If your drain is clogged with hair, baking soda can dissolve hair in a drain. To try this safe and easy method at home – first, pour a cup of baking soda down the drain. Then pour a cup of vinegar (white vinegar) down. Allow the mixture to sit for several minutes.
Baking soda and vinegar can be an extremely effective way of dispatching many clogs, and hair clogs are no exception. For best results, start by squirting a little dish soap into your drain, followed by a cup of vinegar and a cup of baking soda.
Hydrochloric acid dissolves hair but it's dangerous if you haven't been trained in its use. Bleach also dissolves hair and is much safer. But why do you need to dissolve hair for a garden?
The Santeen Sulfuric Acid Drain Opener proved to be the most potent among all the chemical drain cleaners we tested, effectively dissolving 80% of the hair, 80% of the organic matter, 40% of the grease and 76% of the paper products.
Use a baking soda and vinegar solution: Pour a mixture of baking soda and vinegar down the drain, let it sit for a few minutes, and then flush it with hot water. The chemical reaction can help break down and dislodge hair clogs.
Combining baking soda and vinegar creates a powerful reaction that can eliminate most hair clogs. Start by pouring a small amount of dish soap down the drain, followed by a cup of vinegar and a cup of baking soda. After about 5 minutes, the concoction will be at full strength.
The fizzing reaction and gas created may help loosen some small blockages. However, it is not typically strong enough to break down larger clogs or remove hard-to-reach debris. As a result of the above facts, if you have a serious drain clog, using baking soda and vinegar is unlikely to be effective.
Thanks to its strong oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide can effectively break down organic materials such as hair. This makes it a powerful option for clearing hair clogs in your drains.
Plumbers choose hydro jetting equipment for the most stubborn, deep-set clogs. This drain clearing tool uses high-pressure water to flush your pipes and remove years of buildup. The water jet is so strong that it can even break up any tree roots that have found their way into your sewer line.
Simply put, liquid drain cleaners like Liquid-Plumr, Drano, and Green Gobbler are not designed for frequent use. Because of the chemicals found in these types of products, you could cause irreparable damage to your pipes.
Drain snakes are the best drain cleaner for hair clogs, whether the hair is natural or synthetic. If that doesn't work and the hair is natural, try a chemical drain opener. Enzyme-based drain openers are ideal for grease, soap scum and other materials that build up on the inside of the drain.
To make a drain snake, all you need is a wire coat hanger that you can unwind and straighten. Bend the end of the wire into a hook shape and insert it into the drain. Move it around until you feel resistance and then pull out any hair or debris that may be blocking the drain.
Chemical-Based Drain Cleaners
Mechanism: These chemicals work by generating heat, which helps dissolve and break down organic matter, including hair. Popular Brands: Drano, Liquid-Plumr, Hair Clog Blaster.
Bleach can dissolve hair caught in tub drains and bathroom sinks and that may be why some people believe it is an effective fix. If the hair has been accumulating in the drain for even a short while, it has gathered soap scum and other debris and is now largely protected from being dissolved by bleach.
Pour down a cup of Bi-Carb soda down the drain clogged with hair, followed by a cup of vinegar. The bi-carb will 'sizzle' up and lead to a chemical reaction helping with cleaning the drains and removing hair clogs.
Sulfuric Acid Products
You can identify these products by their sulfuric smell. Sulfuric-acid-based drain cleaning chemicals work best for clearing organic clogs like grease and food waste. However, the chemicals only burn holes through clogs instead of clearing them completely from the sidewalls.
Pour one-half cup table salt down the drain, followed by boiling water. Or try a cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar—let it bubble, wait 15 minutes, then pour boiling water down the drain. You can also try a cup of baking soda and a half-cup of salt; let it sit for several hours, then flush with boiling water.
Pouring boiling water directly into the drain helps loosen and dissolve hair and soap scum. If this doesn't work, a flexible wire hanger can come in handy. Straighten the hanger, leaving a small hook at one end, and gently guide it down the drain to catch and pull out hair clogs.
Heat 2 or 4 liters of water on your stove or in a kettle to just short of boiling. Add about 1/2 cup of salt. Try pouring this down the drain, then wait 15 minutes before seeing if it will clear more easily. If you need a stronger cleaning, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain, then add 1/2 cup of vinegar.
Baking Soda And Vinegar Is A Potent Mixture That Dissolves Hair. Allow five minutes for this mixture to undergo a chemical reaction, where it formulates and fizzes. After this, pour a cup of hot water down the sink. (If you are sure you don't have plastic drains, you can use boiling water, but proceed with caution.)
Pouring boiling water is quite risky as it might lead to a steam burn or scalding. Another thing to keep in mind is what type of material you are pouring in into. If you have a porcelain sink, it is likely to crack due to the heat. All in all, pouring boiling water down your drain will only cause issues down the road.
Pour one cup of fresh baking soda down the drain, followed by one cup of white vinegar. Place a rubber stopper or other sink hole cover over the drain opening. Wait 15 minutes to allow the vinegar and baking soda to unclog your drain, Then take out the drain cover and run hot tap water down the drain to clear the clog.
If you put too much baking soda down a drain onto a clog, it can sit on the clog and become a solid mass as it is subjected to more and more water. This will make the block worse and even harder to remove.