What is a Plumber's Snake?

With this imaginative name, you might be forgiven for thinking that reptile ownership is a requirement for plumbers. A plumber's snake or augur is actually a device which is used to clean blocked drains. Snakes come in a range of sizes, sometimes with special configurations which make them suitable for use in specific circumstances, like unclogging toilets. Many hardware stores carry plumber's snakes to assist people with small household clogs, and some also rent out larger snakes for more serious problems. Plumbers also, of course, carry snakes in their vans. The basic design of a plumber's snake consists of a long coiled wire attached to a crank. The crank is turned in a clockwise direction to slowly force the plumber's snake into the clogged pipeline. In some cases, a plumber's snake may actually pick items up as it moves, in which case they are removed from the coils of the wire when it is pulled out of the plumbing. In other instances, a plumber's snake breaks up the cause of ...  more

A plumber's snake is a hose like item, pushed down into the pipes to help clean out clogs.  more