Plumbers will often choose to snake the sewer line first, snaking is an excellent way to clear a soft stoppage or free a small blockage in the line. There are many ways and many snakes to snake a drain line.
Clearing a tub drain stoppage is done with a small snake one we like to call the baby snake. Using the baby snake with a 25-foot cable you can clear the clogged drain through the overflow in the tub.
Clogged kitchen sink drain? Clogged bathroom sink drain? No problem, often a clogged bathroom sink drain can be cleared with a top snake and only takes a few minutes to free the line and clear the clogged drain. If that doesn’t work, then the clogged sink has a stoppage farther down the line. No need to worry though these clogged drains can be cleared by pulling the p-trap and using a bit larger snake we like to call the Jr. snake. Once the p-trap is pulled you can use a 50-foot cable to reach the stoppage and clear the clogged drain. We use the same Jr. snake to clear a kitchen sink drain but always try to use a clean-out. There is usually a clean-out located on the outside wall of the kitchen, if not then we pull the p-trap under the kitchen sink and snake from there to clear the line.
Finally clogged toilets, how to unclog a toilet in most cases is quite simple if the toilet is the only affected item. Clogged toilets can be cleared by using an auger, but the auger can only go into the toilet about 3 to 6 feet max. If that doesn’t clear the clogged toilet then this is when things get a bit tricky, and you should always consider calling a Professional to diagnose these stoppages. Clearing a clogged toilet or as we like to say a main line stoppage requires a main line machine, a snake with a 7/8 cable and 150 feet of cable. These snakes have a wide variety of heads that can be used for different types of clogs. Cutting heads are used most often for roots and large amounts of debris that has piled up in one location. Roots are one of the biggest problems affecting a main line sewer and having a sewer clean-out will drastically improve our ability to open the line and get you draining again. Although it is common for a professional plumber to snake from a roof vent it can be ineffective when snaking a main line stoppage caused by roots. Roof vents are rarely 4 inches and require us to extend our cable out about 60 feet on average before we reach the roots out in the yard. When roots are the cause, and a mainline machine will not clear the stoppage it’s time to Hydro Jet the sewer line. Contact us or Call us today (714) 465-7819