It’s no news that your body is full of hair. As an average human, you probably have close to a hundred thousand strands on your head. Another issue you may observe is how much hair you shed every day.
Like every other human, it is normal to shed close to a hundred strands of hair each day. So, don’t panic. Losing hair is perfectly normal, especially when you’re combing.
The problem now is where all these hair strands should go? The chances are that with shed hairs on your hand, you won’t be looking to throw them anywhere. If you do so, pets or children may take them up. Sometimes, they may form a litter, and the air will drive them around, even into your food.
With that said, we understand your first two choices will be your bin or the toilet. This article runs you through the essentials of flushing hair down the toilet.
We’ll let you know if it’s okay to flush your hair down the toilet drain. And if it’s not safe, we’ll let you know what to do with your hair instead.
Read: Can you flush milk?
Dive in!
Can Hair Be Flushed Down the Toilet?
You just combed your hair, and you find yourself with strands of hair on your hands. Where next should your hair go? One of your wildest thoughts will be to flush it down the toilet.
Can you flush hair down the toilet? The short answer is No. It is not recommended to flush hair down the toilet as it is one of the most common causes for a clogged drain pipe. Unfortunately, hair does not dissolve in water and ends up getting stuck in drain pipes.
One strand will entangle with more hair passing by. Over a period of time, it will create a nice web that will catch on to anything that passes through it.
Also, hairs break down very slowly. If the hairs start blocking your pipes, don’t expect them to decompose easily. Instead, the problem starts getting worse day by day.
Issues relating to clogging of pipes and clogged drains are difficult to fix and repair. As a result, they are expensive to fix. Therefore, throw only those items that are safe to flush.
Water can push down as many objects as possible. While hair can be a stubborn material, water can provide enough force to push your hair down into the drain. Sometimes, this may not happen at once. It may require flushing a few times.
Is It Okay for Hair to Go Down the Drain?
Flushing hair down the toilet may appear safe. At least, water has enough pressure to push down even more massive objects. However, flushing your hair down the toilet drain is a different thing from flushing other items.
Like your body waste, many of these objects can smoothly go through your toilet and the pipes. However, hair may not flow in the same way. So, it is UNSAFE to flush your hair down your toilet drain.
The first reason is that flushing hair may cause a clog in your toilet’s drainpipe. Given the nature of hair, it tends to cling to patches or other objects. If you have new drainage, you may not have this problem.
Old pipes, however, are more prone to have your hair cling to their different parts. When this happens, your hair will not go down the drainage. It may also prevent other forms of waste from going into the drainage.
Also, if you have long hair and flush them down your toilet, they may form ball webs. These ball webs can prevent waste from going down into the drainage. If this continues over a long period, your hair may cause a total blockage to your toilet.
An additional point you may want to think about is how slowly hair breaks down. Hair takes a very long time to break down, unlike your body waste and toilet paper. Once hair clogs your toilet, it can continue to do so for a very long period. Eventually, hair may end up blocking your toilet.
If you find your toilet clogged by your hair, you may have a hard time repairing it. It even gets more challenging if you have a septic tank. A clogged septic tank is more problematic and costlier to access than a drainpipe.
Read: Can you flush bread?
Given all these problems, we do not encourage you to flush your hair down the drain. Searching for alternative ways of disposing of your hair would be best.
Will Hair Clog the Toilet?
Now, you know that it is not a good idea to have your hair in the toilet. And this is because it will clog your toilet.
So, you know that hair will clog your toilet. However, how does this happen? After all, you expect the water’s pressure to get it all shoved down.
Well, hairs are very sticky stuff. They can cling to your clothes, curtains, and sofa. Similarly, hair CAN CLOG your sinks and toilet drain. Even when you successfully flush your hair down the toilet, it can clog your toilet’s drainpipe.
Long hair can transform themselves into balls. These balls may stand in the way of actual waste going down the drain. Your toilet drain will not just clog; you may find it hard to flush down other items.
Also, hair may cling to rough surfaces in your pipe. When this happens, it prevents the hair from going down the drain. When this occurs over time, the hair will clog your pipes and block your waste from going down. Other forms of debris may also cling to the hair, and the clog will grow larger.
Since biologically breaking down hair takes a long time, the clog will continue and may affect your septic tank. You may eventually have to spend more time or money unclogging your toilet.
Can You Flush Beard Hair Down the Toilet?
No. We wouldn’t recommend it. When mixed with shaving foam or shaving gel, it can make a goopy mess. Shaving short hairs might not cause the blockage but those who have long hairs in the beard can definitely cause trouble.
To be on the safer side, refrain from flushing beard hair down the toilet.
Is it OK to Flush Short Hair Down the Toilet?
