The Art of Running a Snake
There’s an art to using a drain
snake, and the more experience
you have, the better you’ll be at it.
Here’s how you do it. Loosen the
setscrew or chuck to allow the
cable to come out of the drum
freely. Now feed the cable into
the drain until you can’t push it
any more. It may be stuck on the
clog or simply meeting resistance
where the drainpipe bends.
Position the end of the drum so
there’s about 8 in. of cable showing
between the drain and the
drum, and tighten the setscrew or
chuck onto the cable. Withdraw
the cable about an inch so that
it’s free of the obstruction, and
start turning the drum while you
push it toward the drain. Continue
until you’ve pushed the exposed
cable down the drain. Then
repeat the process by loosening
the setscrew and withdrawing
another 8 in. of cable. If the end
of the cable gets stuck and you
keep turning the drum, the cable
will start to spiral inside the drain.
You want to avoid this, so stop
turning the drum if you feel that
the cable isn’t turning freely anymore.
Withdraw the cable about
6 in. and try again.
Several things can happen at
this point. You might bore through
the clog, allowing water to run
through and dissolve the remaining
clog. You might push the clog
to a point where the diameter of
the pipes is larger and it can wash
down the drain. Or you might
hook the clog with the end of the
snake and pull it out. This is
where your intuition comes into
play. When you think you’ve
unclogged the drain, withdraw
the snake. If you’ve pushed the
cable down through the basket
strainer, you can rinse it off as you
retrieve it by running water.
Otherwise, put on some gloves
and wipe the cable off with a rag
as you push it back into the drum.
When you’re done cleaning the
drain, pull the cable out of the
drum, rinse it off, and wipe it
down with an oil-soaked rag to
keep it from rusting.