How to stop hair clogging your shower drain
Last updated 2026-09-26
Short answer
Catch the hair at the surface before it reaches the trap. Clogs form where the pipe narrows, so anything removed at the top never gets the chance to build up there. A press-in strainer takes seconds to empty, while clearing a blocked trap takes an hour and sometimes a plumber.
How to do it
- 1
Measure the drain opening first
Most press-in models need an opening between roughly 4 and 6 cm. This measurement decides whether the silicone sits flat, and a strainer that does not sit flat lets hair past the rim.
- 2
Press it down flat against the rim
The seal is the whole mechanism. Seat it evenly so no gap is left at the edge, then check by running water for a few seconds and watching whether the strainer shifts.
- 3
Empty it after every shower
A mat of wet hair that sits overnight starts to smell and can begin to slide past the rim. Removing it while it is fresh takes a few seconds, because the hair lifts off as one piece.
- 4
Rinse the strainer, not the drain
Rinse the collected hair into a bin rather than back down the drain. Washing it off in the sink simply moves the problem one pipe further along.
- 5
Check under the stopper and overflow too
In baths, a surprising amount of hair collects around the overflow opening and behind the stopper. A strainer at the bottom will not catch any of it, so those points need an occasional look.
Where clogs actually form
Hair does not create a blockage at the drain surface. It travels down the pipe, meets soap scum, shampoo residue and body oils on the pipe wall, and gradually builds into a mat. The narrowest point of the run is where that mat finally stops the water, and in most homes that is the P-trap or a joint just past it.
This is the reason a surface strainer works so well. It intercepts the hair during the one part of the journey where removal costs nothing. Every hair caught at the top is a hair that cannot contribute to the mat further down.
Why chemical cleaners are a poor first move
Caustic drain cleaners dissolve some of the organic material in a clog but have little effect on hair itself, which is largely protein and resistant to that chemistry. They are also the leading cause of chemical burns from household products when they splash back, and they can damage older pipework.
If a drain is already slow, the mechanical approach is more reliable: remove what you can reach at the surface, use a physical drain snake or auger on the trap, and only treat the pipe chemically if that fails. Once the drain is clear, a strainer is what keeps it that way.
Sinks and tubs need a different shape
Shower drains are usually round and flat, which is what press-in strainers are made for. Bathroom sink drains take a smaller stopper-style strainer, and kitchen sinks need a basket strainer that can handle food waste as well as hair.
Tubs are the awkward case. A flat strainer over the bottom drain helps, but hair still gathers around the overflow plate, so a tub needs both a bottom strainer and a periodic check of the overflow.
Common questions
- Will a strainer slow the water draining away?
- Barely, until it fills up. Water passes through the perforations at essentially the same rate as an open drain; the flow only drops noticeably once the strainer is covered in hair, which is the point at which you should empty it.
- How often does a drain strainer need emptying?
- After every shower in a household with long hair, and roughly every two to three showers otherwise. Letting it sit does not just smell unpleasant, it also allows hair to work past the rim and into the pipe.
- Do I still need a strainer if I have a hair trap further down the pipe?
- Yes. An in-pipe trap has to be opened up and cleaned periodically, which is the job a surface strainer is designed to avoid. Using both means the deeper trap rarely needs attention at all.
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