Before we discuss further how drain snakes can help homeowners take care of some plumbing problems on their own, let’s review a few things you should always try first when your drains are clogged, or draining slowly.
First, see if you can unclog the pipe just where it meets your sink or tub. Make sure the screen covering the drain pipe is clear, then lift it out and use a thin wire, such as an unwound coat hanger, to scrape up any hair or other clogs that might be lurking just underneath.
The next step is to use hot water. It’s not only one of the best offenses against clogs, but should also be first in your line of defense. You should regularly clean out your pipes with hot water. Boil a teakettle, or a spaghetti pot, full of water and pour it down each of your drains every month. In the case of a clog, pour some baking soda and vinegar into the backed-up sink or tub before adding the hot water.
If hot water doesn’t get your pipes flowing freely, it’s time to try your plunger. Remember when using a plunger, you want to think of it as pulling the clog back up, not pushing it down into the pipes. If you’re clearing a sink or tub, make sure you have at least two inches of standing water, then apply the plunger, pushing down gently until it’s all the way down, then strongly pull up. Check after doing this a couple of times for hair or other clogs you can clean out of the sink or tub. If you’re plunging a sink, remember to block the overflow hole with a wet towel or rag. This will insure you have enough suction.
There are also some non-toxic, organic drain cleaners you can use to clear blocked drains, but be very careful about using harsh, chemical drain cleaners. Over time, these will damage most pipes, leading to weakening and even holes in your pipes! If you have tried a chemical drain cleaner on a clog and it didn’t work, then don’t use your plunger! And if you move on to using a drain snake, make sure to wear protective gloves and clothing, and flush the pipes with plenty of hot water after the clog is gone.
Actually, you always want to wear gloves when operating a drain snake. Some other precautions to take before using one have to do with keeping things clean. Unclogging a drain with a plumber’s auger is usually very messy, and sometimes stinky, work. Put old towels down on the floor and wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. You should also keep a bucket close at hand for the debris you’re going to pull up out of your pipes.
If you own your home, one of the things you can add to the list of life’s certainties, right behind death and taxes, is clogged pipes. And if you’ve had multiple experiences with clogged pipes, you may have considered buying a drain snake, otherwise known as a plumber’s auger, to help you clear clogs on your own without calling in a plumbing professional.
Drain snakes can be very useful additions to your home’s toolbox, although there are various factors you’ll want to weigh when trying to make the decision as to whether to use a drain snake on a particular clog or call your licensed plumbers for help. In addition, you should always try other de-clogging solutions before using a drain snake. We’ll cover all these topics in our next few posts, but first, do you know what a drain snake is and how it works?
There are two basic types of drain snakes—cable augers and closet augers. A cable auger drain snake is a long, hose-like, flexible steel cable, attached to a hand crank at one end, with an auger at the other. They also come in electric motor-powered versions, but homeowners should generally only use the hand-crank varieties. Unless you have a lot of experience with tools, especially some real skill with do-it-yourself plumbing work, it’s better to leave the electrically powered versions of drain snakes in the hands of plumbers. It takes some expertise to use one properly, and if you aren’t in full control of an electric drain snake, you can damage your plumbing, and more importantly, there’s a real danger you could injure yourself. Not to mention the cost of an electrically powered drain snake is so much higher; it’s the kind of tool homeowners usually choose to rent rather than buy. In fact, the cost of renting one is often close to the cost of hiring plumbing contractors to clear the clog.
Hand-cranked cable augers come in a variety of lengths, from 25 feet up to 100, but 25 feet in length is the best choice for most homeowners. Drain snakes in that length will clear up to 95% of a home’s clogs.
Closet augers are called that because of the old-fashioned word for toilets—water closets—which are what closet augers are designed to clear. Unlike cable augers, closet augers are rigid. They also have a hand crank to turn their stiff cable, but the auger end is bent at just the right angle for clearing clogs in a toilet’s plumbing. In fact, they are also sometimes known as toilet augers.
The handles on drain snakes control the progress of the cable into your home’s plumbing. When they encounter the clog—something you will immediately feel—they hook into it, sort of like a corkscrew hooking into a cork, and then you can pull it back out by cranking the handle.
