Rub-a-dub-dub: TubSchroom makes clean-drain promises

Ask me about what it’s like having long, thick hair and I’ll tell you that it’s both a blessing and a curse.

The blessing comes in the form of having hair that has natural volume and bounce. The curse is that my bathtub drain is regularly clogged with a wad of wet hair that resembles a small furry animal. From personal experience, I can also tell you that unclogging the drain is not fun. Plus, it’s also really gross.

In this week’s Fab or Flub? review is a product that offers a possible solution to my long-hair woes. Designed to offer drain protection against human and pet hair, the TubShroom Hair Catcher ($12.99, Bed Bath and Beyond) is a mushroom-shaped product that is supposed to neatly collect loose hair in your drain (completely out of sight) until you’re ready to clean it off.

The TubShroom can be kept up to a week in your shower or bathtub before being cleaned and promises a safe alternative to harmful chemical-based drain cleaners.

First impression

Available in five color options, the TubShroom Hair Catcher is made from BPA-free silicone and fits inside most standard bathtub drains (1  1/2 inches in diameter). For drains covered with a conventional mesh strainer or a built-in stopper, the strainer or stopper must be unscrewed and removed before the TubShroom can be inserted.

No special installation is required for the mildew-resistant product. You simply place the TubShroom inside the drain.

Since my bathtub drain has a stopper, I did have to unscrew and remove it prior to using the TubShroom. After I placed it into my drain, I noticed that the product stuck out slightly. This is normal and allows for the hair to flow down into the drain so it can be captured.

Fab or flub?

Fab! Thanks to the TubShroom Hair Catcher, I no longer have to deal with the disgusting task of unclogging a hair-filled bathtub drain.

The affordable and easy-to-use product did an excellent job of catching my loose strands of hair without disrupting the flow of water while I showered. As the excess hair flows into the drain, it wraps itself neatly around the TubShroom, which makes disposing of it afterward simple and way less disgusting.

For those interested in a similar product for the sink, the makers of the TubShroom have also developed the SinkShroom ($12.99, Amazon).

Featuring a similar design to the TubShroom, the SinkShroom fits inside your sink drain to collect hair and other things that might cause clogging.

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Rub-a-dub-dub: TubSchroom makes clean-drain promises."