5 Tools to Clear Out Those Really Difficult Drainage Clogs

Intro

A couple of times we've had some major clogging issues.  Sometimes it's been hair in the trap, gunk in the pipes, or even oil in the kitchen sink because sometimes people don't listen to advice on not pouring grease down the drain.  I hear there are people that go straight to the liquid drain chemicals, but if it's not used properly they can cause some damage to the pipes. The better way is to use various tools to try and manually clear the clog.  Read on to find out the right tools for the job. First before trying any of the tools, let's see if we can try any of the conventional tips.

Simple methods

Boiling water

Get a pot of water and boil it up and pour it down the area that's clogged up.  If whatever is clogging up the drain is water soluble, or can be loosened up with the heat, you drain will be cleared up.  Let it sit for 15 minutes and if not, try another method.

Baking Soda and Vinegar

So this one I'm a bit hesitant would work, but there are a lot of sites out there that seem to say it works, so I'll go ahead and put it here.  Grab some baking soda and pour it down the drain.  Then take some vinegar and then pour it into the drain afterwards.  What you'll get is a nice bubbly chemical reaction.  What is actually happening is that the baking soda is reacting with the vinegar and creating a chemical reaction that results in carbon dioxide and water, hence, all the bubbles.  Does it do anything? I don't think so since it really neutralizes the properties of each.  What I would recommend is to put baking soda down the drain, let it sit for a 5 min to let it work it's magic, then pour vinegar down afterwards.  Vinegar is the acidic chemical, and the baking soda is a basic chemical, so each of them working on their chemical reactions individually would work better than essentially having more water be poured down the driain.

Tools

Plunger

Your good old trusty reliable plunger.  Now there's 2 types of plungers.  One that is flat, and another that has a flange (with extra curves so it can hug the sides and create a better seal).  The flat one is used mainly for the sinks because your sink will typically be flat.  Use the plunger to create the pressure to hopefully force the clog out - push to create pressure to push to clog forward,  and pull back to suck the clog back out.  Repeat.  Keep going fast, and if you get lucky, some of the chunks of what's causing your clog will break off and your clog will clear out.  If not, you'll need to try one of the other methods below.

You also have your flange type plunger also.  These are typically used for the toilets.  Since they're curved bottoms, the flat plungers can't create that seal to create a solid pressure that can push and pull.  You really need that flange to make contact with the curves and get that nice seal.  Push and pull and get the pressure to push and pull on the clog.  Hopefully it breaks apart with the pressure.  If not, try out the next item on the list.

Johnny Jolter Pro Plunger

On one of our toilet clogs, it got to be so bad.  Water wasn't draining from the toilet, and whenever we flushed, it only drained from the toilet very slowly.  We were even fortunate to get that.   Sometimes the toilet overflows and gets onto the floor.  You only have to hope that there's no fecal matter in the water.  You've tried to unclog using the plunger, you went out to your big box hardware store and got the plunger with the flange this time, and it's still not working.  Now you need to try the Johnny Jolter Pro Plunger.  This thing can be pretty bulky, but it really gets the job done.  You'll need some water in the toilet already since you'll need to draw in some liquid for the plunger to work on.  Draw up some of the water, and then push it through, and the plunger will create a large amount of force to force through some of those really tight plugs.  It's essentially a giant super soaker for your toilet.

Drain Weasel Disposable Snake

So you're at the bathroom sink and it's slowly draining.  Most of the time it's just getting clogged in the downpipe with hair and it's getting really plugged up.  What's good is that I can be lazy, and get some of these Drain Weasel which are cheap disposable snakes and I won't have to take anything apart.  

Snake

If it's really bad and it's not in the downpipe, and cleaned out the p-trap (that curve at the bottom of the sink), then we'll go with the snake.  It can get pretty manual, so it's nice to get the drill attachments.  Feed the snake in and let it try and grab anything that it can and bring it out, and if not, it'll push it through.

Hydrojet

If you ask a plumber to service your home, the hydrojet seems to be the ridiculously expensive option.  However, I had a pressure washer, and watching someone clear it out it's easier than working with a snake, and you're almost guaranteed to have excellent results.  These can be easily purchased from Amazon, coming within a day or two.  Hook the parts together and connect it to the pressure washer.  Then feed it down the drain, cover the opening so there isn't any splash back, and run the pressure washer as you keep feeding it down.  Moving it back and forth a bit helps with cleaning out the drain.

Sewer camera

If all fails, there's the sewer camera so you can take a look at what's really causing the block.  However, it's starting to get into professional level equipment, and it's probably time to call out a pro and let them know what you've been doing so far.  It's pretty cool though.  You get to see what's in the sewer system, and some systems have a tracker so you can pinpoint where the blockage is.

Conclusion

However you tackle your clog issue, use the right tool for the job.  Starting off small and cheap is the best way to go.  One of the nice things about the big brand stores is that you can buy all the tools that you would need to escalate, and then go back to return anything that you don't end up using.  It's another trip, but it's better than not being able to resolve the issue the first time, going back to the store to get another product, and it's not working, and then you'll need to go and buy another product.  With this list you'll have some direction how to resolve your clog.