Does Drano work on hair?

General Questions
#1

There’s a lot of hair shreds go down my bathroom sink. Beard trimmings, shaving my neck and cheekbones, clipping off the bangs after my barber ignores “I hate bangs!”, that sort of thing. I clean up the larger pieces before I run water, but inescapably, some goes down the sink.

About two weeks ago, the sink started draining very slowly, and I asked the maintenance man to clear it out. I explained that it was probably hair, and he used what he claimed to be some type of sulfuric acid. About two days ago, it’s clogged again.

Can I just buy some Drano or something and use it to clear the drain?

#2

Yes. Follow the instructions precisely and it should work.

#3

Drano will work, but these are better.

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

#4

You can use it, but you need a really good conditioner afterwards.

#5

I was wondering about the dandruff issue.

#6

It will remove your head n shoulders.

#7

Returning briefly to the question of keeping the drain clean.

I jack out my drains (all 4 of them) with a regular plunger, every month or so, whether they need it or not. They always drain noticeably faster afterward, so I guess that’s a helpful thing to do.

#8

I’ve found over the years that these “pour-in” potions give worster than poor results … I still have to open up the drain and then I’ve lye or acid all over the place.

If your drains were properly installed, then you should be able to remove the trap. Easy to clean that and if the clog is further down-pipe, you’ll need a little drain snake, ten bucks at the hardware store. Some jobs stink and this is one of them, you’ll just have to touch this stuff and … like … EWWWWWWWWWWW …

#9

I have a ten foot pole with which I don’t touch that stuff. :smiley:

Yeah, on further thinking, I’m wondering if the clog is further in the pipes, maybe coming from a different apartment. I think I’ll talk to maintenance again before I do any self help.

#10

There are ‘extra strength’ pour-in products available at places like Home Depot.

When selling a house we had a plugged basement sink that threatened to kill an inspection the next morning - the buyers were known to be real picky. Plungers didn’t work.

A 10PM trip to Home Depot got the gel-like material and the day was saved.

#11

From just the title, I was actually thinking the same thing. I came into this thread with a WT…? feeling.

#12

The fact that Drano not long ago started selling a version that was packaged with a small drain snake seemed to me to be a pretty explicit admission that not even the Drano people think their product actually works.

#13

Yeah, not once in my life has a liquid clog remover worked for me. The Zip-It tool works perfectly. Two things:

  1. They cost half as much at Home Depot as Amazon

  2. Despite what the package says (good for one use), I use a Zip-It maybe 10 times before I need to throw it out

#14

For hard-to-kill dandruff, you need a snake.

#15

Which gets rid of the dandruff, but then you have a snake infestation in your hair.

Rather stops people dead in their tracks when they see it.

#16

I use Drano or Liquid Plumber about once every six months for the same situation you describe.

Those toothed rods work great if you are dealing with yards of girl’s hair tangled up in the first few inches of drain pipe (a problem I also encounter in my home), but they will do nothing for general buildup of hair/beard trimmings and soap scum throughout your pipes.

Don’t bother with cheap knockoffs at the dollar store–I did that and the stuff was useless.

Look at the chart on the side of the bottle to see which one you need–they have gels and other stuff that treats different kinds of problems.

#17

The hair doesn’t sound long enough to be the cause of the clog in your case. Have you tried using baking soda and vinegar regularly, to clear out the soap residue?

#18

Never, ever think the SDMB isn’t a team effort.

:smiley:

#19

I hate drain cleaners that are chemical, and advise never use them. And if the drain is blocked really do not use them.

If you put a chemical drain cleaner down a drain and it does not clear the drain then the drain has to be taken apart mechanically. And that becomes very dangerous. As a lot of drain cleaners are acidic they will also eat up any metal drain lines.

#20

When I worked in rental property management, we had a clause in our leases that tenants who used drain cleaners would have to pay the plumbing bill. Without cleaners, it was $50. With cleaners $200.

Those things are ineffectual and very dangerous.

Go to any dollar store and buy a drain screen and use it every time. And pour some boiling water down the drain every week.