How to clean up after a shedding ape?

July 31, 2007 4:19 PM

I'm a pretty hairy guy all over -- and I've got long hair on my head to boot. The problem is that I shed, from pretty much everywhere -- but luckily not so much from the head. How can I be a good roommate and clean up after myself in the bathroom?

I don't really have the time to give the bathroom a thorough cleaning after each and every use, and I would like to minimize the amount of washcloths/towels/etc. that I use.

Hair is usually pretty annoying to clean up when it's wet -- whereas when it's dry I can probably get away with using a Swiffer or dust-buster. I don't want to have to wait until the bathroom de-humidifies if I can avoid it, though. Especially since I'm sure my roommates wouldn't really appreciate it.

I'm not interested in hair removal options right now (although you can comment about them if you think you have something good).

Thanks, MetaFilter!

posted by DrSkrud to home & garden (13 comments total)

zip it? (For the drain, works great.)
posted by prettyboyfloyd at 4:25 PM on July 31, 2007

Not sure if this would work, but you might try giving yourself a vigorous toweling before you get in the shower while everything is still dry. That might just knock loose a bunch of what was going to come off anyway, and you can sweep or swiffer it before it gets wet.
posted by willnot at 4:35 PM on July 31, 2007

Where are you shedding? Grab some tissue and pick anything near the shower drain, grab some more and wipe off the sink, wash hands and be done with it. As for miscellaneous stuff collecting around the shower edges etc. you can't get it every single time.
posted by Firas at 4:38 PM on July 31, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I have the same problem...my long hair gets everywhere. A few tricks I've learned are:

Brush your hair before you wash it. This helps the "fallout in the tub" issue a little.

Buy a cheapo hair catcher for your shower drain. You can get them pretty much anywhere. The one I have I got at Wal-mart for under $5, and it's kind of a bendy,plastic, colander, looking thing. (There's a mouthfull) Stuff it in the shower drain, when you're done showering, rinse the tub, then pull strainer out and dump hair in trash.
posted by PossumCupCake at 4:56 PM on July 31, 2007

If you really do shed that much, don't get the cheap hair catcher. It clogs fast, and then the tub drains slowly, and you end up with hair all over the tub rather than gathered in the drain. I recommend going to the local hardware store and getting a drain screen that's more like a metal mesh basket. It's easier to clean and drains better in my experience.
posted by cabingirl at 6:11 PM on July 31, 2007

With the amount I shed, you'd think I'd be bald by the end of the day. Here's what I've picked up:

Hair trap for the shower drain, run your fingers vigorously through your hair while shampooing, get a good body scrubber and use it (as opposed to a wash cloth or just a bar of soat) then use a handheld showerhead to spray down the shower walls, curtain and side of the tub before you turn off the water.

You're a guy, so I'm assuming you can skip the blowdryer. Instead, towel off your wet hair before getting out of the tub, then shake your towel out over the tub. If a bunch of hair flies all over the tub, use the sprayer again to wash it away.

Cut your head hair a bit shorter and give up brushing.
posted by cior at 6:13 PM on July 31, 2007

To me, the hair in the shower drain is gross, but the random hair on the floor of the bathroom isn't any different from dust bunnies— dirty, but not gross. Maybe you could use a drain strainer thing and then just volunteer to do all the bathroom cleaning, in return for your roommate doing some other chore. Then you'd be the only one who has to deal with your leavings up-close. You could go in there every afternoon (when the bathroom has dried out) and take 30 seconds to sweep/vacuum the hair up so it doesn't accumulate.

(This also depends on your roommate having similar reactions to hair as I do, of course.)
posted by hattifattener at 9:03 PM on July 31, 2007

before introducing anything wet into the picture:

do your business on a bathmat. shake bathmat into shower, collect, and dump into toilet. or shake directly into toilet, more carefully.
posted by prophetsearcher at 9:07 PM on July 31, 2007

Well, you could seek out some roommates who are also hairy. This has helped me immensely. In fact, I ended up liking this arrangement and it's benefits so much, that I married my hairy roommate.
posted by pluckysparrow at 10:20 PM on July 31, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Run a damp paper towel or washcloth around the corners of the room nearest the shower and where the tub meets the floor. This is where the little hairs collect and start looking really scrungy, really fast.
posted by desuetude at 5:54 AM on August 1, 2007

Rather than a damp paper towel or washcloth I'd suggest some of those cleaning wipe things made by Clorox and others. If you're going to have to bend over and wipe the bathroom floor you may as well give it a little disinfecting while you're at it.
posted by phearlez at 8:10 AM on August 1, 2007

Oh, I also have kept a small sponge designated as "bathroom floor sponge" and kept in either an unobtrusive location behind the toilet, or in a little soapdish of it's own in the cabinet. The sponge is easier to rinse than a washrag, and you could dampen it with some sort of cleaning solution, if desired. (Those pre-moistened wipe things just seem like a tremendous waste of $ to me.)
posted by desuetude at 8:32 AM on August 1, 2007

I use a squeege (the window cleaning thingy) invest in a professional type one as you can attach it to a stick and use it like a broom. They are also better quality and just more effective and this will all serve to make your life easier.

(If you have a steamy shower and go over the roof and walls with it you'd be amazed to find what colour your bathroom really is)

But anyway the floor. The grout is the only flaw in the plan but across and then down works for me but you'll figure your floor out fast enough and then one swipe of a rag for your sweepings and your done. Picks up my hair, cat hair, dust, everything - Ah, perfect :)

It is my favorite cleaning tool!
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 7:09 PM on September 8, 2007