Ragdoll tossing up something - hairball?

About once a week my Ragdoll Will tosses up something that's long, wet but firm, and about the same color as my tan carpet.  Watched him caughing and hacking until it came out once last week.  I'm assuming it's a hairball as this is my first cat (Lucy is my second, shorthair, tabby with a cast-iron stomach) and still working on getting his loose undercoat brushed out.  But this once-a-week thing does have me concerned if it something more serious - suggestions?

It sounds to me like a normal hairball.  They shed a lot more in spring and you really have to keep on top of the combing (not just brushing) to get the coat out.  When he grooms, he gets those hairs and swallows them.  They form a ball in his stomach and intestine and do not pass so when the ball gets big enough, nature makes him barf it up.  You should be combing every day with a round-toothed metal grooming comb and keep going every day until the loose hair for that day is out.  Then repeat the next day.  It will get better when the winter doat is gone but that does take a little time. 

Google "grooming long hair cat supplies" and you will get a good idea of what tools you will need to keep up with your Ragdoll's coat.  It will nt always be this intensive, but every spring you will indeed be getting practically a whole cat full of hair out of him over the course of a few weeks.  If you groom him thoroughly every day until the long undercoat is totally gone, then you will probably not get the hairballs, at least not with that frequency.  Evidently a week is about how long it has to accumulate until it gets big enough for him to vomit it.  Prevention is the key.  Comb, comb, comb......

Also, be sure you feed high quality food, the kind that has some kind of MEAT as the number one ingredient.  Start hanging out in the Nutrition Forum and learn what constitutes a really good diet because that will nourish the skin and hair and he may shed less in general (although they ALL shed in spring.)

The daily routine for Will (being a Ragdoll) is first slicker brush against the grain, then saw-tooth comb bringing the coat back back to normal, then final slicker to collect any residual loose fur.  Then I do the belly.  Lucy (Shorthair tabby) just the slicker against the grain then back to normal three times weekly.  Sundays, I use the Furinator on Will and Hertz fur-catcher on Lucy in addition to brushing.  The amount of fur collected from Will is never-ending everytime.  Of course, I'm always open for suggestions.

That brings up the question about the Furinator - can you go too far brushing with it?  Seems when I go over a spot on Wll, clean the Furinator, then repeat on the same spot, the amount of fur collected each time appears the same.  Makes me wonder either this cat has one heck of a undercoat or I'm collecting something I shouldn't.

I also give both a hairball treatment in the form of "21st Century Essential Pet Hairball Soft Chews" I found at Petsmart once a day. It's better to give then another I tried that's a gummy liquid which I have to pry open their jaws to get it in.

But thanks for straighten me out about the hairball - didn't know they were that big and, for a moment, thought I might be looking at some sort of bowel blockage.