{"id":1045,"date":"2019-08-05T11:00:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/?p=1045"},"modified":"2019-08-01T08:13:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T12:13:07","slug":"hydro-jetter-drain-snake-pros-and-cons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/drain-and-sewer-service\/hydro-jetter-drain-snake-pros-and-cons\/","title":{"rendered":"Hydro-Jetter or Drain Snake? Drain Cleaning Method Pros and Cons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-799\" src=\"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/toilet-plumbing-concerned-woman-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"toilet-plumbing-concerned-woman\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/toilet-plumbing-concerned-woman-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/toilet-plumbing-concerned-woman.jpg 399w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>What\u2019s the best way to clear a clogged drain in your home? Two ideas probably immediately come to mind:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>A basic sink plunger (or toilet plunger in the case of a toilet)<\/li>\n<li>A chemical drain cleaner<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>A sink\/toilet plunger is definitely a good idea to start with. Although these plungers won\u2019t solve tougher clogs, for simple ones they can often get the job done and don\u2019t cause any harm to the plumbing.<\/p>\n<p>Chemical drain cleaners, the type you buy from stores in bottles, are <em>not<\/em> good ideas. In fact, they can end up creating worse troubles for drains and rarely address the whole problem.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to professional drain cleaning, plumbers usually rely on two different methods\u2014hydro-jetting and drain snakes. Hydro-jetting uses powerful blasts of high-pressure water to scour the interior of a drain, and drain snakes (a.k.a. drain augers) are coils that can drill down into clogs to remove them or break them apart.<\/p>\n<p>Which tool your plumber uses will depend on the type of clog and what the plumber believes is the most effective approach.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>The Pros and Cons of the Drain Snake<\/h2>\n<p>Drain snakes come in both hand-cranked and motorized versions. Simple hand-cranked drain snakes can be purchased at stores and are a better option for DIY unclogging attempts than chemical cleaners. If the clog is too obstinate, a professional can use a powerful motorized drain snake.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pros:<\/strong> Drain snakes are a bit easier on older pipes than hydro-jetting, and faster at handling easier clogs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cons: <\/strong>Drain snakes are not as thorough at removing debris and build-up in a drainpipe as hydro-jetting. They are more like temporary solutions for clogs, and not as good a long-term strategy. They also have limits and can\u2019t do much with extremely tough clogs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Pros and Cons of the Hydro-Jetter<\/h2>\n<p>There is no such thing as a DIY hydro-jetter! Doing hydro-jetting requires professional training, otherwise, it can damage pipes or even people. The equipment is also too expensive for most homeowners to purchase.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pros: <\/strong>No drain cleaning method is as complete and thorough as hydro-jetting. It removes all build-up, including obstinate limescale, from the drainpipe walls, and can blast through the toughest obstructions. Because hydro-jetters only use water, they\u2019re environmentally safe.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cons: <\/strong>As mentioned above, hydro-jetting is potentially harmful to drainpipes and can be a safety hazard in untrained hands. The force of the scouring can also be too much for older pipes. Always leave hydro-jetting to a professional.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Call for Drain Unclogging and Cleaning<\/h2>\n<p>For the most part, you won\u2019t have to worry about which tool is the best for your drain unclogging. When you call our licensed professionals for <a href=\"\/service-areas\/fort-thomas-ky-plumbing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">plumbing in Fort Thomas, KY<\/a>, they\u2019ll inspect the drains and the clog and determine which method will do the best job and keep your plumbing in top shape. We only use the finest professional-grade equipment available, and our plumbers have extensive experience with problem-solving all types of plumbing troubles.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"\/contact\/schedule-service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Call Ken Neyer Plumbing, Inc. to schedule drain unclogging.<\/a> Serving Greater Cincinnati and the surrounding Tri State area Since 1972.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to professional drain cleaning, plumbers usually rely on two different methods\u2014hydro-jetting and drain snakes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[72],"tags":[46,109,125],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1045"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1047,"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045\/revisions\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neyerplumbing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}