How to Use a Drain Snake: The Beginner’s Complete Guide

A drain snake is what divides people into those who call a plumber every time there is a clog and those who can take care of such issues on their own. I got mine for about $20, and it has saved me hundreds of dollars ever since, as it has cleared every stubborn clog that the plunger could not handle, every time, for every drain in the home.

The first time I used one, I had no idea what I was doing. I stuck the cable into the drain, encountered the clog, pressed harder on the handle, and managed to create a kink in the cable, which took me 10 minutes to untangle. Once I figured out the proper technique, which is more about rotation than force, it is one of the most gratifying tools I own. You can feel the clog, work your way through it, and then water flows freely.

A drain snake works by inserting a flexible metal cord into a clogged drain until it hits the clog. It then uses a twisting motion to either twist through or hook into the clog to remove it. The process is simple once you understand what all of the different feelings mean. This guide will teach you that.
This guide will cover everything from which drain snake to use to proper usage on all different types of drains: sink, shower, tub, toilet, etc.

What a Drain Snake Is and How It Works

A drain snake is also known as a hand auger, drum auger, or plumber’s snake. A drain snake is a long, flexible wire rope in a drum or handle. At the end of the wire rope, there is a spring or an auger tip for drilling through a clog or gripping a clog in a drain.
Putting a wire rope into a clogged drain and turning the handle makes the wire rope advance forward in the drain and rotate. Thus, a wire rope in a drain snake does two things: advancing forward in the drain and drilling through a clog in the drain. Rotation, not pushing, is what makes a drain snake work.

Key Insight: A professional plumber uses a drain snake as a first option instead of chemicals for a clogged drain. A hand snake for $20 is just as effective as a professional plumber uses for a standard household clogged drain. The only differences are the length of wire and whether it has a motor or not. A basic hand snake is all you need for sinks, tubs, and showers.

Choosing the Right Snake for Your Drain

The wrong type of snake for a drain is a waste of your time. Here is the right one to use for the right situation:

Hand Snake (Drum Auger) – Best for Most Household Drains

This is the one you want for your bathroom sinks, kitchen sinks, shower drains, and bathtub drains. A 25-foot hand snake is the one you want for your standard household drain. This will allow you to reach any clog in your drain. The Cobra 00412 is the one I have and recommend. This is a very durable snake, and it is easy to use. The drum style ensures that the snake cable is always in your control as it is fed down into your drain.

Toilet Auger – For Toilets Only

Toilet Augers have a short, stiff snake cable covered in a protective rubber sleeve. They are designed so that your toilet bowl is not scratched. You do not want to use a hand snake for your toilet drain. The snake cable will scratch and damage your toilet bowl. If you have a toilet clog and a plunger does not work, a toilet auger is the one you want. They cost between $20 and $40.

Power Snake – For Stubborn or Deep Clogs

A power snake is used in combination with a regular cordless drill set. It will rotate the cable on its own. This is important if clogs are further down in your piping system. More aggressive than a hand snake. Try using a hand snake first. If you still have trouble, then it is time to use a power snake.

💡 Pro Tip: Buy a hand snake before you need it. Having a $25 Cobra hand snake in your utility closet will save you a ton of money in emergency plumber charges. It will have paid for itself the first time you use it to clear a clog at 10 pm on a Sunday morning instead of calling a plumber.

What You’ll Need

⦁ Drain snake (hand auger) — $20 to $35 from Home Depot. 25 feet is best for home use.
⦁ Rubber gloves — essential. Whatever is in the drain is not going to be pretty.
⦁ Towels or rags — old ones to put around the drain area before you start
⦁ Bucket — to put the removed clog material into
⦁ Flashlight — handy for looking into the drain before inserting the snake
⦁ Hot water — to flush the drain after removing the clog
⦁ Dish soap — a squirt of soap helps flush the drain after the snake is finished

Step 1: Prepare the Drain

A few minutes of preparation will make the whole process cleaner and easier.

1. Wear your rubber gloves – before you touch anything. Drain clogs are made of hair, soap scum, grease, and germs. Gloves are not optional.
2. Take away the drain stopper or strainer – Most bathroom sink drain stoppers come straight out or unscrew. A few have a screw under the strainer. Shower drain strainers unscrew or pry off. Set them aside – you will have to clean them when you have time.
3. Towel the area around the drain – The cable will come back up covered in gunk from the drain. It will also keep your floor and cabinet from getting dripped on.
4. Bail water from the drain – If you have water sitting in your sink drain, bail the majority of the water out first. A drain filled with water makes it harder to tell what is going on.

