Disclaimer: I've never used Nair before.
But if I'm not mistaken, I think the main thing Nair does is basically cause the hair follicles to break loose at the skin/scalp level. I don't think the stuff outright dissolves the hair.
But hey, if I'm wrong, by all means someone correct me.
You're correct.
The hair won't dissolve.
Couldn't you just use an acid to dissolve the hair as well as the other shit that makes up a drain clog?
Acids don’t work as well on the substances that contribute to typical household drain clogs compared to bases, which is what Drano is.
When it enters your drain pipes, the sodium hydroxide reacts with fatty acids and proteins from your typical clogging culprits like oils, grease, soap scum, hair, and food particles.
This reaction generates heat, breaks large molecules into smaller ones, and liquefies solid gunk. The extremely high pH enables the sodium hydroxide to saponify fatsand dissolve organic matterthrough chemical decomposition.
Acids simply wouldn‘t have the same cleansing effects on drain clogs. Grease and oils are composed of tough-to-break-down fatty acid chains that resist acidic breakdown.
Quoted from here.
your typical household drain cleaner is basic rather than acidic. acid will attack metal pipes, so if you don't know what's going on downstairs, I would stick with lye. and acid isn't good for septic systems
Yup, although boiling water works like a charm just about every time.
Usually what I use for a clog.
Advice: Don't use boiling water for toilets. It'll melt the wax seal at the base..
That is what stuff like draino does.
EDIT: I don’t actually have a drain that needs to be unclogged. This is a showerthoughtquestion.
Guys.....he TOTALLY has a toilet clogged with ass hair.
Reminds me of this story I read on reddit I believe about some dude that jizzed and puked in a sync and it got clogged and it festered for days until his mom had a plumber come out and he found the mess
I don't actually have a drain that needs to be unclogged. This is a showerthoughtquestion.
Unclogging hair from a drain is the single most relevant practical showerthought
Mechanical cleaning is the only reliable way to clean a drain, period.
Edited to add suggestions and detail:
Most clogs are between the elbow and drain so something simple like the item below is more than enough to break free or pull out hair, and toothpaste, as well as anything else that might be stuck in drain or in the stopper parts. https://www.amazon.com/Grabber-Remover-Kitchen-Bathroom-Cleaning/dp/B07RMHNHYC/ref
In the case where the above is NOT enough, $30 gets you a cheap 25ft snake that is going to cover the bulk of other situations where you have a clog.
https://www.amazon.com/Plumbing-Adapter-Flexible-unblocking-Powered/dp/B0D46TQBQ9/ref
Some general basic notes: A food disposal is for the little bits that you cant scrape off into your compost or trash, ITS NOT A TRASH CAN. Please dont put stuff down the disposal that you could have removed from a plate or dish.
Fats and Grease go in the trash not down the drain. If you are pouring out your bacon grease or remaining cooking oil, or anything fatty it turns to a solid almost as soon as it hits the drain. Running hot water with it wont keep it liquid, and dish soap wont keep it emulsified. It will slowly build up in the pipes and you will get a fat burg/plug that causes a clog. Wipe fatty/greasy pans and dishes with a paper towel and throw it in the trash, for large quantities like Bacon grease you can use a can or jar that you store in the freezer until its full and then toss in the trash.
Look at you cleaning your drains, I just burned down my house and bought a new one - hair free
But that's expensive, and I'm lazy. So what's the next best way
Depends on how far it is. I got a relatively nice 20something dollar drain snake at home depot that was like 15 ft long. Took me like 5 minutes and getting a bit wet cause it was the bath. But yea I get the laziness.
its like $5-30 DIY. Or $100+ if you hire someone to clean it.
What do I do if I don't have access to a mecha?
I've never had to go beyond solid lye
Nair doesn't destroy hair, it just makes it fall out of your body. It wouldn't help a clogged drain.
Source: Have clogged the drain with my ass hair a couple times.
I have a... uh... never mind. I don't think I want to know.
Ignorance is bliss, my friend.
cloggedshowerthoughts
If it had only active ingredients it might work, but I think with the added oil and skincare ingredients it will make the clog worse.
The plastic drain cleaners at home improvement stores with the Velcro tips work really well. They’re like 2’ long but in my experience cleaning the wife and kids long hair out of the bath drain has show that to be plenty.
The added fact that I have basically no hair on my head also makes be a tad bitter about always being the “handyman” guy of our family. :p
Go buy a snake from a hardware store. Spend the extra 10 and get one that has a drill attachment. I've used mine 4 or 5 times to clear out clogs.... Saves so much money on a pro plumber
Make sure to get it from the hardware store, not the pet store.
Instructions unclear
How do I get the smell of reptile blood out of my drain?
“In other news, a rash of copperhead bites has sprung up around town, after residents attempted to shove the snakes down their drain pipes to release a clog.
Local herpetologists say this is not a smart approach & should not be attempted.
Local residents responded by asking that their beer be held.”
Not sure about Nair in drains, but if it's a bathtub drain many of them have a sort of catch where all you need to do is unscrew the cover thats over the drain hole and pull the assembley out, if it's the kind I'm talking about it'll have kind of a long screw thing with a bunch of hair and junk wrapped around it.
Nair, a chemical hair remover, works by breaking down the protein bonds that hold hair together beneath the skin's surface.
If mr AI Overview is to be trusted, then it won't work.
I have a little snake tool with hooks on it you just shove down the drain and pull all the hair out.
If you really can't fish it out, just use some drain cleaner. The dry crystal kind works very well and it's inexpensive.
If you wanted to unclog a hair clogged drain, you'd be better off using (harsh chemicals) draino o some kind of biological/bacterial cleaner. I had a clogged drain early in the year (not organic, toddler related), and the plumber sold me some kinda bio-clean stuff in lieu of charging me the full fee and getting nothing, and it works wonders to destroy hair and other biologic stuff when I leave it in drains overnight. I use it once a month or so and it fixes my slow drains in one shot.
Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
I made myself a 3-D printed drain cover
https://github.com/profdc9/FreeCADParametricModels/tree/main/Sink-Drain
And it traps the hair and I don't have problems with clogging. It's a parametric part so it can be adjusted for most drain sizes.
At my apartments they have it in the lease that we are not allowed to use Drano, becase our pipes are pvc. I use a coathanger that I've put a little hook on with pliers. My gf has long hair, and sheds like a goddam collie.
There's drain guards you can get that work pretty well, I got tired of cleaning out hair from the shower drain.
Don't ever use Drano and then call a plumber either (or at least tell them if you did) because it barely works and instead just sits in the pipe which then gets all over their skin and clothes as they try to remove the clog the proper way.
A youtuber I watch who cleans drains had this happen and he showed what his pants looked like the next day. They were essentially shredded all down the front from kneeling in Drano water.
Lots of people are wrong. The stuff in Nair attacks sulfur bridges in keratine. This makes it physically fragile so you can scrape it off.
It doesn't dissolve the keratin though.
In theory you could break it into lots of small pieces by say pointing a water jet down the drain (or plunging or whatever) after treatment. Whether this is enough to loosen it will have a lot to do with other stuff in the drain/geometry/penetration depth. It may just make a gel that plugs the drain.
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