When you’re experiencing clogged drains, it’s common for people to tell you that you need to snake the drain. This may conjure up visions of venturing into the desert to find a snake to slither down into your pipes and eat whatever’s in there. It means you need to use a drain snake to break out the blockage in the drain and send it down the pipes.
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While you can have a professional drain cleaner snake your drains, you can save a lot of money by knowing how to do it yourself. However, before you can use your drain snake, you need to know how to best use it for optimal results.
When using a drain snake, you should wear a pair of rubber gloves. The gloves will help give you a firm grip on the snake and will prevent dirt and grime from getting on your hands.
If you are trying to unclog your toilet, you should also make sure you turn off the water to the tank. To do so, turn the shut-off valve behind the toilet to the right to tighten it. If you don’t turn the water off while you’re snaking, you may accidentally flush the toilet, which could cause it to overflow and flood the bathroom, adding to your problems.
After turning off the water, you can then insert the snake into your toilet’s drain or any other drain you are trying to clear. Make sure that as you feed it into the drain, you are doing so slowly and carefully. If you are too forceful, you could end up damaging the pipe.
Once the snake is into the drain a few inches, you can start turning the crank at a slow pace to push it through the line. If the snake is moving too slowly, you can pour some water down the drain to help the snake move along easier. If the snake stops advancing altogether, chances are you’ve hit whatever is blocking your pipe. Then, you can either try to push the blockage through the pipe, or you can use the snake to pull out the obstruction by wiggling the snake past the blockage and grabbing it from behind. Make sure you pull out the snake slowly.
Once you’re done removing the blockage, you can put everything back in order and turn on any water valves you’ve closed. You should also try running water through the drains to make sure that they are draining with ease.
Once you know how to use a drain snake properly, you can remove a majority of blockages yourself. This knowledge will not only save you money in the long run but can also give you comfort in knowing that you can tackle any clogged drains that come your way.