By Amanda Leonard

What do you do when your sink backs up and both plunging and cursing fail to free the clog? You could call a plumber for a costly visit. In most cases, though, all you’ll find out is that the plumber is most likely just going to use a plumbing snake to solve the problem. This is something you can do yourself and save big bucks in the process!

The most common plumbing snake is a hand auger, which is made up of a flexible wire with a handle on one end and a hook or corkscrew on the other end. Simply insert the working end into the drain, and begin cranking the handle slowly while feeding the wire down to the clog. Once the clog is reached, the plumbing snake may either break the clog up or corkscrew into it in order to pull it out.

In addition to the hand auger, there’s a couple other type of common plumbing snakes that are used to clear up household clogs. A closet auger, which is a very short auger that’s fed through a J-shaped pipe, is ideal for using on toilets, as it allows you to work a clog out without scratching the delicate porcelain. On the other side of the scale, for tasks that are far more about brute demolition that delicacy, you’ll want to use a drum auger. A drum auger comes in handy when the clog is further done the main line and possibly caused by intruding roots from the trees outside. For most clogs, though, the average homeowner only needs a hand auger and a little bit of patience.

Hand augers can be found at any hardware store, and actually can sometimes be found in general stores and supermarkets. That’s probably due to the fact that when you need one, you really need one. For simple clogs, a plumbing snake will save you hundreds of dollars when compared to a plumber and is well worth the trip to pick one up if you don’t have one already.
Of course, we highly recommended you just stop over and borrow ours. The hand auger plumbing snake is one of over 1,000 tools available now at the West Seattle Tool Library, which is free to use and run primarily on user donations.

If you or someone you know you would like to be involved in The Tool Library, feel free to drop in on our Ask an Expert event this Saturday morning from 10am-Noon to explore the Library, meet our community of DIYers, and maybe even sign up for a membership. In any case, we look forward to seeing you there!

The Tool Library is located in the LHO Complex off the North Entrance to South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Ave SW.

Follow us on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WSToolLibrary
Twitter: @WSToolLibrary
and Meetup: www.meetup.com/West-Seattle-Tool-Library/