5 Tips for the Plumbing Snake

A plumber’s snake is one of the most essential tools a plumber can have. It’s the best quick fix for most clogs. It varies in terms of sizes with some add-ons for certain situations. The plumbing snake is not only used for your toilets and kitchen sinks, it’s also widely used in downspouts. Some of the gutter cleaners that you hire may also do downspouts checks and use the plumbing snake to clear a clog. Is it easy to use? It is. Here are some quick tips for you.

There are two types: Manual and Powered. The manual type usually is good enough for your downspouts and the kitchen sink. It’s not that long. The powered or the automatic variety is more for use by professionals. They just need to crank the device to run the snake down the pipe. You can use this if you want to save effort. There also are two types of heads (the tip) – the piston and the coil head. The piston head pushes the clog down through the pipe and may not be advisable for longer pipes. In some cases it could just push the clog down and make things more complicated. The coil head is like a screw which pulls the cause of the clog.

Be a snake charmer and use the device while keeping yourself safe. Wear hand gloves as it will be very dirty. It’s just downspouts, but you never know what kind of things you will find there. Don’t risk wounding yourself and possibly causing infection.

Ease the pain by putting chemical cleaners along the downspout. This loosens up the debris inside the pipe. Then apply the plumbing snake. This makes the process much easier.

At regular intervals, get your hose and let the water flush the downspout. This lubricates the downspout and makes using the plumbing snake a lot easier.

You can damage the pipes when using the powered snake. It may seem like fun cranking the device but this risks the possibility of damage. Carefully crank the plumbing snake and don’t get carried away!

Any tips of your own in using the plumbing snake? Join the discussion at Hallett Gutter Cover’s Facebook page and at their website.