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If you have your own place, at some point in time, you will inevitably face the problems of clogged sewer pipes or a clogged drain (if you haven’t already). Now, before you call a plumber and bite a chunk out of your budget, consider a DIY job. All you need are some cleaning tools, and the star of the show, the best drain cleaner for hair clog.
Shopping for the best drain cleaner for hair clog can be chore. If you have experience in looking for this product you will know that are tons of brands selling their own version of the best drain cleaner for hair clog. Every one of these manufacturers will overly hype about the products with marketing strategies popping advertisements at you from anywhere, you probably remember the names of more drain cleaning products than you admit.
Now for you the aim of the game is to weed out the best drain cleaner for hair clog that actually live up to their label claims. If you buy something and it only gives you the wrong results, it leads to a waste of time, you will be more frustrated, and in the end you will be making these trips to the store. Before you go on and read the selection of handpicked products it is important that you think about a few things first.
How Much is It Blocked?
The most important thing that you have to think about when shopping for the best drain cleaner for hair clog is the super strength of a product. The higher the level of blockage the harsher the stronger the chemical you might need. For example, if it’s a very minor block it usually gets unclogged when you run hot water over it.
If the situation is really bad, then no drain cleaner can do the job, perhaps you need a professional to work on the pipes before the cleaner liquid can even pass through. In many cases it is the best option, if you are willing to tackle it yourself you are going to need a hand powered snake or a drill. It helps if you have experience with home repair jobs. Or you could get the tools that plumbers use.
The Type of Product
The enzymatic drain cleaners are one type of drain cleaners that you may have not heard of much. These are usually present in powder form or small granules that dissolve in liquid to break tough residue. This is a great choice for drains that run slower than they used to, or when you have to clear pipes in an emergency. Make sure that you add them to your list of best drain cleaner for hair clog when you are out comparison shopping.
What Pipe is Clogged
It matters a lot the kind of pipe you are planning to unclog. The most common blockage is one that happens in the bathroom sink drain and in the shower drain. These clogged up drain pipes need the best drain cleaner for hair clog to clear them by dissolving the waste. You would want fume free products to use in both of these areas.
Do You Have a Septic Tank
If you make use of a septic tank you might find that the use of drain cleaning chemicals can easily interfere with the performance of your tank. In this case, your choices are limited to the best drain cleaner for hair clog that is specialized to avoid affecting your septic tank.
What Really Dissolves the Hair in a Drain
The only thing that you will be able to find available in a drug store are strong chemicals that dissolve hair. We are talking hydrogen sulfide, sulfuric acid, and bleach. There are tons of commercial plumbing solutions that can dissolve hair as you pour them in the clogged drain.
Usually it is a last resort to use harsh chemicals when unclogging drains. A drain which you clean regularly, and pick the hair buildup out of, is not going to give you that big an issue. Meaning you may need a chemical agent to clean it. However a severe clogging issue does call for chemicals. The National Retail Hardware Association regulates that drains be cleaned on a daily basis so as to make sure that the clogging issue never occurs in the first place.
This may make your drain cleaning product shopping a bit complex, but here is some good news. We did some of your homework for you. Check out the list of best drain cleaner for hair clog.
Safer Drain Opener by Xion Lab
This is the perfect balance between drain cleaning power, and safety. The most powerful drain openers are acids based drain openers. They are fast acting, but are toxic, corrosive, and very dangerous for the user. On the other side of the spectrum are the enzymatic based drain cleaners. These are super safe, but can take a very, very, very, very long time to unclog a drain. Our Safer Drain Opener is the perfect balance between the two. Powerful enough to outperform any caustic, or enzymatic drain opener, but a lot safer than an acid drain cleaner.
With cutting-edge hydroxide formulation, Xion Lab’s Safer Drain Opener is a premium product that’s a quantum leap in drain cleaner technology. Our formula is highly effective against obstructions caused by hair, oils, grease, soap scum, and lint.
With a high pH of 13 it out performs traditional industrial strength caustic drain cleaners. When used properly our drain opener is biodegradable, non-irritating to skin, odorless, nonflammable, safe on all types of pipes, septic safe if used properly. You can find more information about Xion Lab’s Safer Drain Opener by clicking this link.
The CLR Power Plumber
This Power Plumber is a chemical free product. It is a great contender for the best drain cleaner for hair clog because of its strength in use and it also saves you a costly visit from the plumber, who may first check the clog, then give you a time when he might be free to work on your drain problem.
It works by blasting air at extremely high velocity down an offending pipe to dislodge dirt and waste. If you have ever consulted a plumber you would know that this is the right technique to unclog a drain. You might have also witnessed plumbers using machines in the same technique.
On the label you may read it saying that it caters 15 uses in each can, which is a bit optimistic, but for its real value you will realize that the product is very affordable and therefore a great choice. It is important that you follow instructions right or you might end up making a huge mess in your bathroom.
The Pure Lye Drainpipe Opener
The pure lye drain pipe opener is a great solution for people who are on a budget. It works extremely well. All you have to do is run the hot water tap for a couple of minutes which gets your home pipes all warmed up, now remember to close the water before pour this product in the drain hole and let the water through right after.
There is however a drawback to this. One has to be extremely careful when handling Lye. It’s the same stuff alter ego Tyler Durden uses to burn his original self, the nameless protagonist in Fight Club. This is a massively corrosive substance and can do damage if it makes a splash when it meets water, so be very careful.
