While a toilet plunger should be effective at getting rid of most toilet clogs, there are times when you have a stubborn clog that does not dislodge even after several tries with the plunger. If may be time to use a toilet snake or toilet auger to solve the problem. As a toilet snake costs between $30 to $50, you’ll save money from having to hire a plumber the first time you use one.
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Before we get started on explaining how to use a toilet snake, a short note on terminology as this can get confusing. The words toilet snake, plumbing snake, plumber’s snake, closet auger, closet snake and toilet auger are all used interchangeably, but refer to the same tool. A toilet snake is very similar to a drain snake, but has a shorter cable (it only needs to be long enough to access the toilet trap-way) and a protective sleeve so that you don’t damage the porcelain of the toilet (see below).
How to snake a toilet
At its simplest, a toilet snake consists of a flexible cable with a coiled wire bit at one end and a handle on the other end. The cable retracts and extends from a hollow tube when the handle is turned either clockwise or anti-clockwise.
When purchasing a toilet snake, look for models that have a protective rubber coating along the J shaped section at the base of the hollow tube from which the cable extends. This is the part that will come into contact with your toilet, and the rubber coating is designed to minimize scratches and other damage to the porcelain. A well designed model is this sturdy 3-Feet Home Toilet Auger by Ridgid.
Steps to using a toilet snake
- Put on a pair of gloves, ideally a non-slip variety.
- Ensure that the cable is retracted back into the hollow tube so that only the coiled wire bit hangs off the end. Do a last minute check to ensure that the wire bit is not too large for your toilet. You don’t want it to get stuck. When purchasing it’s a good idea to stick to the smaller bit sizes than the larger ones.
- Place the coiled bit inside the entrance to the toilet trap-way. The protective sleeve should rest against the bottom of the toilet bowl.
- Turn the handle at the other end of the auger slowly to extend the cable into the toilet trap-way. This process is called snaking a toilet. You may have to be quite firm in your actions as your goal is to push the cable through the various bends in the piping to reach the clog.
- Once you feel the resistance of the clog, turn the handle a few more times if you can. This should have the effect of driving the bit into the clog and either hooking onto it, or dislodging it and pushing it out towards the main drain.
- Then turn the handle in the opposite direction to retract the cable, pulling it back out into the toilet bowl. Ideally as the wire bit comes into the bowl it will have the clog hooked on the end of it. If it doesn’t don’t worry, just repeat the above steps a few times until you are confident that the trap way is clear.
- Flush the toilet a few times to complete the steps.
A toilet snake should be effective in dislodging even difficult hard clogs. Fallen shampoo bottles, toothbrushes and toilet fresheners (especially those that hang on the rim of the toilet as these have been known to unhook and fall into the bowl) are the most common causes of hard toilet clogs.
