Shave Cream clogging the sink?

[pianoman]

Not terribly sure where I should've posted this, as it's more about plumbing, but I think the culprit is shaving cream. Alright, so I'm not sure what's to blame here. Started wet shaving about a year back, which is about the same time the sink started getting blocked up. Could be hard water, could be the pre-shave oil, could be the shave cream, could be the roommate? Anyway...

I use a pre-shave oil then apply lather directly on it afterward. I take my time while shaving, and sometimes the lather ends up drying out in the mug. It doesn't actually mix with the water going down the drain.

So, in the interest of solving this scientifically, does anyone have similar problems using pre-shave oil? I personally don't think it's enough oil going down the drain to cause drainage problems.
I use AoS lavender, but have been using T&H samplers for the past few weeks, to no avail. So I think that can be eliminated. You guys think it's hard water?

[Altair]

I blame the roomate. Its not your hardwater. Your pipes are probably old. I would use some drano. If that does not help you will need a plumber. He will unclog it with a snake. Your problem could be deeper down the drain.

Leave the drano over night, try it over 2 days.

[pianoman]

That sounds far too simple. I'm ashamed I didn't think of that.

[Altair]

Don't worry, I'm a contrctor, water softener. Hit it hard with drano. 1 or 2 consecutive days

[LinuxMintyFresh]

It's not the oil, it's the creams. Soap scum just builds up over time as the cream bonds with the minerals in your water. We had to take the u-joint or whatever it's called out from under the sink to get everything out last time it got clogged- sure enough, soap scum

Tallow soaps are way worse, at least for my drain.

[Mark1966]

I find that once a year I take off the s-bend under the sink and clean. The combination of soap scum and whiskers just builds up over time. Add in some long female hair and cosmetic products and you just get a problem.

[njpaddy]

About every two months I run a full pot of 50-50 vinegar/water mix through my coffee maker. When it's done, I put it into a large measuring cup, put baking soda in the bathroom drains and pour the warm vinegar mix down them. I also put some baking soda and vinegar in the overflow holes. I have hard water and use creams and I can notice a difference in flow after the baking soda and vinegar mix. If it's a hair clog, try a Zip-it (http://zipitclean.com/). Because of my wife and daughter I run a Zip-it down the drains at least every month.

[docfitch]

For future reference, the s-shaped pipe is called a p-trap, and you have to be careful after using products like Liquid Plumber. They can affect the pipe so that if you hit it with a snake, the snake can break right through.

[hotdog]

I too have had a little bit of a problem with the sink clogging and use a cheap drain cleaner that i got from Dollar General store about every 2 months and it seems to have stopped the problem.

[Gregny2002]

I've noticed that using pre-shave oil causes lather and such to build up on the sink basin. Using Scrubbing Bubbles to clean off the basin periodically seems to keep the build up away though.

[franz]

It's more likely to be a pre-existing clog IMO. Do you or your roommate have long hair? Long hair + soap scum = amazing clogging power.

FWIW, every plumber or handyman I've ever talked to recommends not using Drano. What happens if you pour Drano down those pipes and it doesn't eat up the clog? Then you (or plumber/handyman) have to deal with dangerous chemicals while doing what should have been done in the first place -- taking off the p-trap and cleaning it out.

[mgiah]

Boil a kettle and pour down the drain, then repeat again if needed. I find this works best for soap slowing pipes. The Drano is my second resource - make sure you get the foaming one that will have a chance to work on the blockage. If neither of those works, a drain snake is a cheap investment and will get the job done for sure. However, it's a minor pain to take the drains apart not to mention the pure nasty you'll pull out once you get in there.

I never had a blocked drain until the little woman moved in...probably just a coincidence.

[Gregny2002]

They also make those cheap plastic drain snakes. I dunno what they're called, but they look kind of like long plastic garbage ties, but with reverse facing teeth on them to pull hair and such out of a drain.

There's videos of them on youtube, although I'm not gonna post any here because watching that stuff get yanked out is really, really nasty :blink:

[Scott0079]

Once a week or so fill your sink with hot water, drain and repeat. This will get rid of a lot of build up initially and help prevent it once cleared.

