How to use a power drain auger or drain snake.
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2022
- How to use a power auger to clean out your own drain and sewer lines. DIY cleaning out kitchen food waste as well as tree roots in your drain and sewer lines.
Tools and items needed: a drain auger, Drain cleaning bits, a pair of plyers, an extension cord, a water hose, and gloves.
This one looks almost identical to the Power Auger I have:
amzn.to/45cyiWD
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It's best to review vids like this BEFORE attempting the job. Being frustrated and covered with shtuff isn't the best time to learn some tips.
Thanks, I've covered myself before as well.
WOW! Your video is perfectly paced, and very professional quality. Good job!
Thank you
Thank you so much, mother borrowed the neighbors and was in over my head. Ya'll got me through it, much appreciated. Returned to neighbor with everything and everyone undamaged and drain cleared. 😅
Thanks, Glad the video helped you.
That’s how I do it. Good job !
Thanks
BIG THANK YOU FROM FLORIDA...going to buy this unit tomorrow and your video certainly helps in my decision.
Thanks, glad it helped
Perfect video, thank you!
You're welcome!
@@BruBuildsoh, one important note - don't use rubber gloves! It's tempting but very dangerous with these machines, as I nearly found out.
@@EliTheDriftPanda Thanks for the tip. I generally use old leather gardening gloves when I use mine.
Okay, that look simple enough to use. Just got to make sure that it doesn't get tangled or any parts aren't lost or damaged.
To help prevent it from getting tangled, keep it close to the clean out pipe.
@@BruBuilds Understood. Thanks. 1 more question. Does this exert more power to get rid of the clog than the one that looks like a tommy gun? I think it's called a drum auger.
That is just a hand held version of what I have, it may have a smaller diameter snake. If you need more power you would want to use a larger diameter snake, like 5/8”. Sometimes it takes 10-15 min to clear a clog, it would get old to have to hold the weight an auger with a hang held unit.
@@BruBuilds Makes sense. Since I have to deal with a sewage connection underneath the toilet, I will have to use a larger diameter to clear it. To get the right one, would it be advised to get the diameter of the sewage pipe? I would have to temporary remove the toilet, wouldn't I?
@@BruBuilds Ah, makes sense. That would be annoying after a while. Would it better to get a measurement of the diameter inside the pipe to rent the right type of snake? I would have to remove the toilet temporary, wouldn't I?
Very Helpful!! Thanks a Million!!
Welcome, glad it was helpful.
Best video available. Second time around with this problem.
Thanks for the comment. I need to clean mine out every six months or so...which is about now.
Really awesome video. Best one for HF hydrostar I've seen yet. But let me add few tips. I have HF hydrostar and also Ridgid K400. What makes K400 better is not the price tag, but it has a small bolt on the cable outlet which can be tightened down to fix the snake in place. This is absolutely necessary for dealing with stubborn clog and advancing the snake incrementally. HF hydrostar can be retrofitted with such a bolt using drill and tap. Second tip is that the cleaner tips are pretty dull as it comes out of the box. They can be sharpened using files or grinder wheel. Third tip is that you can easily extend length of HF hydrostar by buying another 50 foot extension. After first 50 foot, just disconnect, put the extra 50 foot into the drum and reconnect and you are good for next 50 foot for total 100 feet. One additional tip is to put hose clamp on top of the bolt that joins the cable and lock it down securely. That makes it almost impossible for cable to separate inside the drain (avoids a nightmare scenario of losing 50 foot cable inside drain).
Thanks for the comment and great tips.
Great tips! Quick question: after connecting to another 50ft cable, when retracting, can the drum hold both cables ?
@@tuanphan1712 no. Don't listen to this guy. It'll hold 25 more feet though.
Great tips!
Great video! Thank you!! I truly appreciate your transparency. So many edit their videos, not showing all the possible mishaps that could happen. Please keep making excellent content🙂👍👍💯
Thanks for the encouragement.
Great video. We've had root.problems over the years. The last plumber was probably the best at showing us the drain out and working and cleaning the main line. Define you considering purchasing an auger to resolve future issues.
Thanks for the comment. I purchased mine 10+years ago and use it about once a year.
