How to Run an Auger for a Sewer Pipe
Not all clogged drains can be cleared with liquid drain cleaners. In fact, many liquid drain cleaners can cause severe damage to sewer pipes, most of which nowadays are made from PVC. Clogged sewer pipes are best cleared by the use of an auger. An auger, more commonly referred to as a snake, is a tool used for manually clearing drains. It has a long, retractable semi-corkscrew shaped piece of flexible metal that coils up inside a plastic case. The plastic case can attach to the end of your drill. Press your drill's trigger to coil it or uncoil it. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
-
-
1
Insert the end of your drill into the hole of your auger's plastic case and tighten it down.
-
2
Locate your main sewer trap outside your house. This will be a small piece of PVC pipe that juts up from the ground. It has a plastic cap on the end of it. Remove the plastic cap with a pair of channel locks if it is attached tightly. The bottom of this pipe will be T-shaped. If you aim the auger towards your home this will clean out a small area of pipe where your smaller water lines all empty into the main sewer line. The end of the "T" that runs the other direction leads out to the main neighborhood sewer line.
-
-
3
Flip the reversible direction switch on your drill to "tighten" and aim it over the open sewer trap. Squeeze the trigger of your drill and allow the auger to begin to feed into the pipe.
-
4
Hand feed the auger into the pipe while continuing to squeeze the trigger on your drill. Eventually you will find the blockage. When you do, allow the auger to work through it.
-
5
Flip the direction switch on your drill to the loosen position and hand feed the auger back into its plastic case as you do.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit auger image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com
