We use the mesh strainers in kitchen sinks to catch any food residue from washing dishes (I don't soak dishes in still water) and in the tub drain to catch loose hair during showers.
I have a next door neighbor who moved in a few years ago and about every six weeks, the rooter guy pays them a visit for several hours using the big machine that shakes up the whole street. The previous homeowners never rootered in the twenty years that they were in residence. We've never had to clear our drains until the last year when I did it myself with a plunger and recently with an auger.
So how common is it to use the strainer? Do people not do it because it's grody to empty out the strainer and believe that the water will push the "matter" through the waste pipe?