I’m about to go purchase one of these uggg my 72 yr old brother craps like a race horse 🏇 and time is ticking here….thank you for the video and wish me luck I’ll post back after if I survive this!
@XenaTheQuadCamBikah Good luck and happy unclogging!
Crapping roots? Classic 72 yr old brother stuff.
If you’re watching this and wondering about its expense, it’s worth it. We bought one when we were dirt poor and it pays for itself the first time. Since then, it has handled at least 5 jobs over the years at our home and 3x at a friend’s house. Just don’t ever use it for drains that are clogged by tree roots. Don’t let anyone who borrows it do that, either.
These should be able to handle tree roots no? Did you guys have a bad experience with tree roots?
I use mine about once a year in the front that has tree root problems. I just take it really slow and easy and don't over twist it when the bit stops spinning.
I have rented a 5/8" auger with power drive and it does get through roots much faster.
@@BruBuilds okay, it worked, I'm also using copper sulfate as preventative maintenance
Saw a reddit post where a dude lost half his finger when one of these instantly coiled on itself. Didn't really understand how until I saw 4:07 . I think I'll leave these to the professionals 😳
@ThioJoe Ouch! That sounds scary! It does happen quick, but there are some warnings signs and sounds before it happens. Like any power tool, you always need to be paying attention. Hiring a professional is always good advice if you are at all uncomfortable. BTW, looks like your channel is a good place to answer all of my computer questions.
Thanks
i have the exact same electric auger from Harbor Freight, i also bought a replacement auger snake because the other one was all bent up. Cool video 😎
Thanks ,I purchased mine from Harbor Freight about 10 years ago.
As a retired plumber and mechanical contractor this was a terrific video showing how it's done. Pros or professional equipment has an attached head that looks like a hole saw that we used with Rigid Kolman 1500 sewer cleaning machines that could cut thru roots better than I saw here. The same type of head was available for the bigger General machines but was slightly less aggressive. Renting these machine is not cheap. You should check out having a local small contractor on a regular schedule compared to owning one. Remember roots grow back and can grow around a pipe breaking it. Best way is to get rid of the intruder. 🤓🤓
I appreciate the comment and expertise. Thanks
How much is it to typically rent one ..and what is a decent rate for an avg handyman to come out and do this job. Also how long or how many feet should the snake go to completely do a good job..Thanks
@1Mannco Well, I haven't rented one since I purchased mine years ago, check with a chain box stores that rents them if you have one near you. If you do hire someone, I would probably go with a plumber over a handyman, unless they have a lot of experience unclogging drains. Length of the snake would depend on your property, where the clog is and how close the clean outs are to each other and the street. Hope this helps a little.
Awesome n informative vid. Especially showing clean out fitting; explaining types n usage of snake cable heads n strategies involved. Will try to unclog stubborn shower n kitchen drain ! Kudos for upload. New subscriber because of this vid. Anticipating ur next one. Peace
Thanks for such a nice comment. Good luck on your drain.
Love this Paul!! Well done.
Thanks
thx
Very good vedio, thank you very much
Thanks
Keep in mind, you have to lift this in and out of your trunk/suv. It isn't light. You may need to rent the manual version.
The specs say it weight is 75lb. I don't think it is that heavy, but I do have mine on a floor dolly to move it around. I rented a 5/8" power driven unit once and that was a beast.
Just rented one. Wish me luck! I would really like to use my toilet again, the corner store lady is starting to become suspicious 😆
Good luck, I hope you are able to get your pipes cleaned out.
next time use a bucket
@@BruBuilds
Will the olive spring bit- the one you used for the roots damage a PVC sewer line while making a 90° turn?
I'm not really sure, my sewer is all black ABS. I have used the root cutting bit down a PVC French drain with a 90 bend, it worked ok. Didn't use the olive bit because the French drainpipe has holes in it. I did make a video on that.
Thanks
@@BruBuilds I appreciate the information, thanks for responding.
I have a ranch house. The clean out is on one end but the clothes washer is litterly on the other end. I notice there is a vent down line sticking out of the ground. I know previous owner moved the washer to that location so they made the drain line out side and down along side the slab under ground. Is it possible to send the snake down the vent pipe? Hopefully it's not a "T" so it will turn down line tword the septic.
