Function/Use

Q: How does the DrainEASY Stopper work?

A: The DrainEASY line of clog prevention devices capture and rip the hair that would normally go down a drain and cause a clog. The devices are operated by a simple push of the hand or foot, and require no outside power source.

Q: Will this clean out the clog that is already in my drain?

A: No, you will need to clean your drain of whatever clog is currently present. However, after you clean the drain, it will prevent future clogs from forming!

Q: I already have a strainer/cover over my drain. Doesn't it do what your devices do?

A: Yes and No. DrainEASY devices have a capture grate that acts like the strainer/cover you mention, but that also rips hair. However, an effective strainer has rather small holes to prevent material such as hair from going down the drain, and those small holes impede the flow of water which, of course, is the opposite of what you want. Our devices, in contrast, use a capture grate with much larger openings that actually capture MORE material than even good quality strainers! This is because the DrainEASY capture grate is specially designed to use the Coriolis Effect, which spins the water as it goes down the drain, and surface tension to capture the materials. DrainEASY captures more material, prevents more clogs, and still lets the water flow down the drain.

Q: I don't like to clean the hair off of my drain covers. When I do, I frequently just put the hair on the wall of my shower or sink and hope I remember to throw it in the trash when I'm done. Won't I still have to do that with your device?

A: One of the reasons we developed the DrainEASY Stopper is because we don't like to clean that stuff either! DrainEASY rips the captured hair into small bits that simply flow away, no touching involved.  By using our devices, your days of sticking what we not-so-affectionately call the 'wet rat' to the wall are over.

Q: If I take your device out of my drain in 3 months, what will I see?

A: Although we know that 'clean' plumbing (i.e. in new construction, or recently cleaned drain) won't tend to form new clogs if the hair going through it is 4 inches in length or less, we couldn't be sure that people actually HAD clean plumbing.  So, we decided to play it safe with your plumbing and hold onto the ripped hairs that came out of our ripping process if they were between 2 and 4 inches in length (its rare that a hair ripped on the first pass is greater than 4 inches, but those are retained for further ripping too).  Since 92 percent of the ripped hair coming out of our device are 2 inches or less in length, it takes months for those retained hairs to build up.  During that buildup, the retained hairs are continously being ripped more and more.  However, if you pull out your drain device you will see that those retained hairs are present while your DrainEASY Stopper is continuing to tear them into smaller bits.

Q: How do I operate DrainEASY devices?

A: When enough hair accumulates on the device's capture grate, the operator need only push on the device and cycle it up and down 2-5 times to rip, then push through, the small bits of hair. This can be done at any time the user chooses; before, during, or even after the use of the shower/tub/sink.

Q: I still want to plug my tub to take a bath. Can your product do that?

A: Our tub and sink-based devices are able to seal your tub or sink.

Q: What drain flow rate does your device allow?

A: Plumbing standards dictate that drains allow water to flow through at 7 gallons per minute with six inches of head pressure. The DrainEASY tub and shower drain devices conform to that standard. Put in perspective, the average shower head has a flow rate of 3-4 gallons per minute. For BEST performance, we recommend using low flow shower heads which typically have a flow rate of 0.5-2.5 gallons per minute.

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Safety

Q: I have small children in the home. Does the motion of your product pose a risk to little fingers?

A: Our design team included an emergency room physician, so we designed it specifically for safety. The portion of the device that rips hair is always recessed in the drain, where 'little fingers' aren't able to extend.

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Installation

Also see our installation FAQ page

Q: I really dont need tools to install your devices?

A: Our devices are made to install by hand, with no need for access to the underlying plumbing, except for our soon-to-be-released sink device.

Q: Is there anything I should do before installing your product?

A: You will get the best results if you clean your drain one final time before installing the EverClear drain device. Removing old clogs with a 'plumber's snake' (the preferred method if you want to be certain you have cleaned out your pipes), or chemical drain cleaner one last time will mean that the ripped up material that comes out of the bottom of the EverClear device when you operate it will have nothing to hang up on. In 'clean' plumbing, EverClear prevents 95-100 percent of clogs! See "installation" tab on this website for complete instructions.

Q: I have a trip-lever style drain plug in my tub already, do I have to remove it in order to use your product?

A: No, you do not have to remove it.

Q: Does your device fit all drains?

A: The EverClear Drain for tubs fits all bathtub drains in the U.S.  Some drains, manufactured prior to 1989 have some variable features we address in the installation troubleshooting page.  If you purchased a drain device and found that your tub drain didn't have a hole in the cross members to screw our device into, you have a toll free number to call into on your instruction sheet, and you will be supplied a retrofit piece free of charge.  Fall of 2010 will see our follow-on devices for bathroom sinks, and shower stalls (i.e. showers without the surrounding tub).

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Test Evidence

Q: Hair is pretty tough&how much force do I need to push with to rip up captured hair?

A: The first stroke requires a force equivalent to turning a key in the lock of your car door, or opening a sliding window. Subsequent strokes are even easier because they are simply clearing the capture grate of the ripped up hair.

Q: How do I know the DrainEASY works?

A: Our research showed that hairs less than 4 inches in length aren't likely to cause the formation of clogs. The DrainEASY Stopper betters that benchmark. The average length of hair passing into the plumbing after using the DrainEASY Stopper device is 1.2 inches, and 92 percent of hairs are 2 inches or less in length - well beneath the clog threshold.

Q: Do different types of hair affect the performance of the DrainEASY?

A: We test the DrainEASY with the thickest and toughest hair available (hair from people of SE Asian descent). All of the results we quote are for that type of hair. DrainEASY devices demonstrate even better performance for other types of hair.

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Nature of Clog/Bacteria

Q: When I clean out my drains, there is more than just hair in there. Since your devices are optimized to rip up hair, can using your device really cut down on clogs?

