Whether you’re finding a clog in your kitchen sink or a clog in a shower drain, it can easily dampen your day. The last thing you want to do is spend hours trying to get your plumbing working again. However, with a few simple tools, reliable methods, and a little practice, you can become an expert at removing dirt that clogs pipes.

Learn how to snake your own drain simply by following our DIY tips and fix your clogged drain in no time!

When Would You Need to Snake Your Own Drain? 

Knowing how to snail your own drain is important when dealing with a plumbing emergency. A drain snake, also known as a hand drill, is a tool used to unclog small drains like bathroom or kitchen sinks. For larger pipes, like your toilet, you may need a larger auger to get the job done.

Dirt like food, hair or soap scum can easily clog your small drains in the drain pipe or U-shaped siphon just under the sink. These clogs are usually minor and can be fixed with a simple DIY snake drain repair. If the clog seems tight and cannot be cleared through the snake drain, or if you find that the siphon and pipes were clear despite a clogged drain, then you may have a more serious plumbing problem that should be left to a professional plumber.

Five Tips On How To Snake Your Own Drain

Follow these guidelines for snaking your own drain, and you’ll become a pro at solving your own plumbing problems with a drain snake!

Tools For the Job

Of course, to snake your own drain, the most important tool you need is a drain snake. If the clog seems fairly insignificant, you may not want to spend money on such a tool. If this is your situation, then it may be good to grab a hanger from the closet. Just disassemble the hanger so it becomes a fairly straight long strip. However, it’s important to keep the original hook shape at the end – this is good for catching dirt deep in the drain. You may want to make the hook a bit narrower so it fits properly in the tube.

If you’re dealing with a much more intense constipation, chances are a hangup won’t. As already mentioned. You will need a drain snake. For general use, a 3/8″ and 20′ long model should work fine for you. If your local hardware store only seems to have a 1/4″ that will most likely work fine too. If you’re at the store, grab one a plastic bag

Bucket to put under your drain, along with a flashlight and rubber gloves.

Use The Drain Snake Properly

Many people think that the tool is so simple that they can use it however they want and that there is no right way to use a drainage snake. It’s just not true. Indeed, following a specific procedure produces the best results.

First, if you have a tub strainer or hair catcher covering your drain, move it out of the way. Then slowly push the snake cord down the drain, turning the handle clockwise while squeezing. If you have trouble pushing (maybe the drain is too clogged), try holding the handle with both hands. As you lower the “snake” mechanism, vary your grip until it’s about two or three inches from the mouth of the drain – this allows you to control your movement and get a better feel for the nature of the hoof.

As you get closer to the obstacle, you might hear a decent scrape, or it might sound like the cable hit a wall. At this point you are about to come to a bend in the pipe – just keep going past it.

When you feel significant resistance, you’ll know you’ve hit the special barrier that’s giving you trouble in your pipe. The clog should give a little compared to the resistance of the pipe itself, which should not give at all.

Then you should try to hook the hoof. As you continue to twist the cord clockwise, pull up slightly to see if you’ve caught any dirt. You should feel a little more weight on the snail if you do it right. Then keep pushing the material to break it up. After doing this for a while, you should eventually pierce the other end. If the clog just doesn’t allow you to pierce it, it could very well be a solid object you got hold of in the first place.

Pull the snake out of the drain very carefully so you don’t lose the clog that’s attached to the drain snake. After that, use a towel to clean the snake of the debris when it comes out of the drain. Empty this excess dirt into the bucket. Shoot as many hooves as you can until the snake is free!

Use Hot Water

If the drain is still clogged, it’s a good idea to run hot water through it. Fill a standard-sized tea kettle with water and set on the stove until it’s almost boiling. Slowly pour this hot water down the drain. It may take a moment to flush the debris out of the clog, but it should quickly slow down with this method.

If the clog is in your shower drain, you might be wondering why you can’t just run hot water through the shower head. The problem is that, aside from the fact that the water in the shower often doesn’t get that hot, showerheads often can’t shoot straight down the drain and close enough to be really effective. You still need to pour water from the kettle straight down the shower drain, just like any other drain.

Use A Homemade Concoction

If nearly boiling hot water still isn’t enough, you can always add 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar to the hot water, pour it down the drain and see what happens. Let it sit for fifteen minutes. This method is known to be extremely efficient. So if you’re ready to part with some of your cooking essentials, give them a try!

