Clogged Pipe, Snake It Right

5/20/2020 (Permalink)

Knowing the best way to use a drain snake can help keep your home flood-free

How To Snake Your Drains

In an ideal world, your pipes would never need snaking. Unfortunately, no matter how proactive you are about keeping hair and other particles out of the drains of your home in Layhigh, OH, there’s a good chance that, at some point, you’ll have to snake a clogged drain. Here are some tips to help with snaking your drains.

1. Exhaust Other Methods
There are a couple of things you’ll want to attempt before reaching for the snake. Especially if your pipes are draining slowly — as opposed to being entirely stopped — you can try using a plunger or cleaning out the trap. Sometimes the issue is as simple as a buildup of hair around the first couple inches of the drain.

2. Insert the Snake Until You Feel Resistance
Most of the time, the snake will slide easily into your pipes until it hits the clog. As you crank the snake into the pipe, be aware that you might feel some pressure as you meet the turns in the pipes. Once you pass each bend the snake should move easily until it hits the clogged section of pipe.

3. Push Through or Pull Back
If you hit the blockage and can feel the snake breaking up the foreign matter, push through until your snake starts sliding easily. If it feels like you’ve locked onto a solid object that can’t be broken, pull the snake back up and the clog should come with it.

4. Know When To Call for Help
Certain instances are hard to deal with on your own. If you think you might have a pipe break, you can call a local water cleanup and restoration service to assess the issue.
Keeping your pipes clean and free of obstructions can be difficult. If you find yourself with a clogged drain, knowing the best way to use a drain snake can help keep your home flood-free.