How Hair Buildup Affects Your Shower Drain
You’re enjoying a nice hot shower, letting the steamy water melt away the stresses of the day. But then you notice the water isn’t draining like it normally does. In fact, it’s pooling around your feet, creating a gross little lake on the shower floor. Your drain has gone and clogged up on you again.
A backed-up shower drain is one of those small but mighty annoyances in life. What starts as an innocent puddle can rapidly turn into a full-scale flood if you don’t deal with it. And more often than not, the culprit is hair – those unassuming little strands that seem harmless until they gang up en masse and wreak havoc on your plumbing.
Don’t be fooled, hair buildup might seem like no big deal, but it can actually lead to some pretty gnarly consequences if left unchecked. We’re talking slow drains, funky odors, and even potential pipe damage from the backed-up pressure. In this post, we’ll break down why hair clogs are such a menace and what you can do to keep your shower drain flowing like a champ.
The Science Behind Hair Buildup
Before we get into dealing with this hairy issue, we need to first wrap our heads around what exactly makes hair such a formidable foe when it comes to clogging drains.
At a glance, those thin strands seem harmless enough. But hair’s physical makeup is surprisingly stubborn and resilient. Each strand is composed of a tough protein called keratin – the same stuff that makes up animal horns and hooves. Not exactly delicate material.
While individual hairs are tiny, their keratinous structure gives them serious strength. The outer layer also has a slightly raised, rough texture creating microscopic ridges and grooves. This allows strands to really latch onto each other and other gunk like soap scum, forming nasty tangled clumps.
Hair’s porous nature causes it to absorb moisture too, making waterlogged strands swell up and become even more intertwined. It’s a perfect storm for creating dense, matted hairballs.
So you’ve got rigid, clingy, moisture-absorbing strands all converging in your shower drain. With every rinse, more and more hair accumulates until it completely chokes off water flow like a hairball grew legs and clogged the pipes itself.
The rate this buildup happens can vary based on factors like:
- Number of people showering (more hair = faster clogging)
- Hair length and thickness (longer, coarser hair tangles easier)
- Use of drain covers/catchers (can slow buildup)
But even with just one person’s short hair, that slow trickle of loose strands can eventually form an impenetrable mass over time if not cleared out regularly. Like a fuzzy Chia pet monstrosity taking over your pipes!
Now that we understand this insidious hairball enemy and how it forms, we can look at the nasty consequences of letting it fester in your shower drain. Because a clogged drain is more than just an inconvenience – it can open up an entire other set of headaches.
Consequences of Hair Buildup
Now that we understand how these hairy beasts actually form, let’s talk about the really crappy stuff that happens when you let them take over your shower drain. Get ready, because these consequences are no joke.
Slow Draining Water
This is the obvious first sign something is up. As more and more hair clumps together down there, the water has a harder and harder time making its escape. You’re left awkwardly waiting for the tub to finally drain while your prunie feet mock you.
But it’s more than just an annoyance. All that standing bath water can rapidly turn into a floor-flooding nightmare if the clog fully blocks the drain. One wrong move and you’ve got a Niagara Falls situation exploding out onto your bathroom floor. More mess to clean up!
Stagnant water also creates the perfect gross breeding ground for bacteria and mold colonies to start partying in your shower. Let that pool linger too long and you could be sharing a shower with some uninvited microscopic roomies.
Unpleasant Odors
Speaking of uninvited guests, get ready to assault your nostrils if you’ve got a hairy clog brewing. As that matted mop of hair, soap gunk, and dead skin cells sits trapped in your pipes, it starts breaking down into a foul, rotting mush.
The reek of stagnant, dirty water is bad enough. But mix in the mold and bacteria civilizations cultivating among all that damp, tangled hair…and you’ve got a recipe for some seriously eye-watering bathroom stenches.
Your refreshing shower could start smelling like a musty basement or stale gym locker in no time. Not exactly the aromatherapy you were going for.
Potential Pipe Damage
Here’s where things get expensive fast. All that gunky buildup doesn’t just politely chill in your pipes. It creates increasing air pressure and obstructed water flow that seriously strains your plumbing system.
As the clog grows, you’ve got water constantly ramming against that hairy blockage under more and more force. It’s like a tiny indoor water pressure bomb just waiting to explode.
Those pipes can only handle so much of that. Whether it’s pinhole leaks starting to spring, cracks forming, or full-on ruptures and flooding, the potential for some serious (and costly) damage is high if you let clogs reach the danger zone.
Best case, you’re paying for repairs and pipe replacements. Worst case, you need an entirely overhauled plumbing system or are dealing with water damage to your bathroom and home. Not a fun way to meet your deductible!