The beads of Pure Lye are odorless and the product does not create any toxic fumes, which makes it super safe in that particular area after use. If you do buy it, you must store it out of reach, especially if you have children in the house. On top of that the product takes a bit of time to work; it’s the same with all lye based products. This means if you are looking for a quick job this is not the one, nor if you have old weary pipes, since it’s a pretty strong substance.
Cobra Zip It Drain
If you are okay with getting your hands a bit dirty when you are doing a DIY job the Cobra Zip It Drain formula might be right for you. Though word of advice, look away when the drain unclogs, especially if you are not into gag reflexes. This product is a lot like a bendy stick with spikes on it. It is a great alternative to corrosive chemicals for anything you need. The whole process is a bit gross but it works for sure. The tool is great for blockages and is super efficient in grabbing on to hair in the drain. The results may vary depending on your use of this tool.
For only a few dollars the product is a life saver and is not a bother at all. Before you start using any heavy industrial product it is important that you consider using the zip it drain tool first to see if it fixes the problem for good.
The Oatey Glug
This drain opener is also one powerful drain cleaners, and it also uses lye as its base ingredient. It is a tad bit more costly than other chemical products that you might find in the market but its super effective and works great with tough blockages. It is important that when you use the Oatey Glug you practice extreme caution.
It is available in flake and bead form. You have to protect yourself when you are first opening the container as well. If you feel you are the sort of person who is prone to accidents, skip on this product.
The Cobra Power Drainpipe Drum Auger
The drum auger can be super convenient to use once you look up an instruction video of how to operate it. Usually the manufacturer that you bought it from will have put up a video on YouTube on how to make the best drain cleaner for hair clog work.
The product has a snake like cord that extends out to 25 feet which gives it an advantage over a lot of other products that can never reach a distance of that much. Then there is the option of using a drill to work the rotation of the device. It saves the user a great amount of energy and time, even if you are working with huge blockages on different pipes. You don’t need a power drill to make this work.
This product works fine if you just use a bit of grease and work it manually. It is highly recommended that you use paper towels to surround the sink since the whole process can get a bit messy. Also safety glasses are a huge plus.
The Drano Max Gel Clog Remover
The Drano Max Gel is a super cool product that you can easily find available in every store. The other solutions are not that widely available. In most of the quality drain cleaners on your list probably can only be bought online. The Drano Max Gel is a solution specifically designed for use in bathrooms.
The best thing about it is that it is a much less hands on way to get the drain cleaned and unclogged. This is also one of the reasons why it’s super popular and available everywhere.
You may read on the label as it being an all purpose clog remover, the truth is that it really does get rid of soap and hair from the drain but it does not do that great a job at breaking apart grease and food waste in case you are think of getting a bigger bottle that you can use in the kitchen as well.
This product tends to have a stench to it, and it is a much better idea that you leave the window open or the bathroom vent shaft while you get it working properly.
And that is the entire list of drain cleaning problems that might suit your drain issue. All of the products work great and don’t cost that much. When you are working on unclogging the drain, it will help if you also make sure that you are ensuring that it remains unclogged for a long time. In these cases it is important that you look up techniques on preventing more blockages which you can practice the same time you unclog the drain.
It is not necessary that you go for harsh chemicals if you do not want to. There are options where you can use environmentally friendly and drain cleaners that are made from natural components. Here are all the products that do not make use of harsh chemicals.
Basic Tips
Plunging will help you get rid of the blocked drain. You will require a few inches of liquid in the sink to make the vacuum seal for this plunger. A few forceful plunges may be all that you need. You can easily buy a plunger that is one third of the size of what a standard plunger is. This might cost you only a few bucks. If you can’t find a smaller one, the larger one works too, but not as smoothly a smaller one does.
You can remove the trap or the clean out plug located under the sink which will easily clean out the thing blocking a pipe. A wire coat hanger can be used to poke down and break the mass clogging the drain. Remember you might need a bucket underneath where the mess will spill out on. Use safety equipment for self protection in case anything sprays out.
If you think that the drain is emptying way slower than it should, make use of the flush technique where you can easily prevent the entire blockage by dumping hot water immediately till it starts moving. When it goes through, put through one last hot water dump to clean the drain.
If you see hair clogged up in the drain, you can always just pull it out with a handy tool or a plumbing snake. The snake is pulled into the drain and then pulled it where it carries with itself the hair that was clogging the drain pipe.
Another alternative option for people who do not like to use strong chemicals or are afraid they might not use it right, risking their health and safety is the homemade classic mixture of baking soda and vinegar. You can pour the baking soda in the drain and then follow with an equal amount of vinegar.
You must then close this drain. What happens is that the combination creates a pressuring gas that pushes the hair clumps that are clogging the drain pipe. The best part about this DIY solution is that you don’t have to worry about the use of harmful liquids and chemicals in the process.
You can use baking soda alone to unclog the drain too. All you have to do is dump a single cup of baking soda and then pour boiling water down the drain. If the drain empties immediately make sure you pour a bit of hot water to clean out the drain, and then run cold water over the drain to cool the drain pipe.
Baking soda and vinegar might be the two products that never fail a clogged drain job. They work by reacting with each other where the baking soda bubbles up and these bubbles move towards the drain and push the dirt therefore cleaning it.
You will need to let the reaction go on for more than five minutes before you flush hot water to clean out the baking powder and vinegar in the end. The hot water also helps in pushing down the mixture further down the drain where it keeps moving the blockage.
You can find more information about Xion Lab’s Safer Drain Opener by clicking this link.