Finally, one of the biggest challenges to the owner of a septic tank system is making sure nothing gets in it that can cause clogs, which can in turn cause septic system failure. Items such as paper towels, coffee grounds, cat litter, feminine hygiene products, cigarette butts, etc. should never enter a septic tank system. They can not only cause clogs, but that level of solids entering the tank can fill it much too quickly, causing overflow of water that has not had a chance to be cleaned by the bacteria, which is every septic tank system’s owner’s worst nightmare. Along these lines, it’s also important to never use a garbage disposal if you have a septic tank. Even though the disposal shreds things very fine, they are still solid when they wash down the drainpipe and will fill a septic tank much too quickly.
Another thing that should never be poured down the drain, even though it’s not exactly a solid, is grease. Too much grease and oil entering the system can also cause clogs, especially in the drain field, impairing its ability to function.
Septic tank systems are a tried and true method for treating and disposing of wastewater, and when they are properly maintained, they can function without failure for decades, but as with all plumbing problems, if you want to avoid trouble with your septic tank system, you have to understand how it works, and take good care to keep it in tip-top shape.
To help prevent overloading the water outflow, it’s a good idea to conserve water usage inside the home. Remember, septic tank systems work when the water has time to “settle”—with the solids going down to the bottom of the tank and the oils floating up to the top. If you flood the tank with a sudden, huge amount of water, which could be caused by doing many loads of laundry in one day, you may discharge some of those solids and oils into the environment. For the same reason, it’s an excellent idea for septic tank system owners to consider using high efficiency, low flow toilets, low-flow shower heads, and have aerators installed on all their faucets. And any leaks or dripping faucets should be fixed as soon as possible.
Septic tank system owners have to be careful to maintain the quality of the bacteria inside the tank too. The bacteria can be killed in large number if certain products wash into the tank, things like detergents, bleach, and disinfectants. If a label says “harmful or fatal if swallowed” then that product will kill the bacteria in a septic tank. Also, you don’t want to put things that are ANTI-septic into a septic tank system. Make sure the cleaning products—dishwasher detergent, for example—that your household uses are biodegradable. Look for labels that say “safe for septic systems.” And things like gasoline, pesticides, antifreeze, and paint should never be poured or rinsed into a septic tank. They can not only kill off the anaerobic bacteria, but will also eventually enter the groundwater system, contaminating it.
When they are properly maintained, septic systems are an effective way to treat wastewater, and they can last for decades. But as with so many plumbing supplies, maintenance is key. Since one-fourth of U.S. households use septic tank systems, more than four billion gallons of wastewater is dispersed belowground daily, according to the EPA. If this water is not thoroughly treated by the septic systems, it poses a risk of contaminating groundwater, and causing disease and infection.
What are some of the most important steps the owner of a septic tank system needs to take to insure that the system doesn’t fail? The first one is pumping. It’s crucial that the septic tank have the sludge and scum that collect inside it pumped out by a professional every one to three years, depending on the type of tank. Reducing the level of solids in the tank makes it certain that they won’t ever accidentally overflow into the drain field, or from there into the groundwater supply. The pumping professional should also inspect the tank for any possible leaks.
Another crucial thing to watch out for is the condition of the drain field. It can’t become waterlogged, or it won’t be able to do its job in the final cleanup of wastewater. So septic tank system owners should make sure their home’s water runoff, such as from gutters, driveways, patios, etc. runs away from their drain field. And the drain field must be kept clear of shrubs and trees. Their roots can grow into the drainage lines and block them, causing septic tank troubles such as overflow, bad odors, and contamination. The only vegetation that should grow near a septic tank system, including the drain field, is grass. (Like in title of Ohioan humorist Erma Bombeck’s book, The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank.) Furthermore, never drive on a drain field, and never build anything on top of one. If the soil becomes compacted from the pressure of having vehicles driven across it, or from construction, it can impair the function of the drain field and cause septic tank system failure.