Use Chemicals

As a last resort to clear a drain, you can always go the chemical route. Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) is a harmful chemical that can definitely cause a bunch of scale to end up down your drain pipe. Pour 3/4 gallon of cold water into a mop bucket, then add 3 cups of caustic soda. Give the mixture a good stir and it will soon start bubbling. Then pour it down the clogged drain and leave it there for 20-30 minutes, then rinse with clean warm water – repeat if needed.

When to Call A Professional Plumber For Your Drain Clogs 

Have you followed all of these tips and still have a clogged drain? If none of these options seem to work for you, don’t be discouraged. It could be a hard blockage that a simple DIY can’t fix. At this point, it’s time to call in a professional plumber to get your clogged drain working properly again.

Leave your tough clogs to Wisler Plumbing & Air. Our experienced plumbers can solve any plumbing problem you have, including stubborn clogged drains. Call Wisler Plumbing & Air today!

Your kitchen sink takes more stress than any other drain in your home. We tend to use our kitchen sink as a trash can. Over time, your kitchen sink can become clogged, causing it to drain slowly or not at all.

This article covers the five most common causes of a clogged kitchen sink. In this blog, you will learn how to unclog your kitchen sink. To find out why it’s clogged, read on!

5 Reasons Why You Have a Clogged Kitchen Sink

Kitchen sinks are constantly clogged. I mean why shouldn’t they? We’re constantly throwing things down the kitchen sink drain — whether intentionally or by accident — that shouldn’t go. But there are other reasons too. Let’s look at the top 5.

1. Corrosion

If you live in an older house with metal pipes, your pipes are definitely affected by corrosion. Corrosion does two things that increase your chances of a clogged kitchen sink.

When pipes rust, they become rough on the inside, just like velcro. Over time, junk gets stuck in your pipes, then junk gets stuck to other junk, and so on. It is a doom-loop!.

Did you also know that your pipes are shrinking? But it’s probably not what you’re imagining. As the pipes rust, the thickness of their walls increases. In fact, rust is much less dense than cast iron.

The thicker the walls of a whistle, the smaller (or narrower) the interior space. This increases the chance of constipation.

2. Grease

Cooking fat is the oily liquid you find on your pots, pans, and baking sheets after cooking meat. It also forms when cooking with butter and vegetable oils. Flushing with grease will solidify the grease in your pipes. As the fat increases in thickness, so does the likelihood of a clogged kitchen sink.

Fat is usually a liquid when we’re working (or cooking) with it. However, when it mixes with water and cools, it turns from an oily liquid into a hard, sticky solid that gets stuck in your kitchen sink drain.

3. Foods That Expand

The longer you soak rice, pasta, beans, lentils, Brussels sprouts, or potatoes, the larger they will grow. Most of these foods can grow to many times their original size.

Here’s what we usually see: A homeowner scrapes and washes some leftover food in the kitchen sink just before bed. The next morning, the food expands so much that the kitchen sink is completely clogged.

High-fiber foods like rice or broccoli, or foods that expand in water like pasta, should never be flushed down the drain. This also applies if you have a trash can.

4. Heavy Objects

You should never wash heavy items in your sink. Common heavy objects include bones, egg shells, coffee grounds, and sand. Those heavy objects in your kitchen drain will mix with the grease in your pipes and cause a clump. Due to the weight of the floes, some will get stuck in the horizontal sections of your pipes.

Although it’s hard to believe, the weight of some objects — even eggshells — creates obstacles in the horizontal sections of your pipe that slope just half an inch per foot. A 48 foot hose only drops 1 foot.

5. Hasn’t Been Used In a While

We see this all the time: A homeowner goes on vacation and when he comes back his kitchen sink is clogged.

Of course, this is confusing for many. How could that happen? Well the answer is simple. Water used to be able to pass through all the sludge that had built up in your drains. But once the pipes dry out from inactivity, the sludge, grease, and deposits become rock hard. This causes your kitchen sink to become completely clogged.

Call Wisler Plumbing And Air

If you have a clogged kitchen sink, feel free to contact us here or call us at Wisler Plumbing And Air (540) 402-9785.

Wisler Plumbing’s team of certified plumbers and technicians respond immediately to any emergency plumbing issue, drain cleaning or water damage. We also take care of the excavation of underground water pipes and main sewers. Our immediate response team is available day and night all year round, including public holidays.

