Hair Monsters, Inc.

Okay.  I have this weird phobia... wet, hairy drain clogs.  Ew ew EW!  Even hair in the sink or on the soap squicks me utterly.  Makes my skin crawl and my stomach ... well, I won't go there. TMI.  Dry hair?  No problem. 

Here's the issue -> I  have long hair.  I shed, therefore I clog.  Drano and a plunger will only do so much.

What's the solution that doesn't involve a plumber and big bucks? I saw this little gizmo advertised on TV...  a ZipIt.  Just shove this little gizmo down the sink or bathtub drain, twist and pull up.  GROSS!!!!   OMG! The HORROR.  Seriously, none of my animals have every barfed up or pooped out anything that utterly disgusting.  Regardless,    I'm back to the having a clog issue combined with the lack of funds issue.  Time to get over it.

Went to the Lowe's with K. She needed roofing supplies for her little project, and I just wanted to get a home repair store fix.  Apparently there's a leak in her roof when it rains >sideways< as it did in a freakish sort of way a couple of weeks ago.  At any rate, I saw a ZipIt hanging in the plumbing supplies aisle. Made several appropriate gross-out noises as I explained my problem to while K while she was laughing at my particular phobia.  You see... K's hair is long. REALLY long. Makes me look like I've got a crew cut! Most women want to cry because they're jealous and it's... well, it's lovely.  And it hangs down to past her ass and there's ALOT of it... so she's familiar with hair monsters... but she's not getting my hair monster phobia. Not many do, frankly.  I asked her if she'd ever used a ZipIt on her drains. She tells me yes, and it works just fine.

$1.98. 

Cheaper than a plumber. 

Can I manage to really get over the gross-out factor? 

So.  I'm in the bathroom.  I remove the drain plug in the sink and shove the ZipIt down inside. Twist and pull up.  Seriously, I'm getting nauseous and twitchy just THINKING about what came up attached to the ZipIt!!  Slimy, grey, gross, hairy... and I had to do it several times to clear the drain.  The operative concept here is that I did it! Mission accomplished! There's only one minor hitch... I discovered when I tried to attempt the same manouvre in my bathtub? There's a goofy, sharp bend in the drain pipe. The ZipIt is too rigid to shove down there very far.  DAMMIT.  Looks like I'll be trying to find another unclogging tool that's just as efficient, inexpensive but more flexible. 

We're not even going to discuss toilet snakes.  That's for another day.