A: People frequently attribute the clogs in their drain to things other than hair. However, the vast majority of clogs start as hair clogs that then accumulate more materials. Hair greater than 4 inches in length has the greatest chance of catching up on various burrs and joints in your plumbing. As time passes, more and more hair accumulates at these points. When enough hair accumulates, it acts like a net that captures yet more material like soap residue, lotions, etc.. After awhile, this net of hair is stable enough to protect bacteria that are constantly washing off of you and into your plumbing. The next time you have a clog, take a moment to pull that clog apart (make sure to wear gloves!), you will see that hair is at the core of the clog.

Q: Wont your device cause a clog?

A: As described above in the funciton and use section, we purposefully hold onto hairs that are between 2 to 4 inches in length after the first ripping motion of our device.  This is so we can continue to grind down on the 8 percent of the hairs that come out of the first rip in that size range, and we did this because we couldn't be certain that you didn't already have a clog further down in your plumbing that you couldn't reach when you cleaned your drain before installing your EverClear Drain, and that could therefore hold onto to even hairs in the 2 to 4 inch range.  If you were to pull your device out for whatever reason in 3 to 4 months, you would see the hairs your device was holding onto to further rip them up. 

However, there is a situation where your EverClear Drain itself can clog, and that is if its overloaded by a bunch of hair at once (like if you were to cut your hair in the shower, or bathe your dog there).  However, cleaning the device in that situation is as simple as unscrewing it, removing the hair from the capture grate, and screwing the device back in place for the daily use situtions it was designed to handle.

Q: What is the slimy stuff I get out of my drain?

A: Once enough bacteria have collected in the tangle of hair, they actually communicate with each other, sending each other signals to start the production of a protective mucous excretion. It is this excretion that you see, feel, and smell when you clean your drain.

Q: Is that slime dangerous?

A: The slime itself isn't dangerous, but the bacteria it protects can be. Because the bacteria found in the clog got there after being washed off of previous bathers, you are potentially coming in contact with bacteria other than those from your own skin. Documented bacteria from the drain include: MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staph. Aureus), Streptococcus, Legionella (Legionnaire's disease), Pseudomonas, E.coli, and Salmonella.  The longer that clog is present in your drain (as happens when one builds up far down in your plumbing), the more bacteria growth and bio-film that is present.  As noted above, our device holds onto cut hairs between 1.5 and 4 inches in length to keep them from adding to clogs that might have long since formed further down in your plumbing and although they are continously ground into smaller bits by the EverClear drain, you will want to remove it every 3-4 months to clean it.  The bacteria growth and biofilm present in that bit of retained hair is nothing like what you get when you remove the clog from 3-4 feet down in your pipes, where its had time and condtions more favorable to biofilm production.

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Chemical/Enzymatic Drain Cleaners

Q: Why not use a chemical drain cleaner every couple of months instead of using your device?

A: Chemical drain cleaners have serious safety, health, and environmental drawbacks. But even if you are careful in their use, or have faith that drain cleaner use won't cause harm to your plumbing or the environment, you are still dealing with the slime issue.

Q: I thought chemical drain cleaners ate through the slime. Are you telling me they don't?

A: Chemical drain cleaners are good at disintegrating exposed hair. The problem is, by the time enough hair accumulates for you to notice water backing up in your drain, a mucous biofilm has also formed. Unfortunately, the biofilm is great at coating the bacteria AND the underlying hair, and protecting them both from the chemical drain cleaner. This is because the chemical makeup of the mucous coating is resistant to the chemical drain cleaner!

A: The enzymatic cleaners do a reasonable job of disintegrating the mucous biofilm if left in place long enough (on the order of 1-2 days), but they are unable to break apart hair. This is because the di-sulfide bond in hair is so strong that it can really only be chemically broken by using a strong acid or strong base, such as those found in the chemical drain cleaners.

Q:Why not mix the two types of drain cleaners?

A: The chemicals in traditional chemical drain cleaners deactivate the enzymes...your best option, therefore, is to prevent the clog from ever forming.

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Savings

Q: Is it cheaper to use your product than my current approach to dealing with clogged drains?

A: This depends on the manner and frequency with which you clean your drains. Chemical drain cleaners tends to cost between $5 and $12/bottle. A household purchasing and using $5/bottle drain cleaners once every 3 months, would save $70 over the projected 5 year lifespan of the EverClear drain. At $10/bottle, the savings increases to $170. Of course, if you are saved from having to call a plumber to unclog persistent clogs, the immediate savings can be upwards of $100-$150.

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Settings Appropriate for Use

Q: Are there any situations where you DON'T recommend using the DrainEASY Stopper devices?

A: Yes. You CAN overwhelm the device with too much hair going down the drain at once. Similar to powered garbage disposals, too much material can impede the motion of the moving parts, making it so the mechanism can't rip up the captured material. Scenarios that we recommend NOT using your DrainEASY Stopper include:

• Bathing your pets; you can keep your device in place and have it act as a filter to prevent the hair from going down the drain, but you'll need to unscrew the device from the drain and clean the capture grate by hand if the volume of hair going down the drain all at once impedes the motion of the device.

• Hair salons; again, the volume of hair encountered in that setting impedes the motion of the device.

Q: Does your device fit all drains?

A: The DrainEASY Stopper for tubs fits all bathtub drains in the U.S.  Some drains, manufactured prior to 1989 have some variable features we address in the installation FAQ page.  If you purchased a drain device and found that your tub drain didn't have a hole in the cross members to screw our device into, you have a toll free number to call into on your instruction sheet, and you will be supplied a retrofit piece free of charge.  Fall of 2010 will see our follow-on devices for bathroom sinks, and shower stalls (i.e. showers without the surrounding tub).

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