Tried using a dollar store drain snake on a clogged kitchen sink

Last Tuesday my kitchen sink was draining slow so I grabbed one of those cheap plastic drain snakes from the corner store. Paid $1.50 for it, figured what could go wrong. Snapped off inside the pipe after about 10 seconds of twisting. Had to call a plumber who charged me $180 to fish out the broken piece and clear the clog. Learned the hard way that those flimsy things are just a waste of money and time. Anyone else had one of those little snakes break on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

fisher.taylor25d ago

Wait $180?! Man that's brutal. I almost threw my phone across the room reading that. I've had the same thing happen except mine snapped and then I spent two hours trying to grab the broken end with pliers. Made the clog 10 times worse. Ended up just jamming a wire hanger down there which also broke. Had to take the whole trap apart and dig everything out by hand. Never touching those dollar store snakes again.

avery_stone9524d ago

Read a plumbing forum post once where a guy said those cheap snakes are basically just steel wire with a handle stuck on, and after my experience I 100% believe it lol. The one I used literally twisted up like a spiral and then just snapped clean off when I pushed too hard against whatever was in there. Sucked so bad because then you've got this broken piece of metal floating around in your pipes along with the original clog. Honestly feels like they design those things to break on purpose so you'll have to call a plumber or buy a real snake.