PowerSpin Plus Drain Opener
Squeeze trigger and cable feeds and retracts automatically
I live in an old house that preceded indoor plumbing. I haven’t had any plumbing blocked drain issues for years and those I was able to fix using a plain plumber’s snake and basically brute force. Those chintzy handles that come with them just don’t work to twist the snake (at least for me), so it was a matter of repeatedly jamming the snake into the drain until it went around the bends and broke through the blockage. Well, I met my match. From the cleanout I had to go through two 90-degree bends and one 45-degree bend to get to where the pipe was blocked. Hours later I realized that my plain jane snakes and brute force weren’t going to work this time. My collection of snakes just wouldn’t go where they needed to be.
Visions of finding a plumber and a $200 bill didn’t sound good. I’d seen power snakes before and thought of them as more of a fancy “pro” gimmick than any kind real improvement over what I had. I was sure wrong on that. It was time to escalate my drain cleaning arsenal. Did some research and found a likely looking candidate at Home Depot (I wanted it now). Reviews are very good, price ($40) reasonable. I liked the idea that I could either crank by hand or connect to my cordless drill. I read the instructions (that’s unusual) and connected the drill. Started the snake into the pipe, held it up to it and pulled the trigger on the front of the snake, pulled the drill trigger and let the snake slowly fed out and twisted and fed itself down the pipe. It found the turns and went into them with no effort. Into the blockage and I could feel no resistance. Keeping the snake trigger pulled, I put the drill into reverse and the snake backed out, coiling itself back into the drum. When I saw the disgusting wad of gunk it had, I stopped, cleaned it off and ran it down one more time. A little more gunk and the water was flowing freely. I kid you not, this thing was like magic. Five minutes and no real effort on my part.
I have only needed it that one time (knock on wood), but it is still like new. I cleaned off the snake, sprayed it with WD-40 and wound it back into the drum ready for the next time. Money well spent.
03/2/18Ridgid PowerSpin Plus Drain Opener, 25 ft. ($41)
