If you’re trying to figure out how to get rid of hair in the shower drain, start by removing any hair you can see or reach, then use a plastic drain tool, drain snake, or plunger for hair sitting farther down the pipe. Hot tap water can help rinse away leftover soap buildup once the hair is gone.
For homeowners in Downers Grove, IL, a slow shower drain is usually something worth addressing early. Hair rarely creates a complete blockage overnight. It collects little by little until your morning shower leaves you standing in water that isn’t going anywhere.
Hair is one of those plumbing problems that seems minor until it isn’t. A few strands get caught below the drain cover, soap and shampoo stick to them, and more hair joins the mess. Before long, water that used to disappear immediately takes several minutes to drain.
Fortunately, you can handle many minor hair clogs yourself. Here are six methods worth trying before a slow shower turns into a drain that won’t move at all.
Why Hair Gets Stuck in Shower Drains
Hair doesn’t travel through a drain as neatly as water does. Individual strands can wrap around the drain assembly or catch on residue inside the pipe. Long hair is especially good at tangling, but short hair can contribute to buildup too.
Then there’s everything else that goes down a shower drain. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, body oils, dead skin, and other residue can stick to those strands. The result is a tangled clump that becomes larger every time someone takes a shower.
The first sign is often easy to miss. Maybe the water takes an extra 30 seconds to disappear. A few weeks later, it’s covering your feet halfway through your shower.
Other signs that hair may be collecting in the drain include:
- Water pooling around the drain
- A shower that takes several minutes to empty
- Gurgling or bubbling from the drain
- Unpleasant smells coming from the drain
- A clog that keeps returning after a quick cleaning
If you notice these problems, don’t wait until the drain stops working completely. Persistent backups may eventually require professional help for clogged drains. For more ways to handle a sluggish drain before it becomes a complete blockage, see these tips for tackling clogged drains in Downers Grove.
How to Get Rid of Hair in the Shower Drain With 6 Simple Methods
The best method depends on where the hair is stuck. If you can see the clog, physically pulling it out is usually the quickest answer. If the hair is deeper inside the drain, you’ll need something capable of reaching it.
1. Pull Out Any Hair You Can Reach
It’s not glamorous, but this should usually be your first move.
Put on rubber gloves and inspect the drain. Depending on the shower, you may be able to lift the drain cover or need to remove a screw first. Pull out any strands wrapped around the cover and remove whatever you can reach just below the opening.
Throw the hair in the trash rather than flushing it down another fixture. Sending it through another drain or toilet can simply move the problem elsewhere. If a toilet is already struggling to flush or repeatedly clogs, it may need separate toilet repair services.
Once you’re finished, run the shower and watch the drain. If the water disappears normally again, you may have found the entire problem.
If it’s still slow, there’s probably more buildup below the surface.
2. Grab a Plastic Hair Removal Tool
Those inexpensive plastic drain sticks with little barbs along the sides aren’t fancy, but they’re made for exactly this type of clog.
Slide the tool into the drain slowly, give it a slight turn if the manufacturer’s directions recommend it, and pull it back out. The barbs catch strands of hair that are sitting below the drain opening.
You might need to do this several times. Each pass can bring up another clump of hair, soap, and other buildup.
Clean the tool between passes rather than pushing the debris back into the drain. When you’re no longer pulling anything out, run hot tap water and see whether the flow has improved.
This method is especially useful when the water is still draining but noticeably slower than it used to.
3. Reach Deeper With a Drain Snake
Sometimes the hair is simply too far down for a plastic tool.
A hand-operated drain snake has a longer, flexible cable that can reach farther into the drain line. Feed the cable slowly into the drain until you encounter resistance.
Don’t immediately assume you’ve reached the clog. Drain pipes have bends, and forcing a snake through resistance can cause problems. Follow the instructions for your particular drain snake and rotate it carefully as you work.
If the snake catches hair, pull it back out and clean the cable. You may have to repeat the process several times. Afterward, run water to see whether the shower drains normally.
Homeowners with older properties in Downers Grove should be particularly careful when using DIY plumbing tools. Plumbing materials can vary from one house to another, especially in communities with homes built across many different decades. If you’re unsure about the condition of your home’s plumbing, these tips for preparing for a plumbing inspection can help you know what to expect before a professional takes a closer look.
4. Try Plunging the Shower Drain
The plunger beside the toilet isn’t necessarily the one you want for this job. A flat-bottomed cup plunger works better on flat surfaces such as shower floors. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the plunger cup. Place it directly over the shower drain and make sure you have a good seal.
Push and pull firmly several times. You’re trying to use pressure to loosen the material blocking the pipe. Lift the plunger and watch the water. If it suddenly disappears down the drain, you’ve probably loosened at least part of the blockage.
You may still want to use a hair-removal tool afterward. Plunging can move a clog without necessarily removing the hair from the plumbing altogether.
5. Rinse the Drain With Hot Tap Water
Hot water isn’t going to dissolve a wad of hair. It can, however, help rinse away some of the soap and oily residue left behind after you’ve removed the clog. After pulling out as much hair as possible, let hot tap water run down the drain for several minutes.
Stick with hot water from the faucet rather than pouring a pot of boiling water into the shower. Very high temperatures aren’t appropriate for every type of pipe, seal, or drain assembly.
