Posted by admin | Posted in Home Improvement | Posted on 10-02-2010
If plunging doesn't fix a clogged sink, you may have to use a drain snake to clear the clog. Learn how in this free online home improvement video, with DIY home repair tips. Expert: Greg Lim Bio: Greg Lim is a professional handyman and residential property manager. In the seven years hes been a contractor, he has fully renovated two houses.
Important not to wear gloves since it is only a ,,little messy,,! I love all the kinks in his toy hand snake. Shows he knows how to use it well. If you remove the 1 1/4 totally it will be easier for the snake to enter at the PVC point. Good luck anyhow to clean a kitchen drain with a hand snake. If Mr.Homeowner spent a few hours he can call us with his greasy hands.
What if you are wearing safety googles and they fog up?
I have a Q wat if the clog is in the wall and the snake some times goes through but the clog is still there and it feels like it’s hard? Any answers please
I agree – there is no safety equipment used in this video…Safety 1st, which doesn’t happen in this video, especially if you have used any caustic drain cleaner prior to taking the pipes apart…Thick Rubber Gloves, Long Sleeve Shirt, Safety Goggles and/or Face Shield…Be careful, people, this isn’t as easy as it looks or is made out to be in the video…Notice his trap had no water in it, either…
That is what a Clean Out is for…If the stoppage is not in the p-trap, then put it all back together and use the clean out – some are under the sink but many are outside under the kitchen window – Using a Clean Out with a 1/2″ diameter cable will allow you to run water as you clear the stoppage…DO NOT put a hand snake like in the video down a clean out – it can loop up inside the 2″ pipe and then you have real troubles…Be careful, Please…
The ONLY way that 1/4″ cable is going to work there is IF the clog is right at or before the vent stack. In many cases, the stoppage is further down the 2″ drain line that runs under the home, which would require using a cleanout and a 3/8″ – 5/8″ cable with the appropriate head attachment. The small hand snake in the video is better used on lavatory (hand sink) drains and tub drains. The man in the video is not an expert or a plumber, I am sad to write, so please be careful – Thank you.
Interesting, but be careful that the information provided in this video is relevant to your Jurisdiction. Remember different parts of the world have different sink traps. Check out my channel for great tips and trick in DIY
where can I buy that snake?
Thanks alot!!!! I fixed my clogged drain. I almost called a plumber but im glad i watched your video first!!!!
see, I had HELL of a time just trying to get the snake to bend south after sticking it into the pipe in the wall (I hit the tee, I guess?). I never would’ve been able to do it if I’d gone through the sink.
I wish I could figure it out because it sounds like running water while you do it would be the optimum thing.
But that’s just a technical point. In this particular vid, I see no reason why a 5/16″ snake couldn’t be run right down the strainer, up to 50′ or however far the mainline connection is. I’ve been doing it that way for 17 years with zero callbacks.
There are a few scenarios where running the snake through the drain won’t work:
1. The strainer is a slim slotted plastic type
2. The disposer drain connects with the opposite side via a diverted (improperly installed) tee fitting turned on its side.
3. Disposer only (single waste) type sink
Technically only the trap, nipple, and santee fitting in the wall should be snaked through the drain, 5-10′ at most. Beyond that a cleanout on the outside wall, vent pipe or removal of pipes is necessary
never mind, I went back and saw the previous comments…
how do you run water through through the drain if you’ve dissembled the p-trap? Do you leave it intact and snake through the sink basin?
It’s funny that you or someone else would thumb down my comment. Funny in that I run a drain cleaning business and have been doing so for many years. I can’t tell you how many people do exactly what you’ve done in this vid only having to resort to calling in a professional. I’m not against DIY’s per se but believe it or not drain cleaning is a learned skill
If a little hand crank snake was the only tool I needed to do my job, I wouldn’t be in the biz. I would sell my $5K worth of drain machines
The key to properly CLEANING any line be it branch line, lateral or even a simple waste arm stoppage is to run water WHILE the cable is spinning inside the pipe. The method you’re using does nothing more than punch a small hole through the soap/grease build-up. Without running ample water through the entire line, one end to the other, inevitably it will back up again. Guaranteed. As for “sneaking” the cable past the basket strainer, a wide blade, flat head screwdriver works fine to enlargen.
Ok well I removed the trap… Actually the trap shattered into tiny bits. This is not going as planned…
How did you manage to sneak the snake past the basket strainer? Rarely is there an opening to squeeze even a 1/4″ snake through.
Removing the j-bend and trap arm are simple, safe, and quickly-done enough to handle for even the most novice Mr. HandyMan.
~just my 2 Pb’s
Usually that “expensive stuff” is used only when visible, i.e. a pedistal lavatory. Anyways, I’d recommend also removing the trap arm, the last piece of chrome drain entering the PVC adaptor. The slip nut and washer are easy to remove and re-attach at that point. Plus, the drain is less likely to damage any chrome.
~just my 2Pb’s
thanx a lot for helpful video . i’m subscribing
go fuck yourself tim the tool man
No real handyman would ever use chanel lock plyers on these chrome fittings. The “grips” will score the fitting then corrosion will set it …not to mention ugly “teeth” marks on an expensive fitting. There are special “fitting” wrenches available for that !
If anything is worth doing, DO IT RIGHT !
Just my two cents but, when I buy a house or move into a new apartment (or a relative does), I think it’s good advice to replace the P-traps. Takes a strong stomach though. They’re usually full of a mixture of cosmetic, toothpaste, you name it goo and hair. Makes me feel like it’s a heck of a cleaner place after I’m done.
Not exactly “expert” advice. As an professional in the sewer and drain business for 16 years, I can tell this little video is woefully overdone. It’s nowhere near necessary to go to the extent this fellow did which is removing the piping etc. The snake should be able to pass right through the drain opening in the sink, down trough the trap and itnto the stoppage. Removal of the pipes is totally unnecessary.
The snaking part starts at about the 2:00 mark. One might fast forward. Maybe in the title that could be.
Reference to affiliation forward local plumbers directory might be a good link.
Nice work! Kitchen drain. Maybe a power drill snaking with the noise and motion would have been worthwhile add on to video. Maybe that’s still possible with Youtube file joiner.