In which form ditches function for the blonde with the chrome bikini

[unixronin]

Or, why on earth did American plumbing ever adopt these Rube Goldberg remote-operated stopper contraptions in sinks and bathtubs, when a simple rubber stopper does the job perfectly well?  A rubber stopper usually seals better, doesn't fill up the drainpipe with bits and pieces and levers and linkages for stuff to catch on and clog the drain, and there's virtually nothing that can go wrong with it.  Anything that CAN go wrong with a rubber stopper, you can fix for maybe a buck spent at the hardware store, perhaps even the hardware section at the supermarket, and probably without tools.  When one of these over-complicated remote-linkage slow-leak devices goes wrong — which they do frequently — the vast majority of people need to call a plumber.¹

Ah, but the chrome-plated remote-linkage gubbins is SHINY!  Doesn't work reliably, sure, but it's really SHINY!

[1]  Come to think of it, that's probably a big part of the reason....

Comments

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

i hate those things! i have reallllly long hair and those things clog up in 2 days!

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Exactly. They could hardly be designed to trap hair more effectively.

[hrrunka]

Yep, they're guaranteed repeat work for plumbers...

[lwj2.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you've had to clear the drains, Alaric.

One more step toward your conversion to Luddism.

;)

Somewhat more seriously, I had the same problem and found a drain cover/filter that drops over the bathtub drain, catches hair nicely. Found it at Kroger, as I recall.

The lavatory drain is, alas, still in it's original hair-catcher configuration. All I can do about that is remind the ladies to close it before brushing their hair.

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

I tend to pull the loose hairs out before I shampoo. They end up in my hands so I just pull them off and put them on the shower wall. After I get out, I take a piece of toilet paper and swirl them on it and toss in the trash can. Still working on Pirate's hair washing technique so I do still find a mat of hair at the drain. But at least it is at the drain and not in it.