Can a drain snake break a pipe?

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asked Jan 13, 2022 in Maintenance/Repairs by riverdell (1,040 points)
Can a drain snake break a pipe?

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answered Jan 20, 2022 by K8nutkin (2,680 points)
A drain snake can break a pipe but it's pretty hard to break a pipe with a regular drain snake.

You're more likely to break a pipe using a sewer auger machine than you would using a regular drain snake by hand.

You can snake a drain yourself and most clogs in drains can be cleared with a simple drain snake done by yourself.

Although more severe clogs may require a plumber if you cannot get it cleared.

You can buy drain snakes at home depot or other hardware store and you can also buy or rent a sewer auger machine as well to clear your sewer line with.

To make a toilet snake you can use some cable or wire rope, or use a coat hanger that you bend into a small hook.

A thin piece of flat wire also works well as a toilet snake.

If you don't have a drain snake you can use a some wire and make it into a hook or use a cable to use as a drain snake.

A coat hanger can also be used as a drain snake.

To use a drain hook push the drain hook down into the drain as far as it will go.

Then twist the drain hook back and forth while still trying to push it and then continue twisting it and turning it so that it helps hook onto the clog.

Then pull the drain stick or drain hook back out and continue repeating the process until the drain is clear of the clog.

Tools that are needed to unclog a drain are drain snake, plunger, drain auger, drain claw and some drain cleaning chemicals or vinegar and baking soda, bleach etc.

Some clogs in drains can be cleaned and cleared with vinegar and baking soda or bleach or other drain cleaners while other clogs may need a drain snake, plunger or drain cleaning auger.

Bleach can and does dissolve hair clogs in drains.

To dissolve hair clogs with bleach pour 1 cup of undiluted bleach down the drain.

The bleach will dissolve the strands of hair breaking up the clog.

Let the bleach sit in the drain for 1 hour and then run hot water into the sink and observe the flow of water down the drain.

Vinegar and baking soda also dissolves hair clogs in drains.

A good way to dissolve hair in a drain is to pour some baking soda down the drain and then pour some vinegar down the drain after that.

Then cover the drain and allow the vinegar and baking soda to work on the hair.

After around 30 minutes or so the hair should be dissolved.

If possible remove some of the hair from the drain so that the vinegar and baking soda can more easily clear the clog.

The pH of vinegar is 2-3.

Vinegar is mildly acidic with a pH of 2–3.

Apple cider vinegar is slightly more alkaline than pure vinegar because it contains more alkaline nutrients.

It is safe to put baking soda and vinegar down the drain.

Vinegar and baking soda are a safe natural cleaning mixture that can help dissolve some clogs in drains including hair clogs.

You can safely pour boiling water down the drain.

Boiling water is safe to pour down the drain whether you have PVC drain pipes or metal drain pipes.

The boiling water is good for cleaning out pipes and killing germs etc in the pipes and the PVC pipes will be just fine.

Vinegar does not hurt PVC pipes.

Vinegar is safe to use in drains that have PVC pipes for cleaning and for unclogging the drains with.

You can also safely pour boiling water down the drain with PVC pipes as well.

White vinegar works well to unclog drains.

You can also use apple cider vinegar or even lemon juice to unclog drains with as well.

To unclog a drain with vinegar pour a mixture of 1 cup vinegar (apple cider vinegar works best) and 1 cup boiling water down the drain.

(Substitute lemon juice for vinegar for a great-smelling drain?

Plug the drain to keep the vinegar baking soda reaction below the drain surface.

Coke or Coca Cola can unclog a drain.

Well at least some drain clogs the Coke can unclog especially if the clog is because of hair.

Coke can dissolve hair in a drain due to the peptic acid the Coke contains.

Pour a 2-liter bottle of cola such as Pepsi, Coke, or generic brand substitutes down the clogged drain.

Coke and other sodas are actually quite caustic and effective at clearing away buildup in your drains, but it's far milder than commercial drain cleaners.

Coke and Pepsi are loaded with phosphoric acid, which breaks down buildup that can clog your drains!

Phosphoric acid can even remove lime scale and other tough buildup that regular cleaners struggle with.

This is an effective and refreshing home remedy if we ever saw one!

Drano or even some Vinegar and baking soda can easily dissolve hair in a drain.

You can easily dissolve hair in a drain by using some vinegar and baking soda and some boiling water.

Dissolving hair that is stuck in a drain is easy with some vinegar and baking soda.

The vinegar and baking soda will easily dissolve the hair in the drain.

Then you can pour some boiling hot water down the drain to flush it on out.

Baking Soda and Vinegar works great to dissolve hair in a drain and I've used this method successfully before for getting rid of hair that is clogging a drain.

To use Baking Soda and Vinegar to dissolve hair in your drain take 1/2 cup of baking soda and pour it down the drain and then take a 1/2 cup of white vinegar and pour the vinegar down the drain and then cover the drain with a cloth or plastic lid.

Leave the cloth or lid on the drain for 30 minutes to let the Vinegar and Baking soda work to break down the hair in the drain.

After 30 minutes have passed you can remove the cloth or lid off the drain and then pour some boiling hot water down the drain and it should be cleared.

If you have standing water in the sink or tub that the hair is clogging you can use a wet/dry vac to suck the water out of the sink or tub so you can pour the vinegar and baking soda down the drain.

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