Has your plunger left you tired, boiling water did nothing but make you sweat, baking soda + vinegar fizzed but did nothing else, and a straightened out coat hanger just won’t cut it? It can be more than annoying when your best efforts to unclog a stubbornly blocked drain come to naught, but there is still hope. How much do you know about the humble drain snake?
They cost next to nothing at the hardware store, but the drain snake – also referred to as a drain eel or plumbers eel – is a seriously effective bit of hand-held, at-home plumbing gear for unblocking a drain. Using one isn’t difficult – but it is more difficult than boiling the kettle or using a bit of elbow grease on that trusty plunger.
Read on, and you’ll soon be using a drain snake like a pro. But first things first – what on earth is a drain snake, anyway?
While it may sound like a daunting piece of highly specialised plumbing equipment, the drain eel is actually quite simple. The ‘snake’ is simply a long metal cable with an auger at the end – the bit that’s going to chew into your stubborn blockage of caked-on drain gunk. At the other end is the handle that you’ll manually crank by hand. It’s as simple as that!
As for how to use that plumbers eel like a boss … read this guide from your trusted Brisbane drain plumbers.
1. Prepare
Now’s the time to get into some old clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, and put some rags down where you’ll be working. Yes, drain snaking can be a little messy!
2. Dive in
Just to clarify: it’s the auger-end of the drain snake that will be diving into that drain or pipe, not you!
3. Be careful
Remember, that drain snake may look quite harmless, but starting to crank will begin to release its surprising power to work its way deep into your plumbing system to find and chew through a blockage. But if you feel resistance, don’t force it – because you might just chew through your pipe instead.
4. Crank away
The cable uncoils by cranking or rotating the handle. A general rule is to keep the handle quite close to the entrance of the pipe, because leaving too much slack will interfere with the transfer of force into the auger head.
5. Keep cranking
The only real rule for the cranking process is to be steady and consistent. Whenever you feel resistance, pay extra attention because this could be the snake’s head reaching its blocked-up destination.
6. Rotate through the resistance
Now that you’ve hit the sweet spot, keep turning that handle with careful force and patience. Wind it back a bit, and then back out again, because this in-out movement will work a treat to break up that stubborn gunk. If you hear or feel anything that seems like excessive resistance, wiggle around to slightly reposition the auger head.
7. Wind it back in
Once you feel like that blockage is pretty much all gone, wind that drain snake back in steadily and carefully. Be particularly careful once the head gets back to the drain/pipe opening, because you don’t want to do any damage at this point.
8. Check your work
Turn on the tap and see if your plumbing system is all clear again. If not, you can repeat the drain snake process, or perhaps you have a stormwater drain blockage further down the line that needs professional attention.
How did you go? A drain snake success? Or still frustratingly clogged up?
Drain Masters Plumbing will fix your clog!
It’s important to bear in mind that not every drain or plumbing blockage is a simple one. Professional plumbers and blocked drain cleaning specialists like the friendly guys at Drain Masters Plumbing have all the skills, training and qualifications, not to mention years of on-the-job experience with every type of drain issue. And not just that, our fully-stocked vans are chock full of drain cleaning tools much more effective than the humble hardware store drain snake like drain inspection cameras and high-pressure water drain jetting equipment, so you can rest assured we’ll knock your blockage right on its head. Give Drain Masters Plumbing a call today.
