Have you been there before? A clog in your toilet and the plunger just doesn’t work? Your sinks drain so slowly? Your bathtub water drains like molasses? You’ve tried removing hair from the drains but that water just won’t drain properly? This can be so frustrating. It’s time to call in the pros.

All local plumbers will offer drain cleaning services, but do you know what service you’re actually purchasing? Most home owners are familiar with getting their drains snaked, but a newer drain cleaning technology has entered the market called hydro jetting. We’ll explain both and the pros and cons of using either.

Snaking

Plumbers often use snakes to dislodge clogs in plumbing drains. A snake is a an extremely long cable that will have a special head on the top of the cable that enters the drain to help break up clogs. Snakes often attach to a power drill to allow the head of the snake to powerfully break apart soft blockages like toilet paper. Snakes can be purchased at local hardware stores. You want to exercise caution with using a snake as this metal cable will cause damage to your porcelain toilet if used to unclog your toilet’s drain. Plumbers have special techniques to avoid causing damage to your toilet, they either remove the toilet or take apart a pipe beneath your toilet and allow that to be their point of entry with the snake. For really bad clogs in sewage pipes, some plumbers have access to blades in circular shapes that vary in width for maximum coverage and better success in breaking up bad clogs. Snaking drains can be extremely successfully in breaking apart soft blockages, but is not typically effective against breaking up roots and snaking does not clean your drains.

Hydro Jetting

Hydro JettingSimilar to a snake, a hydro jet has a long cable that enters the drain that functions as a hose. On the tip of the hydro jet is a fitting for the end of the hose that shoots out water. The nozzle shoots out water in front of the tip at about 4,000 PSI, this breaks apart blockages in its path. The hydro jet tip also has water that shoots out behind the tip of the nozzle which helps propel the unit through a drain. Industry experts and results show that the hydro jet is far more effective at breaking up soft blockages, small roots and sludge in your pipes. Most importantly, hydro jetting also comprehensively cleans your pipes, this is something that snakes just cannot do. Lastly, hydro jetting is far safer for older pipes. Older pipes that are becoming compromised by age and rust can easily be damaged at joints with the snake’s rapidly rotating blade bits, whereas the hydro jetting technique doesn’t rotate or agitate, the water simply pressure washes the walls of your pipes.

BOTTOMLINE: Hydro jet > Snake

Our team highly recommends hydro jetting – not only do we find greater success in clearing your drains, but your drains become clean and less likely to clog again soon in the future. Call us today if you are suffering from slow or clogged drains. 785-357-0046