If your shower isn’t producing enough hot water in the first place, that may be a separate issue from the drain. Plumbing Pros offers water heater services, and you can also read about common reasons hot water runs out too fast or why hot water may not be getting hot enough.
Think of hot water as a cleanup step rather than the main solution. If the pipe is packed with hair, water alone isn’t likely to clear it.
6. Have a Plumber Clear a Stubborn Blockage
You’ve pulled out the visible hair. You’ve tried a drain tool. Maybe you’ve plunged the drain, too. The shower is still filling with water. At that point, the clog may be deeper than you can safely reach with basic household tools.
A plumber can clear the line with professional drain-cleaning equipment and check whether something besides hair is contributing to the backup. This becomes more important when a clog returns shortly after you’ve cleared it.
Repeatedly attacking the same drain with different DIY methods can become frustrating, and it doesn’t solve much if the actual blockage is farther down the line.
If a drain backup becomes severe, causes water to overflow, or happens alongside another urgent plumbing problem, it may be time to call an emergency plumber. Downers Grove homeowners can also review the top signs you need emergency plumbing services to help judge whether a problem can wait.
Should You Pour Chemical Drain Cleaner Down the Shower?
It’s tempting. There’s a slow drain, there’s a bottle at the store promising to clear it, and pouring something into the pipe sounds much easier than pulling out wet hair, but chemical drain cleaners aren’t always the best first move.
Some products contain strong chemicals that can be hazardous when handled incorrectly and may not be appropriate for every plumbing system.Never mix drain cleaners with each other or with household cleaning products.
For a hair clog near the shower drain, physical removal gets directly to the problem. You’re taking the hair out rather than hoping a chemical can break through enough of it to restore drainage.
If you’ve already poured a chemical cleaner into the drain and decide you need a plumber, tell them exactly what you used before they begin working.
Does Baking Soda and Vinegar Get Rid of Hair?
Baking soda and vinegar show up in plenty of home drain-cleaning advice. The reaction looks impressive, but it doesn’t mean a thick clump of tangled hair is disappearing inside the pipe.
The combination may loosen light residue around a drain, but physically removing hair is generally a more practical approach to a hair clog. If you can see or reach the hair, pull it out. If it’s farther down, use an appropriate drain tool.
If the issue you’re noticing is an unpleasant odor rather than slow drainage, hair may not be the only cause. Plumbing Pros has a separate guide on how to remove a sulfur smell from a drain that covers another common drain complaint.
How to Stop Hair From Clogging the Drain Again
Once you’ve pulled a slimy clump of hair from the drain, you’ll probably be interested in making sure you don’t have to do it again anytime soon. A hair catcher is one of the easiest ways to do that. These small screens or covers sit over or inside the drain and collect strands before they disappear into the plumbing.
The catch is that you have to clean them. A hair catcher packed with hair can slow the shower just like a clog below the drain.
It also helps to pick up visible strands from the shower floor instead of rinsing them toward the drain. If someone in your household has long or thick hair, brushing it before getting in the shower can catch some of the loose strands that would otherwise end up in the pipe.
You don’t need an elaborate maintenance routine. Check the drain regularly, empty the hair catcher, and pay attention when water begins moving more slowly. If slow drains seem to be happening throughout the home instead of only in the shower, it can also be worth looking at the larger plumbing system.
Older supply and drain pipes sometimes develop problems beyond a single clog. If aging pipes are already a concern, these signs you may need repiping services in Downers Grove can help you recognize broader warning signs.
Why Does the Same Shower Drain Keep Clogging?
If you’re clearing the same drain every few weeks, something else may be happening.
You might not be removing the entire clog. A drain tool can pull out part of a hair mass while leaving enough behind for new strands to catch. The shower works normally for a little while, then the problem comes right back.
There could also be buildup farther inside the drain line. Pay attention to what’s happening elsewhere in the bathroom. If the sink and tub are draining normally, the problem may be limited to the shower. If several fixtures are slow, gurgling, or backing up, the issue may extend beyond one drain.
That’s when another round with a plastic drain stick probably isn’t going to accomplish much.
When a Slow Drain Is More Than a Hair Clog
One slow shower is annoying. Several slow fixtures can point to a larger plumbing problem.
Watch for water backing up into another fixture, unusual gurgling, persistent drain odors, or a toilet that behaves differently when the shower is running. These symptoms can indicate a blockage somewhere else in the drainage system.
A blockage farther along the home’s main drain or sewer line can cause problems in more than one fixture. Downers Grove homeowners should also pay attention to changes that happen suddenly. If a shower that normally drains well becomes slow and other fixtures begin acting up around the same time, don’t assume everyone’s hair suddenly became the problem.
A plumber can determine where the blockage is located and what is causing it rather than treating one fixture at a time.
Keep Your Downers Grove Shower Draining the Way It Should
Most minor shower hair clogs don’t require a complicated fix. Pulling out accessible hair may be enough. For buildup a little farther down, a plastic drain tool, snake, or plunger can help. Once the blockage is gone, a hair catcher can keep a lot of loose strands from getting into the drain again.
What you don’t want to do is ignore a shower that gets slower every week. The sooner you remove the buildup, the less chance it has to turn into a complete blockage.
If your shower still won’t drain, the clog keeps coming back, or you’re noticing problems with other fixtures, contact Plumbing Pros for professional plumbing help in Downers Grove, IL.
