how to dissolve hair in a shower drain

How To Dissolve Hair In a Shower Drain: What Really Works

Let’s be honest:

We are all losing hair continuously throughout our lives. This especially applies to our lovely beautiful halves with long hair. Most of this happens when we are showering and washing our hair, in other words in a bathroom.

So, there is no surprise when I say that clogged shower drain can cause a lot of pain.

Without further ado, let’s talk about the ways how to dissolve hair in a shower drain, so you don’t have to call a plumber.

In short, hair could be dissolved with the help of chemicals. However, these create a lot of landfill pollution and might damage your plumbing. It is best to use drain claw to remove hair from the drain or alternatively use metal wire to make a hook. If you decide to use chemicals, you can create a combination of baking soda and vinegar or alternatively use biodegradable enzymes that will remove the clog and are environmentally friendly.

How Does Hair Clog The Drain?

hair clogs shower drain

Here is the deal:

The hair itself is not blocking the drain. What I mean by this is that many many other contaminants contribute to such a problem. Let’s just list a few of them.


  • Old particles of skin
  • Dust
  • Micro-particles from clothes
  • Pet hair

Now, mix it with long hair and water, and you will create a pretty ugly shower clog. This lump of mud won’t allow water to pass down the drain and it will make you a heading.

Also, did I mention this?

As you will continue to collect more and more dirt, not only you will experience a clogged drain, but also a very unpleasant odor.

I am confident that, now you don’t need any more reasons to why shower maintenance is as essential as any other part of your house.

So, what should you do now? Keep reading and find out!

Before we progress onto tips on how to dissolve hair, I would like to say that I am not a big fan of pouring chemicals down the drain.

This is due to my belief that chemicals are not necessary to use and have a significant negative impact on the environment.

Although I will include these tips at the end of this article, I will start with conservative methods to remove hair and hope that you will opt in for any of these before turning to chemicals.

How To Remove Hair Trapped In a Shower Lid

This one is very tricky!

It might seem like the drain is clean on the first sight.

Well, once you take the lid off, you quickly realize how wrong the first impression could be.

As much as this type of drain can be tricky, it is also reasonably easy to clean.

Simply remove any captured mess and hair from the lid a give it a proper rinse.


I know, it might be very tempting to flush collected hair down to the toilet, but please don’t do it.

Remember, you should never, I repeat, never, flush hair, along with other things, down to the toilet.

Speaking of toilets, you can check out my other article on tips making a water efficient toilet (article link).


In the same way, hair clogs your shower, the hair also clogs a toilet. So what will happen, is that you unclog shower, but over the time you will clog a toilet.

The most ideal solution in this situation would be to compost it, but if this is not something you are doing, you throw it into the garbage.

Okay, so this is the simplest way to remove hair, but what if the clog is deeper in plumbing? Keep reading in that case!

How To Use a Drain Claw To Remove Hair?

Drain claw is a great way to remove hair from the drain. Although its reach is still limited.

Anyway, let’s briefly explain what it is and how to use it.

The simplest explanation is that the drain claw is the flexible wire with the auger on end.

The auger also has lots of small hooks that hook substances inside the pipeline.

It’s straightforward to use.

Just insert the claw inside the pipeline and push down until you feel you have reached the cause of a blockage.

Now, start twisting the claw to hook all rubbish collected in the pipe and slowly pull up. You can repeat the process a couple of times unless you feel the pipe is clear.

To check out drain clog remover that I recommend on Amazon – click here.

Alternatively, I have come across another amazing way to remove hair by using an old hanger.

How To Remove Hair With Hangerhow to remove hair with hanger


I have found this method absolutely brilliant.

Sometimes, you don’t really have time to go to the shop to get a clog remover, or it might be late, so shops are closed.

Well, it doesn’t really matter in what situation you are, what matters is you can have a look in your garage or wardrobe and see if you have any old wire hanger.

If you have found one, then simply follow the video below and make a similar hook that will unclog your drain.

This is a brilliant method that should work perfectly.

Plunging Made It Worse? Do This!plunger

Now, all these methods above are great, but you have probably decided to use plunger as the first method and sometimes it can make the clog even worse.

In such a situation, you can again refer to tips provided earlier, or if you have plunged the clog deeper, so these methods don’t work, you can use the help of drain cleaners.

Probably the most popular combination of homemade cleaner is the combination of vinegar and baking soda.

These are an excellent alternative to chemicals and are available in most households.

Use the following steps to clean the drain:

  1. Prepare half of the cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar
  2. Pour soda down the drain and leave to rest for 5 minutes
  3. Pour the cup of vinegar and leave it for 5 minutes
  4. Pour water down the drain to clean the pipe and check if clog has been removed

Watch-outs When Using Chemicals!

The thing about cleaners is that they can work well if not excessively overused.

What I mean by this is that, if you have used the plunger and made it worse, don’t try to pour more chemical down the drain if it didn’t work the first time.

The issue is that cleaners can permanently damage the piping from the inside, and make it corrode or leak.

Another reason why you might want to avoid cleaners is that most of these are quite harsh chemicals that you are sending to landfill by using them.

I would encourage you to avoid using chemical cleaners, but if there is no other way at least use reasonable amount.

Also, did you know that there are biodegradable enzymes that can dissolve the build-up and don’t pollute the land? They are not expensive and you can get them here (Amazon link).


So there you have it, my guide on how to effectively dissolve/remove hair in a shower drain.

I would like you to remember that using chemicals is not always the best solution, although it might seem like the most efficient for you, it might cause more damage than good.

Also, I would like to hear tips from you on how you are fighting with hair stuck in your shower drain.

Make sure you leave any tips in a comment section below.

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