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If you’ve ever faced a clogged toilet, you know how gross and inconvenient it can be. If this happens when you’re camping in the woods or visiting a friend’s house, there are many ways to solve the problem—including using a toilet auger or plumber’s snake.
Both these tools are designed for clearing out clogs in toilets and other drains, but they’re not always interchangeable.
To find out which one is best for your needs (and when you might want to use both), we’ll discuss how each works and what its main function is:
What Are Toilet Augers?
A toilet auger is a tool designed to clear toilet clogs. The design is simple: the drill has a long handle with a rotating metal head at the end, which you can use to pull out clogs or other obstructions from the toilet drain line.
The auger is often used with a drain snake, which can be inserted into the toilet drain line to dislodge clogs and clear them out of your pipes.
The most common toilet auger has a coiled spring at the end that helps push it through the pipe so that you don’t have to use much muscle power when clearing clogs.
What Is A Plumber’s Snake?
A plumber’s snake is a long, flexible cable that clears clogs in sinks, tubs, and showers. It does not have a guard like a toilet auger but can get through much tighter spaces than most bathroom plungers or augers.
To use a plumber’s snake effectively, you need knowledge about how plumbing works with different types of pipes and drains.
Similarities Between Toilet Auger And Snake
T Shape
The toilet auger and plumber’s snake are T-shaped devices. They are made of plastic, a durable material that can withstand high temperatures and has a quick drying time after cleaning. Both tools clear drain in sinks, toilets, bathtubs, and other water-related fixtures.
Crank
A plumber’s snake and toilet auger have a crank that you turn to advance the snake down into the drain. The crank is usually located at the end of the snake so that you can direct it into place as it goes down.
Once you’ve gained access to whatever is clogging the drain, you’ll be able to use either tool to grab and remove whatever’s blocking things up.
Cable to go into the toilet drain
The toilet auger and plumber’s snake have a cable meant to go into the toilet drain. The cable is flexible and made of metal, and it attaches to a crank on one end and has a hook on the other. This allows you to feed it into your toilet’s drain pipe through your toilet’s overflow tube or a clean-out access point at the bottom of your toilet tank if you have one.
Similar Look
If you’ve seen a plumber’s snake and a toilet auger side by side, you might be inclined to think these two tools are the same.
After all, they’re both T-shaped and have a crank mechanism at the end of their shafts. Toilet augers and plumber’s snakes are, indeed, similar when it comes to their overall design.
Differences between toilet auger and plumber’s snake
Use
Toilet augers are the most common and effective way to clear a clogged toilet. They’re easy to use, compact, and powerful enough to dislodge even the toughest clogs.
Drain snakes offer a surprising versatility for such a small tool: they can be used not only as drains but also to clear clogs in showers, tubs, and sinks.
However, because they’re designed specifically for drains (not toilets), drain snakes tend to be less powerful than augers—which means they often require multiple passes before clearing out stubborn blockages!
Length
The length of a drain snake or toilet auger is a primary difference between the two tools. A standard drain snake is usually 10 to 15 feet long, but some can be as short as nine feet or as long as 20 feet. On the other hand, a toilet auger can extend up to 20 feet in length.
Power
The power source is the main difference between a toilet auger and a snake. A toilet auger has a power cord that must be attached to an electric outlet. On the other hand, the snake is battery-operated and can be used in tight spaces where there isn’t enough room for an electric cord, or you don’t have access to an electric outlet.
A toilet snake has more power than a standard toilet auger, so it can clear blockages where larger objects such as toys or baby wipes may have lodged inside your toilet drain system. While both tools can remove objects from your drain pipes, the strength of each tool will impact how quickly you can complete this task.
Cost
The cost of a toilet auger is relatively low. Because it’s lightweight, the machine can be used by just about anyone without spending much money. While commercial snake machines are very expensive, you need not buy them for your regular household use.
FAQs
Can a toilet auger harm pipe?
It is said that anyone can use these tools to unclog a drain. However, if used incorrectly, drain augers risk making the obstruction worse. You run the risk of damaging your pipes or, worse, jamming the impediment in even further.
How frequently ought one snake their sewer line?
Every 18 to 22 months, company owners should typically have their sewer lines cleaned to keep their pipes in good shape and free of early-stage obstructions. This is especially true for high-risk industries like restaurants and hotels due to increased drain disposal rates.
How much time does it take for a toilet to self-clean?
The toilet will ultimately unclog itself if ordinary things like toilet paper and human waste clog it. The unclogging process can take as little as an hour or as much as 24 hours.
Conclusion
The main difference between them is the design of the cable. This means that as long as you have a good length of cable (at least 10 feet) with an appropriate diameter, you should be able to use any auger or snake on your toilet. The best option for most people will likely be a drill because it requires less work than a snake, but if you have a particularly tough clog, then go ahead and grab one of those.