What Is a Plumbing Snake? How It Works, When to Use One, and When to Call a Little Rock Plumber

A plumbing snake, also called a drain auger, is a long, bendable metal cable that clears clogs inside pipes. You feed it into the drain until it hits the blockage. Then you turn the handle so the coiled tip spins.

The spinning tip does one of two things:

• Breaks up the clog so water can push it through
• Grabs and pulls out small, light clogs like hair

Small hand snakes work for sinks, tubs, and showers. Toilets need a toilet snake with a guard that protects the porcelain. Big clogs deep in the main sewer line often need a plumber's motorized machine.

Drain still backing up after you snake it? Give us a call, and we'll clear it for you.

A plumbing snake has four main parts. The cable is a coil of metal wire that bends around curves in your pipes. It's stored inside a drum or housing, and you turn it with a handle or crank. The tip on the end, called the auger or cutter head, does the real work on the clog.

Here's how you use one, step by step:

1. Feed the cable slowly into the drain opening.
2. Feel for resistance. That usually means you've reached the clog.
3. Lock the cable in place on the drum.
4. Crank the handle so the tip spins into the clog.
5. Pull back the cable slowly and run water to test the drain.

The snake clears a clog in one of two ways. If the clog can be torn apart, the spinning tip breaks it up enough for water to flow. If the clog is small and light, like hair, the tip snags it so you can pull it out.

Hand snakes run on arm power and work well for clogs close to the drain. Motorized snakes, often called drum machines, spin the cable with a motor. Plumbers use them for tougher clogs and longer runs of pipe.

Cable size matters too. A thin 1/4-inch cable fits sink and tub lines up to about 2 inches wide. Larger drains need a thicker cable, like 3/8-inch, so it doesn't kink or tangle inside the pipe.

A drain snake is long and thin. It's built to bend through the narrow pipes under sinks, tubs, and showers. A toilet snake, also called a toilet auger or closet auger, is much shorter. Its cable runs through a curved metal tube with a rubber or vinyl guard on the end.

That guard sits against the bowl so the cable doesn't scratch the porcelain (source). The short cable is enough because most toilet clogs sit in the trap built into the bowl.

	Drain snake	Toilet snake
Length	Often 25 feet	Usually 3 to 6 feet
Build	Thin, bendy cable in a drum	Short cable inside a curved metal tube
Bowl protection	None	Rubber or vinyl guard
Best for	Sinks, tubs, showers	Toilets
Watch out for	Scratching a toilet bowl or tangling in its drain	Too short to reach clogs past the toilet

Can a plumbing snake go through a toilet? A regular drain snake can, but it's the wrong tool. The wire can scratch the bowl, and the thin cable can tangle in the toilet's wider drain. Use a toilet snake instead.

If a toilet snake doesn't clear the clog, the problem may be past the toilet. Gurgling toilets and slow tubs can mean a blockage in your sewer line. If the toilet still won't flush right after snaking, it may need a repair.

Yes, for simple clogs in a sink, tub, or shower. A hand snake works best when the clog is close to the drain opening. If the clog is deeper or keeps coming back, the job is bigger than a store-bought snake.

Before you start, grab a few things:

• Rubber gloves
• Safety glasses
• Old towels
• A bucket for water and gunk

Don't snake a drain right after using chemical drain cleaner. These cleaners can heat up and boil inside a stopped drain. Once the snake stirs the water, it can splash up and burn your skin or eyes (source). Taking apart the trap is risky too, so tell your plumber what you used before they start.

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Forcing the cable when it won't move
• Cranking too hard, which can kink the cable
• Scratching the sink or tub finish with the metal tip

A simple clog close to the drain usually clears fast. Hair in a shower drain or gunk in a bathroom sink often breaks loose in a few passes. Deeper clogs take longer, and you may need to feed out more cable to reach them.

Clog type	What to expect
Hair near a shower or tub drain	Usually quick. The tip grabs it and you pull it out.
Soap or food buildup in a sink line	A little longer. It may take a few passes.
Clog deep in the drain line	Slow going. You may run out of cable before you reach it.
Main sewer line clog	Not a hand snake job. It needs a plumber's machine.

A few things change how long it takes:

• Clog type: Hair snags easily. Grease and soap take more work.
• Distance: The farther down the clog sits, the longer it takes to reach.
• Pipe material and age: Older pipes can be harder to work a cable through.

If you've been cranking a while and the water still won't go down, stop. That's a sign the problem isn't a simple clog. It may be deeper in the line or in your main sewer line.

If your drain is still slow or clogged after snaking, the snake didn't reach the real problem. Here are the most common causes and what each one means for your home.

• Grease built up on the pipe walls. Grease cools, hardens, and builds up on the inside of your pipes. A snake can open the clog, but the grease layer left behind can keep growing.
• The clog is farther down the line. A hand snake may not reach a clog in your main sewer line. Slow tubs and gurgling toilets can be early signs of a sewer line blockage.
• Tree roots got into the sewer line. Roots find cracks and loose joints in the pipe, then grow inside it. Over time, they trap debris and can even break the pipe (source).
• The pipe is cracked or damaged. Arkansas has expansive clay soils that swell when wet and shrink when dry. That movement puts stress on buried pipes and can crack them.
• Your home has older sewer pipe. Many older homes have cast iron, clay, or Orangeburg sewer pipe. Orangeburg is made of tar and paper, and it flattens as it ages. Snaking it only helps for a short time and can damage it more.

A snake can't show you which of these is happening in your pipes. A camera can, so you know whether you need a cleaning or a repair before you spend money on either.

Store-bought snakes usually carry less cable and run on arm power. Our motorized drum machines push a thicker cable much deeper into the line. That lets us reach clogs in your main sewer line that a hand snake can't touch.

When a clog keeps coming back, a camera inspection shows what's causing it. We run the camera down the line so you can see the problem for yourself. Then we pick the right fix for what we find.

Method	What it does	Best for
Snaking	A spinning cable breaks up or pulls out the clog	A single clog in one drain or line
Hydro jetting	High-pressure water washes grease and sludge out of the line	Grease buildup and clogs that keep coming back
Camera inspection	Shows where the problem is and what it is	Finding roots, cracks, or damaged pipe

Sometimes cleaning isn't enough. If the camera shows a cracked, crushed, or root-filled pipe, the line needs repair. Our crew has the excavator to dig it up and replace the damaged section.

The Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority says the sewer service line from your home to the sewer main belongs to you. That means repairs to it are the property owner's job, not the sewer utility's. Diamond State Plumbing is a family-run team of licensed plumbers, and we're open 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Friday.

Still stuck with a slow or clogged drain after snaking? Talk to licensed, family-run plumbers in Little Rock who look for the real cause, not just the clog. Call us, get directions, or check our hours on our Google profile. You'll find us at 506 Mimi Ln, Little Rock, AR 72211.