This chemical drain cleaner promises to clear your clog. But how does it actually work? Did you know it can potentially cause damage? Find out before you pay out!

Every owner has been there. You shower and stand in water up to your ankles.

Your drain is clogged, but how to fix it? There are many ways to unclog your drain, but some may be better than others.

One option is to use a chemical drain cleaner. Read on to learn how liquid drain cleaners work and how to prevent damage to your plumbing system.

Types of Chemical Drain Cleaners

There are many types of chemical drain cleaner that you can use in a variety of situations. Most often, a small clog will only require a caustic or oxidizing cleaner, but large clogs may require an acidic cleaner.

Corrosive

Caustic cleaners contain ingredients like lye that donate electrons to the material causing the clog. This creates a chemical reaction that generates heat and makes the fat more liquid and easier to dissolve. They are especially useful for grease-clogged drains like kitchen sinks or grease traps.

Oxidizing

Oxidizing drain cleaners are similar to caustic drain cleaners, but there is a slight difference. Instead of donating electrons, they accept electrons from organic matter in a process called oxidation.

Containing ingredients like bleach and nitrates, they are among the most popular types of liquid cleaners. They work by combining with water to generate heat and break down clogged material.

Because they work well on organic materials, oxidizing drain cleaners are useful for shower drains, toilets, or sinks to remove hair and other clog-causing materials.

Acid

Acidic drain cleaners are the most aggressive and are rarely used. They contain ingredients such as sulfuric or hydrochloric acid and work by creating hydronium ions in a chemical reaction with the clogged material.

This type of cleaner should only be used in worst-case scenarios. Not only can they be very harmful to your plumbing system, but also to your health.

Problems with Chemical Drain Cleaners

Because most chemical drain cleaners generate heat when they react chemically, they can damage your plumbing system. Most newer pipes are made of PVC plastic, which can warp or melt if exposed to too much heat.

Even if your pipes are not made of PVC, metal pipes can also swell from too much heat. Over time, heat and pressure can cause metal tubing to crack or burst.

If your plumbing system includes a septic tank, chemical drain cleaners are never a good choice. Septic tanks use bacteria to break down organic matter, but harsh chemicals can kill bacteria in your tank and render it ineffective.

Chemical drain cleaners can not only damage your plumbing system, they can also be harmful to your health. When you use them, you release a lot of corrosive chemical fumes into the air, which you then breathe.

These caustic chemical fumes can be even worse if the area you are working in is not well ventilated, such as in a B. Your bathroom. Inhaling chemicals over a long period of time or in large quantities can damage your respiratory system.

Repeated exposure to harsh chemicals can also lead to brain damage over time.

In addition to possible breathing problems, the chemicals in drain cleaners can damage your skin or eyes. Since most of them are designed to react with organic material, they have no problem reacting with those body parts.

If misused, they can lead to chemical burns or even blindness. It is important to always wear gloves when handling these chemicals. It’s also a good idea to wear goggles or a mask to protect against serious eye damage.

Alternatives to Chemical Drain Cleaner

There are many alternatives to using a liquid drain cleaner, whether you want to try simple methods at home or hire a professional drain cleaning service.

One thing to try is hot and cold water. Pour very hot water down the drain first to flush any clogged material down the pipe. Then pour cold water to rinse.

Another idea you can use is baking soda and vinegar. It works similar to commercial chemical drain cleaner in that it relies on a chemical reaction, but it requires nothing more than household items.

Pour the baking soda down the drain first, then the vinegar and leave overnight. This causes a chemical reaction that helps clear the clog. Rinse with water the next morning to remove the clog.

If none of these methods work, you can try a drain plunger or snake. Almost everyone has a plunger they can use, but a drain snake is a little less common. In both cases, they can be good alternatives to using chemical drain cleaner.

If your drain is clogged with hair, which is typical in showers or sinks, you can try pulling the hair out manually. Depending on the type, you may be able to better access the clog by removing the drain cover.

Try removing the hair with a small hooked object like a coat hanger. It might not get rid of all the hair, but it can be a temporary fix to clean up your drain a bit.

If none of these methods work, it may be time to contact your local plumber. They have professional methods and tools to clear clogged drains.

If your drain is clogged and you need help repairing it, call us at (540) 402-9785. We will find a solution for all your plumbing needs.

Now that you know all about the types of chemical drain cleaners, their problems, and their alternatives, feel free to do some additional research on your own to learn more.