The short answer
For one slow sink, tub or shower in a Northern Virginia home, a hand drum snake with 15 to 25 feet of cable is the right tool. Feed the cable in until it stops, lock it, crank clockwise while you push gently, then pull it back and flush with hot water. For a toilet, use a toilet auger instead. The mistakes that turn a clog into a bigger job are forcing the cable, using a sink snake on porcelain, and renting a powered machine for the main line.
Which snake for which drain
Swipe to see all columns →
Swipe to see all columns →
| Tool | For | Reach |
|---|---|---|
| Plastic hair tool | The first few inches of a tub or shower drain | A foot or two |
| Toilet auger | Toilets only. A rubber sleeve protects the bowl. | About 3 feet, through the toilet’s built-in trap |
| Hand drum snake, 1/4 inch cable | Sinks, tubs, showers, a laundry drain | 15 to 25 feet |
| Drill-powered drum snake | The same drains, faster | About 25 feet |
| Powered drain machine | The main line, 3 and 4 inch pipe | 75 feet and more |
A hand drum snake is the one most houses should own. It covers every drain except the toilet and the main line.
$99 Drain Clearing
This offer focuses on clearing a blockage up to the P-trap, the curved section of drainpipe beneath the sink where debris can collect. See the drain clearing
Step by step, on a sink
- Put a bucket under the sink and take the P-trap off. Most come apart by hand at two slip nuts. What a P-trap is shows the parts. Going straight into the pipe in the wall skips the trap’s tight bend, where cables kink, and the clog is usually past it anyway.
- Pull 6 to 12 inches of cable out of the drum and feed it into the pipe. Keep the drum close to the opening so the cable can’t loop.
- Tighten the lock screw and crank clockwise while pushing gently forward.
- When the cable stops, figure out what it hit. A bend feels firm but gives as you crank and push. A clog feels spongy, or catches and pulls.
- Keep cranking through it. Loosen the lock, pull out another foot of cable, lock it, and repeat.
- When it breaks through you’ll feel the cable go loose. Pull it back slowly, still cranking clockwise, wiping it with a rag as it comes out.
- Put the trap back, hand tight, and run hot water for two minutes. Check the slip nuts for drips.
The mistakes that make it worse
- Forcing it. A cable pushed hard kinks, and a kinked cable can jam in the pipe. On an old pipe or a loose joint, it can push straight through.
- Cranking backwards. Counterclockwise unwinds the cable’s grip, and it drops what it caught.
- Too much cable out at once. It loops and knots in the pipe. A foot at a time.
- A sink snake in a toilet. The bare cable leaves gray scratches in the porcelain that don’t come out. Use a toilet auger.
- No gloves or eye protection. What comes back is what was in the pipe. If anyone poured a drain cleaner in first, it’s lye.
The one we’d talk you out of is renting a powered machine for the main line. When the cable binds in the pipe, a motor keeps turning it, and a cable that’s binding can whip and wrap around a gloved hand in a second. The machines that clear main lines are run with a foot switch and leather mitts by people who use them every day.
When to stop
- The cable stops hard at the same spot every time, 10 feet or more in. That’s a bend you can’t get past, a broken joint, or roots.
- It comes back with fine, hairy roots on the tip. That’s the main line, and roots grow back.
- Other drains in the house are slow too, or a floor drain has water around it.
- It clears, and the drain is slow again within a few weeks.
A drain that keeps coming back usually has grease or roots, and a cable only bores a hole through them. A water jetter scours the whole pipe wall clean and cuts roots back to the joint. When a line keeps blocking, a camera down the line for $89 added to the visit shows why, so you’re not paying to clear the same clog twice. One drain or the main line covers how to tell where yours is.
Clogged at night or on a holiday? We run 24/7 emergency plumbing.
When you’d rather we do it
A sink clogged at the trap is $99 with our sink clearing offer, up to the P-trap. A toilet, tub, shower or any drain past the trap is drain cleaning, $200 to $800. The main line to the street runs $550 to $1,650, and when grease or roots keep coming back, hydro jetting clears the pipe wall. You get the price before we start. A plumbing diagnosis visit is $49, or $250 after hours.
Call (703) 997-9757, day or night, or see every current deal on our offers page. Rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook, Virginia Class A license 2705192276.
Questions people ask
Which way do you turn a drain snake?
Clockwise, going in and coming out. Turning it backwards unwinds the cable and drops whatever it hooked.
Can a drain snake damage pipes?
A hand snake used gently rarely does. Forcing it can kink the cable or push through an old, thin pipe or a loose joint, and a bare cable scratches toilet porcelain.
How far can a drain snake reach?
A hand snake carries 15 to 25 feet of cable, enough for a sink, tub or shower branch. The main line to the street needs a powered machine.
Should I snake through the P-trap or take it off?
Take it off if you can. The trap’s tight bend is where cables kink, and the clog is usually past it in the pipe in the wall.
Why did my drain clog again right after I snaked it?
The cable bored a hole through grease or roots instead of clearing the pipe wall. Those need a water jetter.
