I Think I’m in Love With My Hair-Catching Tub Stopper
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I’ve always shed what feels like more than the average amount of hair. Hopefully, you wouldn’t know this just by looking at me (at least no one has ever said anything), but the proof is in the plumbing. I’ve lived in three separate homes since moving to Los Angeles, and, on multiple occasions, I’ve needed professional help to clear the shower drains in each of them. Ultimately, I blame West Coast pipes — a clog was never something I grappled with in any of my East Coast tubs. But I’m not here to point fingers; I’m just here to figure out how I can shower without standing ankle deep in the runoff of whomever bathed before me. And I finally have: This affordable, universally functional, and (quite frankly)beautifulhair catcher-drain-stopper hybrid is the answer.
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The Universal Tub Stopper (I’ll call it the UTS from here on out) has only been in my life for mere months, but I already feel like I can’t live without it. The magic lies in its two parts combined into one perfect little machine: hair catcher and tub stopper all in one.
The hair-catching part consists of a cagelike metal basket that sits inside the drain and is rimmed with a silicone O-ring that creates a seal at the drain’s edge and a metal collar that sits outside of the drain and flush with the bottom of the tub. The stopper part is mushroom shaped and attached to the top of a spring-loaded bar that extends down into the filter basket. Push the stopper down (with your foot, if you’re showering) to create a seal that keeps the water in, and push it again so it pops back up, letting the water flow out freely while the filter basket catches any hair that tries to go with it. In other words, it’s a heavy dutyTubShroomattached to a pop-up drain stopper. But, unlike all the TubShrooms andShowerShroomsand complicatedOXO stopper setsandflimsy metal strainersanddisposal mesh drain coversI’ve tried since we moved into our current home nearly three years ago, it actually works.
It turns out our drain is on the narrower side and also seems to be atypically shallow. Most hair catchers didn’t fit properly in the first place, so it’s no surprise they weren’t effective. But the UTS works because the filter basket that sits in the drain is small and shallow; the silicone O-ring that creates the seal is size adjustable; and, most important, the metal collar that essentially becomes the drain opening sitson top of(notin) the actual drain — which means the water and the hair have no choice but to pass through it and nowhere else to go but into the filter. You clean it out by unscrewing the spring-loaded rod from the bottom of the filter basket and pulling the hair out in one disgustingly satisfying clump. I do it after every shower. It’s not pretty, but it’s definitely proof that it’s working.
In addition to (or in spite of) its expert-level hair-catching abilities, the UTS is also quite attractive. Because the filter is totally hidden, all you see are the domed stopper and metal collar, which sit neatly in the drain as if they were installed by a professional — though there’s literally no installation required, you just drop it in. There are three finishes to choose from — shiny silver, matte silver, and powder-coated black — and they all look …chic?It’s not a word you’d typically use to describe something that collects fallen hair into a soap-scummy ball of goo. But then again, the UTS isn’t typical.
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