How To Use Drain Rods

There are many ways to clear a clogged drain. Among the most popular tools and supplies that we use include the ever reliable plunger, plumbing snake or the combination of baking soda and vinegar. If you haven’t tried drain rods yet, read on and find out what it is and how it is used.

What are drain rods?

Drain rods are effective unclogging tools that usually come in sets. Each set features polypropylene rods that are about one meter long. Polypropylene is a material that’s commonly used in manufacturing plastic objects, packaging and labeling. It is pretty chemical-resilient which makes these tools very effective for cleaning sewers and drains.

Anyway, drain rods are durable sticks that are pretty difficult to break but are very flexible even on traps and curved pipes. You can use a single rod for shallow drain pipes such as your kitchen sink drain but if you’ll use it in a longer pipe, several rods can be connected or joined together to be able to reach further. Connections or joints are successfully made with the help of screws or in some rods, through pegs or pins. The rods’ joints are commonly made from steel or brass and they are cadmium plated which make them corrosion free.

How do you use drain rods?

1. Remove the drain trap to be able to access the pipe. If there’s another drain near the one you’ll work on, make sure that you’ll plug it with an old rag to avoid backups.

2. Now connect two drain rods together. Make sure that the connection is tight and secured. Attach a plunger head at one end. You’ll use that to unclog the drain.

3. Insert the rod into the drain pipe with the plunger head going in first. Rotate the rods carefully just to help it move further. Take note that you should only rotate the rods clockwise. Rotating them the other way will just unscrew them.

4. When you have touched on a solid object, move the plunger back and forth to get rid of the blockage. Keep on pushing until you have cleared the pipe.

5. Slowly pull the rods out and dispose of waste materials that cling on the plunger head properly.

We hope that we have taught you how to use drain rods. If the problem persists, just hire professional Coral Gables FL plumbers. Plumbers 911 Florida provides top-notch plumbing services in Coral Gables FL including drain pipe cleaning, leak detection, camera sewer inspection, plumbing repair and many more! Call us at 305-662-0668 (Miami-Dade County FL), 954-468-0512 (Broward County FL), 561-327-6287 (Palm Beach County FL) to schedule a service!

Learn how to clean a stinky drain! Watch this video now.