I started wet shaving 5 or 6 months ago, and recently I've noticed that my sink drain has slowed down quite significantly. It's a fairly new sink and I wonder whether the lather that gets washed down the drain is starting to accumulate and cause clogs. Do any of you see similar clogging in the sink where you wet shave but not others?
Sink clogging after starting wet shaving
- Thread starter handjam
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I haven't noticed my drain slowing down from any type of accumulation. I would recommend the vinegar-and-baking-soda trick every so often to keep the drains clear. I do this every change of the seasons since it is cheap, fast, and I have no problems to since.
It's most likely hair rather than lather building up in the trap. I gotten into the habit of cleaning my sink drain (SWMBO's is fine) and the shower drain (joint pipe lower than the sinks)every few months, even if the water is draining normally.
I've never had that problem. Lather, after all, is just soap, so I can't imagine that it is causing the problem. I suspect that you have a hair clog, so try some Liquid Plumber.
I never had any issues with the sink clogging until I got married.
Every few weeks I'll boil a large pot of water and pour it down the drain. This will loosen the caked on gloop and helps the drain run better. I learned years ago modern drain openers are too caustic for many of today's sink fixtures and I corroded out the little lifter arm that lets you raise and lower the drain plug. Boiling water won't do that but is still relatively effective.
It's probably either hairs or bristles from your brush
A plunger should shift it
A plunger should shift it
I'm currently having the same problem. I live with my landlord, who thinks it's my shaving soap and whiskers. I took a look in the p-trap and it's squeaky clean. Vinegar and baking soda didn't do much to help, nor has a plunger.
FWIW I've never had this problem before. I suspect it might be my landlord's long hair, when I lived with an ex-girlfriend we had his & hers sinks, only hers clogged.
If you find anything works short of calling out a plumber, please report back!
FWIW I've never had this problem before. I suspect it might be my landlord's long hair, when I lived with an ex-girlfriend we had his & hers sinks, only hers clogged.
If you find anything works short of calling out a plumber, please report back!
Every once in a while, I just run the hot water from the tap down the drains in both the shower and the sink.
Both of them get slow but the only time we had a severe clog... (flooded basement severe) it was caused by years of roots and dirt in the pipes under the house and the street going into the main sewer lines. Two inches plus of sewage in the basement and everything was tossed... computers, beers, CDs and DVDs... argh.
Not your lather or whiskers...
Both of them get slow but the only time we had a severe clog... (flooded basement severe) it was caused by years of roots and dirt in the pipes under the house and the street going into the main sewer lines. Two inches plus of sewage in the basement and everything was tossed... computers, beers, CDs and DVDs... argh.
Not your lather or whiskers...
The timing on your sink clogging is probably just coincidence but doubt it is lather build up. Most likely just a build up of hair. Sometimes you can just fish it out if it is hanging on the cross bar that sits just below the stopper. That happened to me recently when we noticed the water draining much slower than normal. Took out the stopper and pulled a bunch of hair out of there and problem solved. Good luck.
I, too, have experienced this and I do blame it solely on shave soaps / and creams, not hair – I don’t have much. (It’s the warden’s drain that clogs with hair.) Some of the many soaps and creams I use may be more prone to clogging the drain than others, e.g., brushless creams like Cremo Cream likely won’t. And, like you, it’s about every 5-6 months when the draining slows. I use Drano Max Gel, but I will have to resort to some of the less expensive methods offered here when I retire. 
I can attest to lather clogging a drain. My sink would get slow and I'd use Liquid Plumber Pro strength repeatedly with some improvement but not becoming completely cleared. I later remodeled my bathroom taking out the vanity and sink. Past the J-trap (which was relatively clear) where the plumbing went into the wall, I fished out a big "slug" of congealed crud, not hair, that probably reduced the ID of the pipe by 50%.
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Wow. I stand corrected then.
Thankfully no problem for me but like others have said try something like drano then you`re good to go again.
I always run the water for a bit after every shave. Just to make sure nothing is sitting in that pipe turn part. Don't have clogging issues anymore, but when I did, nothing was better than my plunger!
I had little long term luck with any of the liquids, but some Red Devil (powdered lye) did the job. It was especially effective when I let it work for 90 minutes rather than the specified thirty. Effective and cheap.
Been DE wet shaving for a couple of years or so. No issues with the sole sink. Regardless of soap used. We did replace the faucet about 15-18 months ago, but that was to resolve leaks/drippy faucet.
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Thanks for that comment. I pulled my sink stopper and found a fairly thick black gummy substance that was slowing things down. Not sure how deep into the system it goes. This sink/vanity is less than 1 year old so it's all new buildup. I ran a bit of drano and things are moving better now, but not 100%. Might have to try a snake or more drano.
Have any of you tried the CLR product for removing clogs? I echo the boiling water and or the baking soda vinegar for periodic drain maintenance.
Actually I have had this problem, however not with every soap I use. I can use B&M and Catie's Bubbles just fine but my puck of Ogallalla clogged everything up! I try to space it out now so that my sink has time to wash all of the excess away. I think some soaps just leave more residue than others.
