Drain Snaking

The last thing any person would want in his or her house is a clogged drain. A clogged drain can cause lot of inconvenience to you as all the water is blocked and your bathtub, toilet or kitchen sink fill with water. It can even pose a hygiene problem as the stagnant water can become a breeding place of dangerous bacteria.

You may solve the problem by pouring chemicals or strong acids down the drain, but this can be environmentally hazardous, and can also damage your pipeline. Besides, if the clog is too far down the drain, the clog may persist even after you pour chemicals. Drain snaking is an easy method of drain repair in most cases. If the problem is not too serious, you may even snake your drain on your own.

Drain snaking, or rootering, is an age-old method of removing blockages from drain. It involves using a drain snake device, which is also called a drain auger or plumbing snake.

Drain Snaking Process explained:

In rootering, a drain snake is passed through the pipes towards the place where the drain is clogged. Once the drain snake reaches the blockade (which can be tree roots or any other obstruction), the plumber starts rotating the auger attached to end of the cable (near the blockade). The auger slices any obstructions it comes across and clears the path for the water. The drain snake is powered manually or electronically. Drain snaking can be a messy process and, in difficult cases, should be done only by well-trained professionals. When you are drain snaking on your own, you need to do it carefully. Following is the basic procedure of safely snaking your drain on your own:

• First, you need to push the snake cable down the drain, while simultaneously turning the handle of the auger in the clockwise direction. You need to keep changing your grip as you push the snake down. Remember to wear rubber gloves before you start the drain snaking procedure.
• Once the snake has reached the blockage, you would feel it. When this happens, you need to keep turning the auger and pull it back, so that it grinds the blockage and pulls it away, removing the clog.
• After pulling it back, you need to push it forward again, and continue this action until the auger has completely grinded the clog and the pipeline is free again.
• If you can, try to pull the clogged sewage back through the drain pipeline. This can become messy, so you need to make sure that you have enough waste clothes and a bucket on standby. Remember to pull out the cable with a large rag, preferable an old towel.

If this process doesn’t work for you, it’s perhaps time to hire a professional plumber to do it for you. Drain snaking carried out commercially is relatively complex, as different types of bits are fixed on the free end of the device to unclog the drains. However, the main factor that distinguishes a commercial drain auger from a home-use drain snake is the length and diameter of cable.

Drain snaking or rootering, is a preferred option for drain repairs, both small and big. You can do it at home with a simple kit. It’s recommended that you seek professional help to unclog big blockages