Bathroom drains, kitchen drains, in fact, every drain in your home can become blocked at some point, and it’s a real nuisance to clear them. Recently, Manchester Evening News journalist Emma Gill faced this exact issue, with her bathtub taking forever to drain and filling up with water during showers.
Despite their best efforts to clean the plughole each time they bathed, it quickly became clogged with hair, soap, and grime. Suspecting that their daughter’s long locks were the culprit, Emma and her partner tried all manner of ‘hacks’ they found online, but nothing seemed to work. The well-known method of combining white vinegar with bicarbonate of soda had no effect, nor did any of the store-bought unblocking liquids.
In an attempt to avoid a costly call-out, Emma stumbled upon some advice from a plumber on how to tackle such blockages. Justin Cornforth, of Ace Plumbing, was discussing how the vinegar and bicarb mixture ‘does nothing with hair and bathroom clogs’.
Instead, he suggested a more hands-on approach using a drain snake, which he describes as an ‘excellent tool’. He warned against settling for just any drain snake; recommending one made from ‘flexible durable materials’ like stainless steel, to prevent it from breaking inside the pipe like its cheaper plastic alternatives.
For those in need of an immediate solution without a drain snake to hand, he suggested using a wire coat hanger – straightening the hanger but leaving a small hook on one end to fish out any hair causing the blockage.
Without a wire coat hanger, the easiest option, Emma concluded, was to be to order a drain snake from Amazon. She chose a LiteTour drain hole cleaning tool for just £4.99. With its length of 61 inches and hundreds of positive reviews, the journalist was optimistic it would do the job.
Initially, poking it into the bath plughole didn’t yield much result. However, Emma persisted, ensuring she pushed the flexible metal tube as far in as possible.
That’s when strands of hair began to emerge.
She repeated the process about five times, twisting it around while inside the drain. Each time, more hair attached itself to the bristles at the end.
The final outcome was a large clump of long brown hair – that Emma joked was certainly her daughter’s – and the bath drain was finally running clear.
According to Emma, it was possibly the best fiver she’d ever spent, and she’s sure it will prove useful again and again. She advises ensuring that you don’t lose it down the drain entirely, but the one she purchased had a circle at the end to hold onto, preventing it from going all the way in.
The single-headed drain snake she used cost £4.99, or there’s a two-headed one for deeper cleaning at £6.99.
There are plenty more options available, including a two-pack Drain Snake Unblocker for £3.99 at B&Q, and a longer 1.32m Rothenberger Pipe and Drain Cleaning Coil priced at £14.99 from Screwfix.
Plumber Justin suggests that if the blockage persists after removing hair clumps, pouring boiling water down the drain could help clear any remaining obstruction. However, be aware that this could potentially damage plastic pipes.
If you’re considering using the hot water method on any plastic pipe, which is common in bathroom sinks, it’s recommended to let the boiled water cool down slightly before use.
While it may be the most expensive option, sometimes a professional plumber is required to deal with particularly stubborn blockages.