[Tolduonce]

I'm a fan of enzymatic type drain cleaners. My understanding is the enzymes actually digest the soap, toothpaste, lotion gunk in the drain lines. Think yeast eating sugar and you've got a general idea of how these products work. Safe for plumbing too.

[FL shaver]

Hair.

I avoid the chemicals and snake every six months or so and yank a large wad of hair from beyond the p-trap. It is not my shaving stuff!

[touchdowntodd]

i too am convinced its more the wife and her hair and makeup crap

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Hair.

I avoid the chemicals and snake every six months or so and yank a large wad of hair from beyond the p-trap. It is not my shaving stuff!


i too am convinced its more the wife and her hair and makeup crap

I'm the only one that uses my bathroom so there certainly isn't any make-up and very little hair in the drain except for what comes off my face, and soaps and creams always end up clogging it. I'm still banking on the creams.

By the way, I don't understand why people think the bathroom sink would ever have mass amounts of long hair in it. :blink: The only thing that every goes down any of my sinks is toothpaste/spit, shaving lather, water, and some liquid handsoap. The shower drain, may have (certainly has) some hair in it, but not my sink.

[Malaspina]

I like to use lye once every 6 months or so. It's cheap and it works really well for me.... I put it in at night with water and then let it sit overnight. In the morning I fulsh the pipes by running hot water through..... I've got an older home (1959) and some of the pipes are that old too..... Just don't breath the fumes...:blink:

[franz]

By the way, I don't understand why people think the bathroom sink would ever have mass amounts of long hair in it. :blink:

Because I have to take the p-trap off from time to time and remove soap-hair bezoars from it. :lol:

[Pkrankow]

For future reference, the s-shaped pipe is called a p-trap, and you have to be careful after using products like Liquid Plumber. They can affect the pipe so that if you hit it with a snake, the snake can break right through.

Been there, but they just rotted out. Chrome brass traps are more susceptible to this than plastic traps. I have had to replace all the traps in this house, the previous owner loved Drano.


Boil a kettle and pour down the drain, then repeat again if needed. I find this works best for soap slowing pipes. The Drano is my second resource - make sure you get the foaming one that will have a chance to work on the blockage. If neither of those works, a drain snake is a cheap investment and will get the job done for sure. However, it's a minor pain to take the drains apart not to mention the pure nasty you'll pull out once you get in there.

These work fair to poor. They are cheap, and very quick and easy to use, so it is worth having one.

I never had a blocked drain until the little woman moved in...probably just a coincidence.

:lol::lol::lol:


Hair.

I avoid the chemicals and snake every six months or so and yank a large wad of hair from beyond the p-trap. It is not my shaving stuff!

Hair is right. Instruct people to NOT wash hair strands and large clippings down the drain. Instead use a paper towel and wipe them up.

On the other hand I grew up next to a fella who had such thick facial hair that he had a plumber over every 6 months to clean his tub drain (he shaved in the tub) and they eventually replaced his cannister trap with a common P trap. After this happened he would borrow my parents snake (eel), and often a brother or myself to use it (he paid well for a 10 minute job to a teen) this was needed only about once a year.

Use a plunger before running a snake through.

Phil

[DFrancis]

Use a plunger before running a snake through.


+1, we had a slow sink when we first moved in. A good plunging and it was good to go.

[sigthorson]

+1, we had a slow sink when we first moved in. A good plunging and it was good to go.

+2

That's what I do too and it works great.

[closer]

Hair.

I avoid the chemicals and snake every six months or so and yank a large wad of hair from beyond the p-trap. It is not my shaving stuff!

This. I have a hard time believing the soap residue and (small) facial hair is enough to clog the drain. Think about it, you'd need a golfball-sized clump of soap residue to clog up the pipe. When my sink drain got clogged, I snaked it with a wire clothes hanger, and pulled out a large amount of nasty, which was mostly long hair clumped together.

[FL shaver]

Those plastic snakes look ideal! Why didn't I think of that??? I have a good sized plumber's snake and it can be a bear getting it back together. And it is rusting. May be time for a new one.

As long as I continue to fish the long hair out of the drain, it will continue to be washed down the drain. Comes with the territory.