. Using a Plunger

Another best way to clear a drain is with a plunger. These are rubber cups attached to handles used to unclog drains, toilets, and sinks. When plungers are placed over drain openings, the rubber creates a vacuum seal that causes a powerful sucking action when you pull the plunger upward. The resulting upward motion easily clears blockages.

Check the drain stopper. If your bathroom sink or tub is clogged, try removing the pop-up stopper and cleaning it off. Sometimes hair, soap, and other debris collect on the stem below the plug, as well as on the rod that moves the stopper up and down.

Search the clog and pull up. You have to cover the overflow opening and create a seal, or the plunger won’t create the suction and compression necessary to unblock your drain. To stop a bathtub overflow, you should remove the cover on the overflow tube and seal the opening with a rag. With shower drains, there is no need to remove the drain cover to seal the drain as they are usually completely enclosed

Position the plunger. Place the plunger’s cup over the drain’s opening so it covers the opening fully. Run a small amount of water —just enough to cover the cup.

Pump and pump. To clear a clogged drain, push down and up on the plunger handle with an equal force in an up-and-down motion. As you stroke downward, be sure to maintain the seal between the rubber plunger cup and the sink surface. You can tell that the clog is loosening when the handle becomes easier to pump.

Flush the drain. Once the clog is cleared and the drain is working properly, run hot water down the drain for several minutes to flush away any remaining debris. This will help dissolve soap scum and keep the drain clear.

How to prevent hair clogs

Everyone hates a clogged drain — it is one of the most common plumbing problems you can deal with at your own home. If you want to avoid getting clogged drains and messy, unsanitary bathrooms, there are certainly few necessary measures that can help prevent hair clogs. Afterall, the best way to clear a drain is to prevent it in the first place.

Brush your hair before taking a bath or showering.

Hair falls out every day, so if you have long hair, it probably falls out more than the average person. That’s why you should brush your hair before you go in the shower. Brushing your hair before taking a shower reduces the amount of hair that goes down the drain.

Use a drain protector or sink stopper.

Prevent hair from clogging your drains by using a drain protector or sink stopper. It will catch all the excessive hair and yet allow drainage, which is exactly what we need. This way you won’t need to get the hair out of the drain because they are already filtered out by the drain stopper.

Try regular drain maintenance.

Have your pipes regularly checked for leaks and clogs, or try this quick and inexpensive fix: Pour hot water down the drain every week or pour a cup of vinegar down the drain, letting it sit for half an hour, then pour two quarts of hot water down the drain. This solution may help clear up minor plumbing issues.

FAQs on how to unclog drain hair

If you don’t see your question answered below, don’t be afraid to let us know in the comments!

How do you dissolve hair in a drain?

Pouring chemicals like bleach can dissolve hair in a drain. Baking soda and vinegar can help clear nasty hair clogs. You can also use baking soda to fight fungi and bacteria in your drain.

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) works to unclog drains thanks to its chemical reaction with the acid in vinegar. Carbon dioxide is also released; this bubbles up and helps foam up the mixture, which is what really helps to loosen clogs.

What chemical will dissolve hair in a drain?

Bleach is a basic chemical and hair is acidic. The reaction between an acid and a base produces a salt and water. Bleach breaks down any fiber with acidic properties.

The next time you have a slow-draining bathroom sink, shower, or bathtub, try pouring a cup of bleach down the drain. Aside from bleach, there are also drain cleaners with strong chemicals that can dissolve hair.

How do you unclog bathroom sink with hair in it?

The best way to clear a drain is to use a plunger. For mild cases, you can also use vinegar and baking soda method or the plumbing snake tool. You can use the information above as a guide.

What happens when hair goes down the drain?

When hair falls down the drain, it’s carried through a straight pipe. It then moves into a larger series of pipes that sends water downward through your home. However, hair is insoluble in water, and even the strongest drain cleaners cannot dissolve it completely.