Unfortunately, we have some bad news for you. Even flushing short hairs can cause blockage in your toilet. Short hairs are as strong as long hairs. While it may not create a web, it can stick to the pipes and cause blockages.
So, the thumb rule is while it is convenient for you to trim your hair over the toilet, don’t do this either. Sooner or later, it will cause blockage and create an additional expense for you to hire a plumber to get rid of the clog.
Read: Can you flush baby wipes?
How to Unclog a Toilet Clogged With Hair?
Have you made the mistake of flushing hair down the toilet, and you ended up with clogged drainpipes? Unclogging your toilet should not be too difficult a task. Here’s a guide on how you can take care of toilet clogs.
1. Use Plungers
Every toilet should have a plunger as it can come in handy. Using plungers is one of the best ways to unclog your toilet. If you want to use plungers to unclog your toilet, you will have to follow a simple process.
Step 1: Stop Your Toilet Bowl from Getting Filled Up
The first step is to unclog your toilet is to prevent much water from filling up the toilet bowl. You can achieve this by shutting the valve that connects your tank to the toilet. You should also remove excess water in your toilet bowl.
Doing this will prevent the water in your toilet from overflowing when you begin plunging. You should make sure your toilet is half full, and that water covers your plunger.
Step 2: Select the Right Plunger
Not all plungers can help you solve clog problems. A funnel-cup plunger is the most appropriate type of plunger to use. A funnel plunger has a flange at the base of their cup.
Step 3: Warm Your Plunger
To make your plunging easier, you should pour some hot water on your plunger. Hot water will make your plunger very soft and flexible.
Step 4: Plunge Correctly
Use the plunger to seal your toilet hole completely. Afterward, push downwards and pull back about 4-5 times with reasonable force. Repeat the process if your toilet remains clogged.
2. Pour Hot Water and Dishwasher Detergent into Your Toilet Bowl
If using the ordinary plunger is not working, you could attempt another hack. Try to pour some cups of hot water into the bowl and sit still for some minutes.
Afterward, add dishwater detergent to the toilet bowl. This hot mixture can heat up and break down the hair causing your toilet to clog. You could also add this to the plunging process.
3. Pour Baking Soda and Vinegar
Some other chemical mixtures can work magic on your clogged toilet. A beaker of baking soda and a mug of vinegar will settle clogged toilets. This mixture can create a chemical reaction that breaks down hair and stop it from clogging your toilet.
4. Use Augers
Toilet augers are cables that can find their way into your toilet holes. If the hair that clogs your toilet is close by in the drain, an auger will do the job.
Thrust the auger and allow it to find its way into the toilet hole till you get the hair clog. When you do, pull it out and dispose of it properly.
Read: Can you flush glass?
What Should You Do with Excess Hair Instead? (Alternatives to Dispose)
Now that you know it’s improper to flush your hair down the toilet, there are a few other things you could do with your shed hair instead. The following ways are tips that can help you dispose of hair or put it to fair use.
1. Dispose of It in Your Bin
One of the things to do with hair is to throw it in the trash can. While there may be other issues arising from trashing your hair, it is relatively safer than the toilet.
If properly disposed of, you can get rid of hair without clogging anything or having hair fly around your house.
2. Compost It
Your hair is a vital part of your body. And like many other types of waste, hair is organic. It contains a fair amount of nitrogen, which is nutritious for the soil.
So, instead of flushing it down the toilet, you can compost it. To do this, mix your hair with other organic wastes and pour it over the soil as compost piles.
What Other Items Can You Flush Down the Toilet?
What items can you flush down the toilet without wreaking any havoc? Well, they are not much. There are merely a handful of things that can safely go down your toilet drain.
The toilet perfectly suits your body waste, which explains why many other items may not fit in. You should not flush oil, dental floss, drugs, or animal waste. With that said, here are items that can go down the toilet.
Feces
Toilets can accommodate your solid wastes. So, it’s entirely safe to flush them down the toilet. Water can push feces down the drain into your septic tank without the risk of clogging.
However, your toilet may fill up after a while. As such, it would help if you try as much to solve that problem when it arises.
Urine
Like feces, urine also goes down the toilet drain safely. Since urine is liquid, water can also push it down into your toilet drain and septic tank.
Toilet Paper
The makers of toilet paper are careful to make sure that the paper type can go down your toilet drain. So, it is 100% safe to flush toilet paper. However, other types of paper may not be suitable for your toilet drain.
The objects are flushable because all of them can break down naturally. You don’t have to bother about them clogging your toilet because they’ll break down in such a short while, even if they do.
Read: Can you flush slime?
Final Thoughts
Flushing hair is terrible for your toilet, and ultimately, for you. It gets worse if you do this frequently.
You will save yourself unnecessary plumbing issues if you don’t flush hair. Instead, you can throw it away or help the environment by composting it.