//Glossary
Drain snake (cable machine)
A motor-driven steel cable with a cutting or retrieving head that a plumber feeds down a drain to break up or pull back a blockage. Also called a rooter machine, an auger or simply snaking.
What does a snake actually do to a clog?
It punches a path through the blockage and restores flow. On a paper clog, a hair clog or a soft obstruction that is the whole job. On grease, scale or roots it opens a hole through the mass and leaves the rest of it on the pipe wall, which is why some drains clog again a few months later.
When is snaking the wrong tool?
When the same line keeps coming back, when the camera shows heavy grease or root growth around the whole circumference, or when the pipe has a belly holding standing water. Those lines usually want hydro jetting or a repair, not another cable.
//At Done-Rite
Every Done-Rite drain call includes a camera inspection so the choice between snaking and jetting is made from what the pipe actually looks like.
Guides that use this term
- › How drain cleaning works: snake, camera, and what happens on the call
- › Why the same drain keeps clogging
- › Hydro jetting, explained: what it is and when a drain needs it
- › Kitchen plumbing: the sink, the disposal, the drain line and the water under it
- › Bathroom plumbing: toilets, showers, tubs and the drains under them
- › Mobile home plumbing: under-floor lines, low clearance and the fittings that are different
- › Salon and retail plumbing: hair, hot water and the restroom that has to work
- › Slow drain: what it usually means and what to do first
- › Snaking vs hydro jetting: which one your drain actually needs
- › What drain cleaning and hydro jetting cost in Orange County
Related terms
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