Unblocking drain blocked with Hair!

HappyIdiotTalk

Bobbyssqueeze wrote:

Use a plunger, about £6 from focus diy stores. It really works, no chemicals! :T

Didn't work for me We just ended up with a shower tray full of foul water full of hair and what appeared to be crystalised soap scum. Tried a pipe snake thingy too, didn't really help. Spent a fortune on bleech, tried about 10 litres down there over a few nights to little effect.

Got serious and tried Mr Muscle extra powerful thick bleech. No effect! Used another bottle, still no effect.

Then tried a couple of Mr Muscle pipe and drain unblocker bottles. It has two separated chemicals that react when poured into the pipe to create powerful cleaning foam... did nothing!

I tried a can of something that shoots a jet or pressurised water down the pipe to blast it clear. Still no result.

I now swear by caustic soda as it cleared it on the first go. But try to avoid using it by flushing with bleech every few weeks.

recovering_spendaholic

The easiest way to do it is to get a screwdriver and unscrew the screw in the middle of the plughole and then when you pull out the chrome waste you will see all the hair - it is gross, but very easy to remove. I just remove it and throw it away and then flush the waste through with boiling water and then replace it and job done!

Anne_Marie_2

We had this problem too a while back. Hubby removed bath panel, removed u-bend plastic bath pipe, and cleaned it all out. This was not done easily, there was a whole lot of swearing going on. Anyway, always use one of those little hair trap things now, and that seems to be the answer. Am not wanting to incur that wrath again.........and I don't even think it was me that caused the problem. Am sure the blame lies with long hair...........

Wirenth

Get a crochet hook and pull the hair out. Then pour washing soda down the plughole and leave for a day.

squirreltufty

Any kind of hook shaped thing, and twiddle it (like you would with spaghetti on a fork), then pull. Very effective and ENOOOOORMOUSLY satisfying .

Jay-Jay_4

squirreltufty wrote:

Any kind of hook shaped thing, and twiddle it (like you would with spaghetti on a fork), then pull. Very effective and ENOOOOORMOUSLY satisfying .

Ooooh yes! I do this with a bent coathanger! Almost as satisfying as squeezing a really big blackhead

frizz_head

Ewwwww, now you're all making me gag! Where's the vomiting smiley?

Will try the soda crystals tomorrow morning, I knew I bought them for something, but had forgotten which OS tip it was.

taliwillow

Thank you all so much for your replies. This enquiry was actually for my friend and she tells me that she pulls out the plug thingy (sorry I'm not very technical!) every so often and removes the hair from it but on one occasion as she pulled it out she thinks she could feel something just drop off it (like a lump of hair) and now the shower doesn't seem to be emptying very well so she has tried a few things but they haven't worked. She got some cillit bang drain cleaner today that specifically mentions drains blocked with hair but she's not very confident about it. I will definately have to mention the caustic soda thing to her tomorrow. Although I do have some soda crystals here that I use to keep my kitchen sink clean so maybe she could try some of those first.
Does anyone know how the caustic soda works? Does it dissolve the hair?

Taliwillow

Mr_Proctalgia

Caustic Soda dissolves just about anything organic ( try a paintbrush in it - The bristles last about 20 seconds) It will dissolve fat and hair, and paint and varnish and skin and fingerprints. It has an exothermic reaction with water and can boil violently. Always add it to water never the other way around and treat it with respect.

It is easily available (Kleenoff Brand) most supermarkets, poundland, Wilko's sell it.

HTH

dannahaz

I;m with Mr P. Caustic Soda.

Wear gloves and follow the instructions on the packet. It's vicious. It's fun watching it froth up. And it is extremely effective.

Every house should have some