You should clean your sewer line at least every two years. Getting a sewer line inspection for older homes or those with more trees is a good idea. Basic sewer line clogs and debris can be tackled with a $5 drain snake. More stubborn clogs may require professional cleaning, which costs an average of $325.
Prevention is better than a blocked drain! Cleaning your drains monthly is usually sufficient enough, however you can choose to do this weekly or fortnightly if you wish, the main thing is that it is done on a regular basis.
Damaged Pipes — If your home's drainage system is older and made of galvanized materials, there is a very real chance the steelhead of the plumbing snake can scratch the inside of the pipe. Over time, that scratch will rust and weaken the structure of the pipe, until it bursts from the pressure.
If water starts coming out of the drain in a main floor tub or shower, or if the toilets start filling up when you use a drain or run the washing machine, most likely you have a main sewer line clog.
First, you can run hot water down the drain for 5 to 10 minutes to see if that helps break up the clog. If it doesn't, pour equal parts of vinegar and baking soda into a bowl and then pour that mixture down the drain. Let it sit for 15 minutes, and then run hot water down the drain.
This is self-explanatory but we will explain it anyway, just to be clear. Boil the kettle with as much water as it will hold. Then pour it slowly down the drain in a couple of stages, waiting a couple of seconds between each pour. The boiling water will travel through the pipes, dissolving any obstructions in its way.
If your snaking session yields plenty of hair and soap scum, but still leaves you with a slow drain, there's a good chance that the P-trap is still obstructed. To clear it, plug the overflow hole with a rag and fill the tub drain with hot water, which will help to soften and loosen soap scum.
Using a snake is also more invasive and time-consuming than using a chemical cleaner is, and can often become a dirty job. When it comes to getting at and removing major clogs or clogs that are deep down in your pipes, however, a plumber's snake is your best bet.
What to do when snaking a drain doesn't work. Clean the drain snake. If you haven't cleaned it since using it last, the old clog may still be embedded on the corkscrew end. You must clean this end for it to be effective.
While snaking is generally considered safe for your pipes, it can damage your pipes if they are in bad shape. Homes that have older pipes are more susceptible to this happening as hairline cracks and corrosion occur over time. Surprisingly, snaking your main line can potentially make the clog worse.
If a plunger doesn't work, a drain snake can sometimes provide a quick fix to the trouble. However, these drain snakes are, at best, only a temporary solution. And they are not effective at actually cleaning the drain.
If you use the wrong type of drain snake for the drain line, the snake could loop back on itself or scrape the sides of the plumbing pipe, causing damage that could lead to leaks and/or the need to replace the damaged piece of pipe.
Minerals
One of the most common causes of clogged drains is actually caused by the minerals in the water. Hard water is full of minerals that build up and easily prevent drainage in your pipes. The best solution is to have a water softener installed in your home.
A major cause of clogged drains is mineral build-up in the system. For systems with hard water, mineral build-up can be an extremely costly problem. Over time the minerals found in hard water build up in your pipes, resulting in reduced water pressure, sluggish flow, and clogged pipes.
Most bathroom drain clogs result when dirt, skin flakes, and especially hair binds to soap scum on the walls of drain pipes. Over time, this gunk accumulates and reduces water flow.
Both methods have different uses and are designed to cater to different plumbing needs. Snakes are best to clear out small clogs like when there is mineral built up or hair is clogged in the sink. Hydro jets are best for clearing out pipes and any sort of clogged drains.
Quick question & answer: What is the best drain cleaning tool? Both plumbing snakes and hydrojetters work great to clean drains, but have different purposes. Snakes help dislodge small clogs close to the drain. Hydrojetters use water pressure to blast deep clogs from the pipes, completely cleaning them.
You need to make sure that you've securely tightened thumbscrew(the piece that secures the cable inside the drum or handle). If the thumbscrew is loose, the cable will not rotate at all when you twist the handle. The cable rotation is how the drain snake picks up debris, so if it can't do this, your auger won't work.
For stubborn clogs, a plunger might not do the trick. Instead, a tool called a closet auger fits down inside the toilet bowl and allows the user to feed a cable through the toilet without scratching the coating. These augers can bust up clogs or hook the clog and pull it back through the bowl.
If the clog is a solid object, the auger head entangles the object. If you don't feel the auger breaking through and twisting getting easier, pull the auger out of the drain — you'll likely pull the clog out with it. Run water full force for a few minutes to be sure that the drain is unclogged.
Check the vent
Your plumbing system has a vent that allows air to flow through the pipes. If the vent is blocked, it can cause water to drain slowly. You can check the vent outside your house to make sure it's not blocked by leaves or other debris.
Plumbers take about 5 minutes to snake a drain for clogs near the tub, toilet, or sink. Main sewer line clogs impact all the drains and fixtures at once.
First, make sure there is no water in the sink. Pour one cup of baking soda followed by one cup of table salt, and then pour a cup of white vinegar. Wait for ten minutes and then flush it with boiling water. After that, the drain should be clear!