Pro Handyman Blog

A hand held auger can be a great plumbing tool. It is cheap, small, and comes is either a 15 foot or 25 foot length. It can save you money by being able to clear a clogged drain by yourself, rather than calling a plumber to do it for you. It doesn’t work in all applications, but if it works just once, you have made money on the deal.

These types of tools are good for unclogging sinks. It is too small for main lines, but for small drains you will find good success with them.

Go under the sink and disconnect the trap and dump out the water. Loosen the screw that holds the snake in the housing and start feeding the snake into the wall. Keep pushing until you feel resistance. The resistance will be either the clog or a bend in the pipe. Tighten the screw which holds the cable to the housing. Now you can rotate the handle clockwise, which in turn rotates the cable in the same direction. Push as you rotate the handle. You will either break through the resistance or the cable may start to kink and wind up upon itself. If this happens, reverse the direction and work out the kinks.

You might try to retrieve the cable and see if it has grabbed the obstruction. If not you can snake the drain out again. You will either grab the obstruction, push it further down the drain, or run out of cable to continue the job. When you have reached one of these, reconnect the trap and run some water to see if the drain has cleared.