Blocked plugholes

Get some bocked pipe clearer. I had a similar experience where our shower tray was draining very slowly and would fill up like a mini bath. We got some plug hole clearwe which you pour down the waste and leave it. It disolves all the trapped hair and crap in the waste.

The caustic soda needn't come into contact with the bath enamel (not that it should attack it anyway) - just carefully pour the NaOH solution through a funnel into the trap.

You can get most of the hair up with a pair of fine-nosed pliers through the plughole (done it recently). Better to do this regularly, but I found no need to remove the trap (yep, sealant all round !). Simon.

Fill the bath to a few inches with hot water and give the plughole a good plunging every couple of months followed by some more ineffective (but less liable to cause splash damage) drain cleaner will probably be all the preventative maintenance required. Hopefully more extreme measures then won't be necessary. If they are, NaOH through a funnel is best, as he says.

At risk of being a bore on this - but I have not had such a problem since using only liquid soaps (Gels, etc) as they don't leave a scum that binds hairs together. Have 2 daughters with long hair and have never had a problem. If you do dismantle the trap then check for rough edges where the pipes were cut.

Caustic is good. Get a funnel and fill up the trap with the crystals.

Leave overnight, flush with hot water.

Remove any hair caught on the plug grid before it gets washed into the trap. Basic good housekeeping...

Get some protective gloves or be very very careful with caustic soda. My dad got some on his fingers whilst clearing a drain years ago and it made a right mess of his fingers!

Dave Liquorice wrote in

...and, once it's clear, fit "hair traps" - that's how hairdressers avoid the problem with their basins.

Have a Google for hair trap bath - around £3

Get a hair trap similar to