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Why Hair is One of the Leading Causes of Clogged Drains

Sometimes clearing a clogged drain takes but a minute while other times clogs can develop down in the pipe and grow to the point where you need to bring in the professionals to clear them. There are many sources of clogged drains including food, trash, grease, soap and hair. Hair occupies a special place in the pantheon of drain clogs for a number of reasons both obvious and not-so-obvious. In this post we’ll take a closer look at the icky hair clog.

Examining the Source of Clogged Drains in Toronto

Many people are under the impression that food is actually a bigger cause of clogged drains in Toronto than hair. But while it’s true that the kitchen drain often becomes fouled with food debris the belief that food is a more common source of drain clogs than hair ignores several other factors that favour hair, including:

  • Opportunity – Food clogs are limited almost exclusively to the kitchen sink, whereas if you have 2 ½ baths in your house you may be pulling hair clogs from 3 or 4 different sinks and a couple of shower and/or bath drain pipes. That’s a lot of clogs. In addition it’s not unheard of for hair to cause toilet blockages since some folks will dispose of hair they pull out of their hairbrush and comb in the toilet.
  • Composition – The natural tendency of hair to create enormous, tenacious knots is well known to anyone who’s ever let their hair grow past their earlobes. As such when it falls into the sink or the shower it catches itself on the plug or grate and waits for reinforcements to arrive. As more hair is deposited it commences to knot and the next thing you know you’re trying to snake it all out using the end of a coat hanger.
  • Sheer Numbers – The biggest reason hair is the #1 cause of clogged drains is that there’s just so much of it. (Almost) everyone has hair on their head and that hair is constantly falling out and being replenished. Every time you take a shower or bath some hair winds up in the drain. Every time you comb your hair over the bathroom sink some hair winds up in the drain. Same when you shave, trim your beard or cut off split ends over the sink.

So what can a homeowner do to protect their drains from this knotty onslaught? Well, several things actually including:

  • Install sink guards to catch hair before it goes down the drain.
  • Stop cleaning out your brush and comb and dropping the contents in the toilet.
  • Don’t wait for clogs to happen before removing hair from the drain.
  • Don’t brush or comb your hair in the shower, bath or over the sink.

New Canadian Drain and Plumbing can clear any type of clogged drain in Toronto. So whether you need drain cleaning, maintenance or repair service give us a call. And while you’re at it ask about our extensive warranty on all our drain work.