Here at Happy Drains HQ, we occasionally find ourselves discussing some of the more unusual jobs our engineers have attended. As you can imagine, when you spend your working life dealing with blocked drains, the conversation can wander into some fairly strange territory.
Which recently led us to one of the great unanswered questions of our time:
Who’s plughole would be more blocked – Rapunzel’s or Cousin Itt’s?
Rapunzel certainly has the length. We’re talking enough hair to lower from the top of a tower and haul up a fully-grown prince. That’s going to take some conditioner.
But Cousin Itt?
He’s basically all hair. Does he even have a plughole, or does the bath simply surrender the moment he walks into the room?
After considerably more discussion than this subject probably deserved, we realised there was actually a serious drainage point hiding underneath all that hair.
Because while most of us aren’t washing several hundred feet of fairytale locks or shampooing an Addams Family relative, hair is one of the most common things accumulating around our bathroom plugholes and waste pipes.
One strand isn’t going to cause a problem.
But add another.
And another.
Then some shampoo, conditioner, soap residue and general bathroom grime…
Before long, you’ve created something Cousin Itt might recognise as a distant relative.
So, before your morning shower turns into an unexpected foot bath, let’s take a look at why hair causes so many drainage problems, what you can safely do about it and when it’s time to call Happy Drains.
How Does Hair Actually Block A Drain?
One strand of hair isn’t much of a threat.
Even Rapunzel had to start somewhere.
The problem develops when strands become caught around the plug mechanism, pipe joints or deposits already sitting inside the waste pipe.
Then they start collecting friends.
More hair.
Soap residue.
Shampoo.
Conditioner.
Skin oils.
General bathroom grime.
Before long, those individual strands can become a tangled, sticky mass that restricts the pipe and slows the flow of water.
The first warning is usually a basin, shower or bath taking slightly longer than normal to empty.
Leave it long enough and your relaxing morning shower can become an unexpected foot bath.
First, Investigate The Plughole
Before doing anything drastic, start with the obvious.
If your plug or waste cover is designed to be removed, take it out and look underneath. You might be surprised and possibly slightly horrified by what’s lurking there.
Put on some gloves and carefully remove any visible hair and debris. A purpose-made plastic drain-hair removal tool can be particularly useful for retrieving material sitting just beneath the plughole.
Then run some warm water and check the flow.
Water disappearing normally?
Excellent.
Fairytale ending achieved.
Still draining slowly?
Our story continues.
Try The Trusty Plunger
If the blockage is sitting slightly further along the waste pipe, a small sink or basin plunger may help.
You’ll need enough water to cover the rubber cup. If your basin has an overflow opening, temporarily covering it with a damp cloth can help create better suction.
Position the plunger firmly over the plughole and give it several controlled plunges. The changes in pressure can sometimes loosen the mass of hair and grime enough to get things moving again.
Just be warned.
What comes back up may not be particularly enchanting.
Bicarbonate of Soda & Vinegar – Magic Potion or Fairytale?
This one appears in almost every collection of household cleaning tips.
Bicarbonate of soda goes down the drain.
Vinegar follows.
Fizz. Bubble. Foam. It certainly looks impressive. And the combination can be useful for freshening drains and helping to loosen light deposits.
But will it magically dissolve a thick ball of tangled hair?
Probably not.
A physical hair blockage is generally better dealt with by actually removing the hair. So enjoy the bubbling cauldron effect, but don’t expect a little kitchen chemistry to rescue Rapunzel from deep inside your waste pipe.
Leave The Coat Hanger in The Wardrobe
Older DIY advice often recommends straightening a wire coat hanger and poking it down the drain.
We wouldn’t.
Metal wire can scratch fittings, damage seals, become stuck or simply push the blockage further along the pipe. If you want to retrieve hair from below the plughole, buy a purpose-made plughole hair removal tool. They’re inexpensive, designed for the job and considerably less likely to turn a small blockage into a bigger problem.
No swords, grappling hooks or improvised medieval weaponry required.
Be Careful With Chemical Drain Cleaners
When the water still isn’t moving, it’s tempting to reach for the most powerful-looking drain cleaner on the supermarket shelf.
Chemical cleaners can sometimes tackle organic deposits, but we’d be cautious about repeatedly pouring strong chemicals into a troublesome drain.
They can be hazardous to handle and won’t necessarily solve the underlying problem, particularly if the blockage is further down the drainage system.
Never mix different drain-cleaning products together.
And if you’ve already used a chemical cleaner before calling a drainage engineer, make sure you tell them. They’ll need to know what could be sitting in the pipe before they start work.
Sometimes the safest option is to put the magic potion back on the shelf and call someone who knows exactly what they’re dealing with.
Stop Rapunzel Before She Enters the Drain
Prevention is considerably easier than pulling a soggy rope of hair from a U-bend.
A simple plughole hair catcher can intercept an astonishing amount before it disappears into your plumbing.
Empty it regularly and put the collected hair in the bin.
It’s particularly worthwhile in households where someone has long or thick hair. A few seconds spent cleaning a hair catcher could save you from dealing with a much larger blockage later.
And unlike Rapunzel’s tower, your waste pipe really doesn’t need a rope made from hair.
When Is It Time to Call Happy Drains?
You’ve cleaned the plughole.
You’ve removed the visible hair.
You’ve tried the plunger.
And your sink, shower or bath is still refusing to drain properly.
At this point, the villain of our story may be hiding further underground.
Happy Drains can professionally unblock stubborn drains and investigate recurring drainage problems. If a blockage keeps coming back, a CCTV drain survey can allow our engineers to look inside the drainage system and identify what’s really happening.
It might be a stubborn build-up. But it could also reveal damaged pipework, displaced joints, root ingress or another obstruction that’s causing material to repeatedly collect. And if the investigation uncovers damaged pipework rather than simply a blockage, Happy Drains can advise on the appropriate drain repairs too.
The Fairytale Ending
Hair might look harmless when it’s sitting on your hairbrush. Inside your drainage system however, thousands of strands mixed with soap, shampoo and grime can become a surprisingly stubborn blockage.
So keep your plugholes clear.
Use a hair catcher.
Pay attention when water starts draining more slowly than usual.
And tackle small problems before they become big ones.
If Rapunzel has already made her way too far down the pipe, don’t spend your weekend trying to rescue her yourself.
Give us a call instead. We’ll get things flowing freely again.
And everyone can live happily ever after.
Best,
David & Will
