I need to talk about shower drains and hair

[pumpkin]

I unfortunately shed a lot of hair and every few months, despite by best efforts, my shower drain starts to slow, I use drano/liquid plumber/etc and its good to go for a few months. I'm pretty sure these products are not all that great for my pipes when it comes to somewhat regular use.

Does anyone know of a good product that can be used that's pipe safe for regular use or other tips and tricks? I remember in college finding a nondescript (I want to say it was a white bottle with red lettering) bottle of something called hair away (?) or something like that which was safe for pipes.  That stuff was awesome as there were 4 of us living in the house with one bathroom.  I've looked around for this and haven't seen it (then again its hard to look for something when you don't really know what it is) and I bought it in college at some random store, from what I remember.

Evidently I wanted to ramble on about this topic, lol

[pumpkin]

Feb 28, 2015 21:00:40 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

I'm also curious because despite the fact that we have a hair catcher, my hair is still always slowing up our shower drain.

I'm glad it isn't just me. And I've tried those catcher things, only they get gross quickly and I hate having to replace them so often.

[juliachild]

Yeah those are pretty much awful for the pipes. You can use a snake to pull out the clogs. And then get yourself one of those mesh drain covers.

[moolarkey]

I got this "thing" at Target, two for like $4.50. It's called a Zip-it. It is probably almost 36" long, yellow plastic, flat, with these jagged points sticking out from it on both sides, about an 1" apart. You remove the drain stopped, push this "thing" down the drain. You don't even have to turn it or twist it. Pull it back out and you'll be amazed at the amount of hair on it. I didn't have a huge amount, my hair is just above my shoulders but my DDIL's hair is very long and naturally curly. DS and DDIL were astounded by the amount of hair they pulled out of their shower drain.

www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-00412BL-Zip-It-Cleaning/dp/B000BO9204

I can't remember if it was in the aisle with draino and that kind of stuff or where they have plumbing parts but find one and try it.

[sierramist03]

Feb 28, 2015 22:30:51 GMT -5 moolarkey said:

I got this "thing" at Target, two for like $4.50. It's called a Zip-it. It is probably almost 36" long, yellow plastic, flat, with these jagged points sticking out from it on both sides, about an 1" apart. You remove the drain stopped, push this "thing" down the drain. You don't even have to turn it or twist it. Pull it back out and you'll be amazed at the amount of hair on it. I didn't have a huge amount, my hair is just above my shoulders but my DDIL's hair is very long and naturally curly. DS and DDIL were astounded by the amount of hair they pulled out of their shower drain.

www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-00412BL-Zip-It-Cleaning/dp/B000BO9204

I can't remember if it was in the aisle with draino and that kind of stuff or where they have plumbing parts but find one and try it.

Yep I use this too and I Love it. I'm so glad that when we went to buy draino they suggested this chemical free option.

[mmp]

Another vote for Zip-its.

[jillybean222]

We have 4 ladies in this house so lots of drain hair! When it starts to slow down draining I take it apart and fish the hair out. It's a gross job.

[wildfloweragain]

H uses needle nose b pliers and gets a ton out.

Sent from my SM-G900V using proboards

[sju]

We don't use chemicals. DH unclogs it when it starts to slow down. It is so gross, my DH must really love me because my hair is the problem. I also try to catch as much hair as possible in my hands before it falls and put it against the glass. Then I wipe it with paper and throw it in the trash can when I get out of the shower.

[TBM]

I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but we picked up a bottle of an enzymatic drain care/clog preventative when we were at HD or Lowes. I know there are a fair number of enzyme based drain products out there...I think the one we got is by Zep.

[emoflamingo]

Mar 1, 2015 20:36:26 GMT -5 wildfloweragain said:

H uses needle nose b pliers and gets a ton out.

Sent from my SM-G900V using pro boards

Ditto. I have long hair and I shed a lot, so in addition to this every once in awhile (we've lived in our house for about 2.5 years and only done it twice), I brush my hair well before I shower and pull out any stray hairs that I find before I get in and wash.

Wet hair makes me gag so my H is the one who does the dirty work.