If you’ve spent all your life in urban or suburban areas, your knowledge of household plumbing probably doesn’t extend to septic systems. In fact, you may not be aware of how vitally important these plumbing systems are. For example, did you know that twenty-five percent of the population in the U.S. uses septic systems to treat wastewater? They are generally used in rural areas, where the distance between residences is often so great, the cost of installing and connecting everyone to a sewer system to carry away and treat the wastewater is prohibitively high. However, there are some urban areas that also rely on septic systems; Indianapolis, for example, has many neighborhoods that use this form of wastewater treatment.
But what is a septic system exactly and how does it work? A septic system, sometimes referred to as a septic tank system, is a small on-site wastewater treatment system that is buried underground. It mostly consists of a large tank (the septic tank) made of steel, concrete or reinforced fiberglass, commonly big enough to hold between 1000 and 2000 gallons of wastewater. There’s a pipe on one end of the tank that discharges all the wastewater from a home into the tank. The septic tank contains that wastewater long enough for solids to settle to the bottom—forming sludge—and for oils and grease to float to the top, forming scum. The environment of the tank is perfect for the growth of anaerobic bacteria—anaerobic meaning they thrive without oxygen—which digest and break down the organic solids. Then, as new wastewater enters the septic tank from the house, there’s another pipe on the other end of the tank that discharges the now relatively clear wastewater into a drain field. Microbes in the soil of the drain field digest and remove any remaining contaminants from the wastewater.
It is generally believed that the first septic tank was invented in France, in 1860, by Louis Moureas, although it wouldn’t be named the “septic tank” until the 1900s. Moureas had the idea to build an underground tank to collect wastewater as it flowed away from his house to a cesspool. After a number of years, he opened the tank and was astonished to see there was very little solid material inside—which was as we now know due to the breakdown and removal of it by the anaerobic bacteria.
Of course the biggest problem you’ll encounter with your disposal is clogs. Here are a few tips and tricks for taking care of them.
Most garbage disposals come with an Allen wrench to help clear them when clogged or jammed. If yours didn’t, or you’ve misplaced it, most Allen wrenches will work. But first, before doing anything, make sure the power to the unit is off, flipping the circuit breaker off if necessary. Then locate the small hole on the bottom of the garbage disposal, insert the Allen wrench and move it around a few times, until it moves freely in a circle. You may actually feel the jam clear as you do this. Then restore power to the unit, turn on the cold water, and flip the switch.
If your disposal lacks a hole on the bottom, you can try a broomstick to get it unstuck. Stick the broom handle in at the top of the disposal, and, while pressing down gently, “stir” the stick around.
Once things are turning freely inside your disposal, it should be fixed. But sometimes a hard object (like a wedding ring!) gets wedged inside and prevents the jam from clearing. Take a flashlight and shine it into the hopper. If you spot an obstruction, try using tongs or pliers to remove it. Remember; don’t put your hand inside the hopper!
If all these fixes don’t help your garbage disposal to work again, it’s probably time to call in a professional from Thompson Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling.
Before reading some of our do-it-yourself information on how to fix your disposal, you need to remember the most important garbage disposal rule of all: Never Put Your Hand Inside the Disposal (into the hopper.) Don’t reach in there for any reason, such as when you’re trying to clear a clog—you could be seriously injured.
Another thing to remember is to keep your disposal sharp. You may have been told to put various items down it to sharpen the blades, but there is only ONE thing that’s safe and effective to sharpen garbage disposals: ice. Feed a few cups of ice into the disposal while it runs and cold water is flowing through it.
One of the problems you might encounter with your disposal is turning on the power and not hearing anything, not even a hum. This means there’s an electrical problem. Turn the power switch back off, then make sure your unit is plugged in. If it is, then press the reset button found on the bottom, or side, of many garbage disposals. If it still won’t turn on, then check your circuit breaker to see if it has tripped. If these fixes don’t solve the problem it’s time to call your local plumber.
Sometimes the disposal will cut off while running the unit. This usually means your garbage disposal has overloaded and is automatically turning off as a safety precaution. Give it a few moments to cool down, then hit the reset button, turn the cool water back on, and try switching on the disposal again.