Is it a vent pipe or a clean out? I have a clean out in my front yard for the 4" main sewer line. I've never heard of a vent pipe in a yard...but I'm not a professional plumber, just been doing my own stuff for years.
As long as they used the proper "Street T's", they are designed to send stuff downstream. I would just start with the smallest bit and go slow. Good luck.
Any tip on locating that clean out tub outside of the house along the main sewer line? I’m not sure if I have one but I’m certain it would be very helpful if I did.
@L3G3NDARYK1LL3R If it is a raise foundation in may be under the house. Slab foundations require them to be outside in the yard. If you can find the marking "S" for the sewer line on the street, the line will generally go to the closest toilet from there.
Good luck!
Does it matter if you overshoot the end of your main and go into the city line? I'm guessing that area is much wider... would the cable whip around a lot and damage the city side or the cable?
That's a good question and I'm not really sure of the answer. My 50ft snake isn't long enough to reach all the way to the street and city sewer line. I get roots growing in at a certain spot and once I clear that area, the rest of the sewer works fine. My understanding is "newer" city sewer lines use a vertical sewer tap to connect your house line to the city line. I'm guessing if the snake reaches this area, it's just going to hang down and spin. I would be concerned if your house still had clay pipes for the main sewer line.
Good content. I’m purchasing this one at Harbor freight tomorrow. Is the snake motor in the same forward position when it gets pushed into & pulled back within drain?
Yes, according to the directions, reverse is only used if the snake gets stuck.
Thanks for the reply. I tried to snake main line with no success. I’m able to get the cable maybe 25-30 feet out then it won’t go any further. I’m not sure if the line changes direction or what the problem is. It get to point where it won’t let me get further and if I force it starts to wanting too kink. Any idea
I’m also not getting anything on the attachment when I pull it back up. I only got some hair that was intertwined in the middle of the snake 1 time
Which attachment are you using? The olive spring bit should bring back up something. Bad roots will stop a bit. That’s when I’ll paint the snake, and just start working it back and forth..
Have a 50 foot snake , but it isn't cleaning out the drain anymore . Do I rent a longer length one , or call a service ? Foundation was built with bricks , not blocks , and now leaks in both water and mud . Nobody I've talked to locally really wants to tackle redoing it .
Sounds a bit more serious than a clog. I’m guessing this is an older home with clay or cast iron pipes. Might be a broken pipe especially if you have water and mud. You could dig up the mud or get someone out there with a camera they can put down it.
I'm having a hard time keeping the machine running with the foot pedal. Any reason for that?
I haven't had an issue with mine. Maybe a faulty switch? Have you tried contacting the manufacture?
My foot pedal started having issues, and I found that it had a loose fitting where the hose attaches to the switch box near the motor. This pedal is operated by air, and the cable for it is not an electrical cable, it's an air hose. If you get an air leak somewhere, stepping on the pedal doesn't supply enough air pressure to operate the pneumatic switch inside the switch box. Check the hose fitting at the switch box, it may have come loose.
I have never used one of these before and appreciate the video. I have a 100-year-old house with cast iron drain pipes. My washing machine drains into a sink in the basement, which gets clogged from time to time with what I'm guessing is basically lint. We've been here 40 years and I never dump grease down any drain. The basement sink which is 3 ft away from the washing machine tub, has an access cap so I am going in through there. I am assuming about 6 ft in there is a y that joins the drain from the laundry room tub to the basement sink going out a common 5 inch or whatever cast iron drain pipe. If I rent a power auger from a brick-and-mortar and go in through that access the auger, it will have an automatic feeding system. what is the risk of it getting stuck? Roto-Rooter came out and unclogged it about 4 years ago and he said it was about 6 or 7 ft in from the basement sink , at what he predicted was a Y collecting the lint. I am guessing I will use that coiled cutter as it is just going to be scraping the rusty chips off the inside of the pipe and any lint that has collected on the chips. Also, if I wind up renting an auger that does not have automatic feed, am I just pushing it in ever so gently as it spins, until I think I've given about 10 ft of cable into the pipe? And just for the record, there are no trees anywhere near my foundation. Roto-Rooter charged 189.00 to snake a clog. It took him longer to bring it in from the driveway than it did to actually do the work LOL . Does anyone know how effective that Liquid Plumber stuff is on just attacking lint or hair in a drain pipe?
