When the water doesn’t drain as fast as it should or worse, doesn’t drain at all, it can catch up with a drain snake and drain auger.
A drain snakes or drain auger, this handy tool is simply a long, thick, flexible cable that “snakes” into drains and pipes to remove blockages quickly and efficiently. But these lock busters come in different types and sizes, depending on their recommended use.
Have You Ever Noticed How Unpleasant A Clogged Sink Can Get?
Clogged sinks are one of the worst things a person can have to deal with. That said, it doesn’t need to go on like this. In the past, unclogging a sink would normally require frustration and a call to an expensive plumber. Now, instead of calling a plumber as your first option, you can save it for those dire emergencies when nothing seems to work with the help of a drain snake and drain auger. All you have to do is follow these simple guidelines to get your sink clogged.
Diagnose The Problem: When unclogging drains, you should first try to diagnose the problem before doing anything drastic. Sometimes, we think of a clogged drain as a sink that is just slow to drain. Try running hot water (the hotter, the better) for a while. This will often open up the drain again, especially if the clog is due to grease or a similar substance.
Use A Chemical Opener: When hot water won’t open a drain, you’ll want to try a chemical opener. The best type of chemical openers to use is the ones that will be both environmentally friendly and safe, and effective. Such openers typically have caustic soda and bauxite among the main ingredients. Follow the instructions that the manufacturer lists for the best results.
Use A Drain Auger:
Another option to unclog drains is to use a drain auger. They work well on more than just a toilet drain and can be very effective at removing a clog from other types of drains. If you use an auger in a bathroom sink, you’ll need to block the overflow leak. Failure to do so will severely limit the effectiveness of the drain auger.
Snake Your Drain: You can also make your own drain snake as a method of unclogging. This is the same thing a plumber would do, and it’s easy to do yourself. You can purchase a home snake kit at most grocery stores and all home improvement stores. Just follow the instructions when you are doing this, and be careful as if you are not careful and use too much force, you can damage the pipes in your house. Since house snake kits are usually limited in length, if the leak persists after snakes, you may have no choice but to call a professional plumber.
Unclog A Kitchen Sink Using A Drain Snake
Before starting any home plumbing task, you need to ensure you have the necessary tools to get the job done. There are only four things needed to accomplish this job properly: a bucket, a pair of adjustable pliers, a drain auger or drain snake, and an old towel.
Once You Have These Items, You Are Ready To Get To Work.
When considering whether you want to have a snake mouth, you need to make sure that you know what type of plumbing the plumbing is made of. Are the metal or PVC of the pipe? This is an important thing to know, as if the lines are made of PVC, they could potentially break if care is not taken when removing the blockage.
- Look under the sink to see if you can find the stopcock. It will be similar to what you use to turn your sprinklers on or off. You want to make sure that you have turned off the water; if you haven’t, you will have a really big mess on your hands.
- After turning off the water, put your bucket under the bend in the sink pipe. This bend in the pipe is what is commonly known as the trap. This is where the clog typically forms, as it is designed to prevent things from going back up the drain.
- Use the adjustable pliers to loosen the nuts that hold the tubing elbow in place at both ends. As you are easing the water from the pipe, dirt will be coming out of the reduced pipe. Don’t worry; that’s why you have the bucket under the pipe. Just let everything fall into the bucket, including the pipe elbow.
- Take your drain auger and stick it into the end of the drainpipe that goes into the wall. Attach the corkscrew end and turn the lever clockwise as you go. You will keep feeding the snake into the wall until it has reached the obstruction. Gently but firmly push the snake through the block. Once you’ve made it through the obstruction, reverse the snake, and it should pull some of the obstacles back out of the pipe. Let the clog drop into your bucket. This one will be a little awkward, so this is why you have that towel. Be prepared to clean up the mess by using the towel to wipe the snake off as you bring it back out of the drain pipe.
- If there is no obstruction in the wall, check the pipe elbow that you previously removed. You can clear this by simply pushing the end of the snake through the trap by using the table knife to dislodge any blockages.
- Replace the collector and tighten the nuts that hold the trap in place. Don’t over-tighten, but make sure they are snug enough that there won’t be any leaks around the connection.
- Turn your water back on and run some water through the drain. If you successfully removed the blockage in the drain, the water should drain normally. If you properly tighten the nuts around the trap, you should not have any leaks around the trap.