💡 Pro Tip: Now is a good time to give your drain stopper a good cleaning. Hair and scum buildup on your stopper will cause a clog right in front of your drain. A clean stopper and a clean drain will allow for better water flow than trying to snake your drain by itself.

Step 2: Feed the Snake Into the Drain

This is where technique comes in. Here, the idea is not to shove the cable in as fast as you can, but to guide it smoothly and steadily.

1. Set the cable length – you will need to take out around 6-8 inches of cable from the drum. This will allow you control without too much cable hanging around.
2. Insert the cable tip – you will then need to insert the cable tip into the drain opening while at the same time rotating the handle clockwise with the other hand. This will help the cable navigate through corners as it goes through the drain.
3. Feed the cable – you then need to feed the cable steadily while keeping the drum close to the drain. You need not allow too much cable to build up between the drum and the drain as this may cause the cable to kink.
4. Continuously rotate – at all times, you need to make sure you rotate the handle clockwise while pushing the cable steadily into the drain. Stopping the rotation of the cable and then pushing it into the drain is what causes the cable to kink. Rotation and pushing the cable into the drain go hand in hand.

⚠️ Important: If you experience a strong resistance right after inserting the snake, especially within the first 2 or 3 inches, it is possible that the clog is located near the drain opening or in the p-trap. Stop feeding and try to pull the cable back out slowly. Rotate it while doing so. This is because the clog is near and it is quicker to pull it out instead of pushing it.

Step 3: Work Through the Clog

This is the step that feels most uncertain the first time — because what you feel through the cable tells you everything, and you need to know how to interpret those sensations.

What You’ll Feel

⦁ Smooth resistance that becomes stiffer and stiffer – you’re going through a clog of hair, grease, and/or soap. Just keep going around in circles; the cable will go through eventually.
⦁ Sudden hard stop – you’ve come across a solid object or a bend in the pipe. Don’t push; you’ll only make things worse. Just go around in circles and go back and forth.
⦁ Cable seems to be going in circles – the cable has tangled up in the pipe. Pull back slowly and go around in circles again.
⦁ Cable seems to be going in easily with little resistance – you’ve gone through the clog. Pull back slowly to try to snag the clog.

Breaking Through vs Hooking

For soft clogs such as hair and grease, the goal is to break through and then flush. For solid clogs such as hair balls, the goal is to hook and pull. When you feel that the cable is hooking into something, such as hair, you will feel a tugging sensation as you try to pull it out. Rotate gently as you slowly pull on the cable. This will wind the debris tighter on the cable tip and pull it out with the cable.

💡 Pro Tip: When the cable is hooked into a hair clog and you begin pulling it out, continue to rotate clockwise as you pull. If you stop rotation, the hair will unwind from the tip and fall back into the drain. Rotate and pull simultaneously in one smooth motion.

Step 4: Retrieve and Clean the Snake

This also helps in ensuring that the clog material does not get all over the floor and also helps in maintaining the condition of the snake for later use.

1. Pull out the cable slowly while rotating it at the same time – continue rotating it clockwise as you pull it out.
2. Prepare a bucket – as you pull out the tip from the clogged drain, immediately put it directly into the prepared bucket. This is because the clog material will come out as soon as the tip is removed.
3. Wipe the cable as you pull it out – use a rag and put it around the cable as you pull it out.
4. Clean the snake tip – use hot water and rinse the tip and first few feet of the cable.
5. Dispose of the clog material – dispose of it in the trash, not down the drain.

⚠️ Important: Remember to clean the snake before you put it away. The clog material you remove will have bacteria and smell awful within a day. It takes just 2 minutes to rinse and wipe the tool clean and put it away for the next time you need it.

Step 5: Flush the Drain

Once the clog material has been removed, flushing the drain removes any remaining loose debris.

1. Flush hot water for 2-3 minutes — hot water will dissolve any grease and/or scum residue that was loosened by the snake.
2. Squirt in some dish soap — pour directly into drain before hot water flush.
3. Check the drain — water should drain immediately with no puddling. If it does not, then the clog was not cleared and the procedure must be repeated.
4. Replace the drain stopper/strainer — clean it first, then replace.

🔑 Key Insight: If your drain is clearing quickly after you snake it but slows down in a few days, it is a sign that your drain was not fully cleared. It was only partially cleared. Repeat the process of snaking your drain and try to retrieve more of the clog. A clear drain does not just clear fast; it clears instantly.