@mrobvious1100 Thanks for the comment. Cast Iron pipes can get very stubborn clogs in them in older homes. I've cleaned out some in the past where a 2" pipe just had a 1/4' hole in the center. Hard to say what I would do without seeing everything, but it may be worth spending the 189.00 to have it cleaned out.
If you do rent an auger, the weight and design of the snake will generally feed itself down the pipe. You are just pulling a little out of the drum at a time and letting gravity to the rest. There shouldn't be a problem with the "Y" as long as it is the proper type, if Roto-Rooter has done it in the past, it should be fine.
You do want the auger to be close to the access pipe, I like to be within 2ft. So, you may want to rent a smaller handheld unit if you can't get close enough to the clean out. If it's just lint a handheld unit should work fine, but if you are dealing with a lot of rust build-up, a plumber is probable a better option.
I would think the rental department should be able to help you with any other questions. Good luck.
@@BruBuilds appreciate that.. this particular Plumbing setup where the access point is is under the sink in the basement and the access cap points up to the ceiling so it's not a traditional y-type access point like in your video. It is a inch and a half pipe with an inch and a half screw-in cap. I suck the water out this morning and dumped a bottle of liquid gel down the access port and put in about 1 gal of hot water. It seemed like it moved the clogged along as now when I run the washing machine and it dumps into the utility sink the flow is fine. I am still as a maintenance idea going to get the machine just to run 10 or 15 ft a snake to sort of scratch the inside of that pipe and move any standing lint and chips and hopefully I don't have a 1 inch opening LOL but I can get it closer to 3 in or 4 inches of opening. Thanks again for responding. I looked outside and my access point is that the end of my driveway by the street and it is approximately 25 or 30 ft to get to the side of the foundation and then probably 25 ft to go all the way across the foundation from underneath. I guess professionals must have giant-sized augers with 150 or 250 ft cable to sneak in from the street clean out. I was jealous to see you could walk up to the side of the house and find an access point one foot or 2 ft from the foundation that's pretty cool. Well have a great New Year
1/2” snake big enough for this job? Or you recommend 5/8” or 3/4”?
1/2 " works fine for me. I have rented a 5/8 with a feed drive and it does do a very quick job on roots. A 1/2 snake can still bind and twist up on you if you are not careful.
Is 50ft enough or do you recommend a longer one? (Ie 75 ft or 100ft
Would depend on distances between clean outs. I have a clean out in the back , side and front of the house. 50’ works fine for me.
Ok how do those roots get in there? Is the pipe cracked under the surface allowing the roots to get in there?
@carold.7907 Good question. Either a crack or at a bad pipe joint. It just takes the smallest amount of water to leak out that a root will find then grow into your pipes. Clay pipes had a big problem with this which is why they switched to ABS plastic, much better but still can develop issues over time. There are root killing chemicals you can pour down your pipes, I'm just not really a fan of those. Best solution and costly is to have your pipes replaced or re-lined with a seamless insert.
@@BruBuilds I've been at this drain in the basement from kitchen sink for the last couple of days. I can tell that I'm pushing the clog further down. I'm using a long stiff wire, tubes and a shop vac. I've successfully removed a lot of built up gunk but I think the issue is further down perhaps horizontally. Hate the thought of having to call someone as we've been successful at clearing it in the past and I'm very careful of what goes down the sink. I think dish soap is the worst enemy. Not sure if we'll try and rent one of those machines or not but thanks for posting, your video gives me some perspective. They really should build houses differently to avoid these situations. Ours is 40 years old so it's probably due time for a professional!
@carold.7907 There are smaller handheld augers that you could rent/buy as well, that have about a 25ft snake. I used one in the video where I cleaned out my shower drain. I would give one of those a try first. Good luck!
@@BruBuilds funny I'm at Walmart now hoping to replace our old one which is all bent and warped. No luck have to go to Canadian Tire now...
