This can be a messy job, so be sure to wear clothes you don’t care about ruining and place towels under the pipes you are working on. The following steps are the basic way on how to snake a drain.
1. (Optional) Remove the p trap. This is the curved pipe directly under the sink that connects to the larger sewer pipe system in a house. (This is much easier than trying to remove the drain stopper and maneuver your way down.)
2. (Optional) Remove the trap arm. This is the part of the pipe between the p trap and the pipe that enters the wall. This pipe is usually connected with a metal or PVC nut although sometimes it is glued in place. If it is glued, do not try to remove it.
3. Put the head of the drain auger into the clogged pipe. If you removed the p trap, then insert the snake into the clogged drain line. If you haven’t removed the p trap, you may want to run a small stream of cold water while you snake the drain line to help flush out whatever is causing the blocked drain.
4. Use the handle to uncoil the snake cable down the pipe toward the main drain. You want to keep the handle as close to the entrance to the pipe as possible. This is because the more slack in the cable there is, the less effective it will be. It can also cause the head of the auger to bend back on itself when it reaches the blockage.
5. When you reach the obstructed drain blockage, rotate the cable in a circular motion, and then up and down. Try to break up the clog as much as possible by hand. If you hear any scraping noises, slowly remove the snake and re-adjust. You don’t want to cause any damage inside the sewer line. If the auger head is stuck in the obstruction, try pulling it out slowly. Sometimes the clog will come out with the plumber’s snake. If there is no resistance, uncoil the entire length of the sewer snake into the pipe, and into the main drain.
6. Coil the drain snake back up and remove it from the pipe. Remove any bits of the obstruction attached to the auger head and rinse it off. If you removed the p-trap and trap arm, you should reconnect them.
7. Once removed, and all pipes are re-connected: Run water in the sink to check if the pipe or tub drain is clear. Turn on the faucet that runs into the clogged drain pipe that was cleared to make sure that it is draining properly. If it isn’t, you may want to try snaking it again.