Using a Snake on Different Drain Types

Bathroom Sink Drains

Take out the pop-up stopper, as most of the hair and scum buildup tends to accumulate in that area. Insert your snake into the pipe past the P-trap (the curved pipe under your sink) and into the pipe beyond that. Bathroom sink clogs tend to be in the first 3 to 5 feet of pipe.

Shower and Bathtub Drains

Take out your drain cover or stopper. Hair clogs in your shower tend to accumulate either at or just below the top of your drain. A drain hook tool can often clear clogs in your shower. If your clog appears to be further down in your line, use your snake to insert it into your pipe below your trap.

Kitchen Sink Drains

For kitchen sinks, it is usually a grease and food buildup. The snake will go through a grease clog, but it will not pull it out as it does with hair. The snake is only used to push through and then flush with very hot water. For kitchen sinks, it is often faster to pull the p-trap and snake directly into the drain line.

Toilets

You should use a toilet auger, not a standard hand snake. Insert the auger into the toilet bowl and rotate it as you feed it through the trap. The sleeve protects the porcelain from scratching. Clogs in toilets are usually in the first 3 feet of the drain.

Drain Snake Type Comparison Table

Snake Type	Best For	Cable Length	Cost	Difficulty
Hand Snake (Drum Auger)	Sinks, tubs, showers	15–25 ft	$20–$35	Easy
Toilet Auger	Toilets only	3–6 ft	$20–$40	Very Easy
Power Snake (Drill-Driven)	Stubborn clogs, longer runs	25–50 ft	$30–$60	Medium
Flat Tape Snake	Retrieving lost objects	15–25 ft	$15–$25	Easy
Electric Drain Machine	Main sewer lines	50–100 ft	$150+ (rent)	Professional

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Forcing Instead of Rotating

This is the most common mistake. Once the cable is stuck, new plumbers make the mistake of using more force on the cable. The cable buckles in the pipe, making it hard to retrieve it. No amount of force will solve this problem when working with a cable in a drain snake.

Using a Regular Snake in a Toilet

A regular hand snake cable will scratch the porcelain in a toilet bowl, causing permanent damage. A toilet auger cable is designed for use in toilets and has a sleeve that prevents it from touching the porcelain. Although it is $10 more than a regular hand snake, it is worth it.

Not Rotating on Retrieval

If you don’t rotate the cable as you pull it back, the hooked debris will come out along with the cable. You will feel the weight and then stop rotating the cable as you pull it back. The debris will then come out along with the cable. Continue rotating the cable as you pull it back until it comes out completely from the drain.

Letting the Cable Loop Between the Drum and Drain

This cable hanging between the drain and the drum makes it hard to control and increases the chances of the cable kinking. Hold the drum close to the drain as you pull out the cable. Move the drum towards the drain as you pull out the cable.

Not Cleaning the Snake After Usage

If you don’t clean your drain snake after each use, it will smell after 24 hours. The smell comes from the clogged debris stuck on the cable. It takes only two minutes to clean the cable and keep it clean for years.

When to Call a Plumber

Most residential drain clogs can be cleared with a hand snake. If you experience any of the following, it is recommended that you call a professional plumber:
⦁ The snake goes in 20+ feet without resistance. It is possible that the clog is not in the drain line at all, but in the main sewer line.
⦁ Multiple drains in your house are slow or clogged at the same time. Main sewer line clog.
⦁ You hear gurgling in other drains in your house when you run water. Vents or main sewer line problems.
⦁ The drain clogs again in a week after being snaked. Tree root invasion or collapsed pipe.
⦁ You feel resistance on the snake and it is hitting something hard and immovable. It is possible that the pipe has collapsed or there is a foreign object stuck in a fixture and should not be attempted to be removed by snaking.

Conclusion

A drain snake is one of those tools that truly makes you think differently about home maintenance. Before I got a drain snake, a clogged drain meant living with a slow drain or calling a plumber. Now it means 20 minutes of work and a drain like new.
It’s the technique. You feed it in, rotating it. You go through the resistance slowly. You hook it up and pull it back out while continuing to rotate. You clean it off as you go back up. Then you flush the drain. That’s it. The first time is the hardest because you are trying to learn what you are feeling. The second time is almost second nature.
Buy the hand snake. Store it in the utility closet. Use it when the plunger isn’t enough. It will pay for itself many times over.