@@BruBuilds picked up that auger with a handle and drill attachment at Princess Auto instead. I'm making some progress! Thanks for your helpful videos .
Inserting and removing the snake should be in the same forward direction?
According to the directions, yes.
Damn that's where I made a mistake I was manually retrieving the snake without the drum spinning smh
Gsrjaycee I'm pretty sure that's fine too so long as it will pull out. Just gotta spin if it gets hung up and put switch to reverse if snake line twists and tangles at any point.....at least that's what I got out of the video
Yes, spinning it while pulling it back up will help it from getting stuck, if you have gone through a couple of bends. But once it starts pulling out easily, there isn’t much need for it to spin. Thanks for the comments.
I retracted it without spinning the drum and it bagan to bind. Now I have 30ft of snake out and can't get it back in.
Did you mean auger not augur 😂 BTW I like snake drain
Thanks for pointing that out. I fixed the title.
I can’t get my snake to get past a certain point. Maybe that’s the clog but no matter how much I spin it, it’s just stopping at the same spot everytime
@bueno7044 Have you tried a different bit? A spring olive bit should at least bring something back up, so you know you are hitting the clog.
put some root x or other root killer in your drains every 4 to 6 months, it helps.
Thanks for the tip
For all your BS why don't you focus more on operating the machine -- such as CW and CCW setting, retraction, and kinks.
Thanks for watching. I'm not sure what BS you are referring to. This is where I explained how to operate the machine. 3:08- 4:14 of the video.
Once I get the snake in a few feet I’ll turn it on to start rotating it. Make sure the power switch is in the forward position, reverse should only be used to release cable tension.
To spin the drum step on the foot switch. Since this auger doesn’t have the power
feed option, I need to manually pull the snake out of the auger drum and feed it into the
drain clean out.
The snake auger is actually like a spring and can get loaded up with tension, then release that tension by spinning the tip. If the tip can’t spin, the tension can end up pulling the snake out of the auger and start twisting around itself. Not only can this be dangerous but can also bend and damage the snake. So
be careful. Having the auger close to the clean out will help prevent this.
5:05-5:15 Once you go pass the clog, run the snake down as far as you can to clean out anything else, then you can pull the snake back up.
Dude those grip gloves... nevermind, you figured it out as i was typing!
Haha, yup.
@@BruBuilds I actually bought this drum snake from harbor freight today. It's my second one.
I had a major clog issues, I had the sewer line replaced, old houses have clay lines, after the sewer line is replaced, it was working well, my drain line is clogged, i got electric snake, I have 3 clean out vales one in bathroom under the floor has trap door to access it, one in kitchen there's a clean out valve, up stairs cused to have a bathroom, not any more, that's why there is a old sewer pipe from upstairs to downstairs thats why there ia a clean out valve. And 3rd clean out valve is in basement. I use snake at kitchen clean out valve, first it worked, then I run water to clean tub the toilet water is rising and tub drain is stuck. Oh ph. Uck. I use snake on clean out valve under bathroom floor, it has a trap door to get to valve. Use snake nothing happened, the bathroom drain line is connected to clean out valve drain line in kitchen clean out valve. I went to basement clean out valve, nothing happened, toilet water still full and tub still has water. So even with the sewer line is replaced, what could cause the clogg in house if snake didn't unclog, there must be a clog where a snake can't reach, I'm baffled, its not the sewer line issue.
I remember working on a sewer line in an old house years ago on Thanksgiving Day....no fun!
Could the clog be close to the toilet and tub that are not draining? is the Kitchen draining? Any other bathrooms?
If it sits overnight, how long does it take for the water to back up? This can give you an idea on how far away the clog is.
How long ago were the lines replaced? Sounds like you might need whoever replace the sewer lines it to come back out again and fix it.
@@BruBuilds the sewer line was replaced almost a week ago, I only have one bathroom, I had drain cleaner person came over had a heavy duty snake with a claw somehow he got it working again, he said it was a crud that been building up, but I didn't use the claw thingy on the snake just the spiral thingy on snake. I thought the claw was for roots but the claw was to grind up crud like a blender turning crud chunk into a puree like a blender. They didn't charge me much, it's a good thing.
@bumbo66 Glad to hear you have it working again.