So in a nutshell – clogs lead to slow drains, gross stagnant water breeding grounds, foul smells, and the risk of completely trashing your pipes and plumbing. They can turn your spa-like shower into a moldy, smelly, expensive nightmare faster than you can say “plumbers don’t work cheap.”
Clearly, dealing with these hairy plumbing pests is crucial for keeping your bathroom running smoothly (and stink-free). Which brings us to some tips and tricks for preventing and clearing out these clogs before they cause some real chaos.
Prevention and Maintenance Tips
After that lovely stroll through Clogged Drain Consequences Valley, you’re surely ready to do everything possible to avoid those nasty scenarios. The good news is that some simple preventative measures keep your shower from turning into a hairy swamp.
Using Drain Covers or Hair Catchers
This one’s the obvious first line of defense. Installing a drain cover or hair catcher is an easy way to grab those strands before they even make it down the pipes.
These little mesh screens fit snugly inside or over your drain, allowing water to pass through while trapping hair and other debris. Just make sure to remove the cover frequently and clear out the hairy tumbleweed inside.
You can find basic drain covers at any hardware store for just a few bucks. Or spring for a snazzier model with more advanced filtering capabilities. Either way, it’s a small investment to avoid big headaches later.
Just don’t treat these covers as a total clog cure-all. Stray strands will still inevitably make it past and require more maintenance.
Regular Cleaning and Maintenance
Which brings us to routine drain unclogging – every shower’s not-so-fun chore. Staying on top of this dirty work is crucial for keeping hair buildup at bay.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
This green, all-natural duo is one of the gentler drain cleaning methods out there. Just pour some baking soda down the drain, followed by vinegar. Let it fizz and sit for 15-20 minutes, then flush it all out with hot water.
The baking soda helps break down gunk while the vinegar’s acidity helps dissolve hair and scum. It’s a great option for regular preventative maintenance without harsh chemicals.
Chemical Drain Cleaners
For tougher clogs that need more firepower, you may need to bring in the heavy-duty chemical drain cleaners. The ones with sodium hydroxide that can eat through even the most stubborn hairballs.
Just be very, very careful with these caustic formulas. Follow all safety instructions to avoid chemical burns or toxic fumes. They can also potentially damage older pipe systems.
Plunger or Drain Snake
If you’ve got a total drain blockage on your hands, sometimes you need to go analog with a good old plunger or drain snake.
Plunging the clog with some serious force can sometimes dislodge the hairy mess. Or use a drain snake to try grabbing and retrieving that nasty hairball manually (wear gloves!).
These are more labor-intensive options, but can work in a pinch for bad clogs. Just make sure not to go full Hulk-smash on your poor pipes.
Professional Drain Cleaning Services
For the biggest, baddest hair clogs that just won’t budge, it may be time to call in the professionals. Drain cleaning services have industrial-strength tools to seamlessly clear out even the most stubborn backups.
Things like hydro-jetters use highly pressurized water streams to pulverize clogs. While rotating auger cables can powerfully snake through and lasso out any hairballs your drain is harboring.
It’s a more expensive route, but worth it for severe blockages you just can’t seem to fix yourself. Plus, most services will do a full inspection to ensure your pipes are running clear and clog-free.
So those are some of the main methods for keeping your shower from turning into a hairy swamp. From basic covers to heavy-duty chemical cleaners and professional services, there’s an option for every degree of clogged drain.
The key is simply staying on top of regular maintenance. Even just a monthly vinegar baking soda flush can go a long way in preventing total blockages from forming. Because as we learned, letting hair buildup go untamed is just asking for a nasty, stinky plumbing disaster.
Don’t Let Hair Buildup Ruin Your Shower Sanctuary
There you have it – the full rundown on the hairy nightmare of clogged shower drains. From how those stubborn strands accumulate to the nasty side effects like foul stenches and plumbing damage, hair blockages are the enemy of a relaxing shower experience.
The silver lining is, some simple preventative habits and routine maintenance can keep your drain clear. Whether using a snare to catch strands, the old baking soda/vinegar flush, or snaking it yourself, consistent effort avoids back-ups.
But when you’re facing a total hairpocalypse that DIY tactics can’t fix, wave the white towel. That’s when you need to call the drain unclogging experts at Fox Plumbing and Heating. Our industrial tools and know-how make quick work of even the most tremendous hair clogs. Don’t risk your pipes – let the pros handle it.
Stop battling hairy drains and ruining your shower zen. Dial (206) 654-4986 to get Fox’s plumbers on the case and your shower’s flow restored pronto. Your calm, clog-free oasis awaits.