How Does a Rooter Work?

Is your drain blocked? Want to know why? Luckily, we have the answers and, more importantly, our rooter services will be able to fix your clogged drain in no time at all.

What Clogs Drains?
Most anything can clog a drain, but drains in different areas of your house are often exposed to different types of debris that can create blockages.

• Kitchen sinks: the drains under your kitchen sink endure a lot of abuse. Think of all the grease, leftover food, and soggy napkins that end up in there. If these things make it into the drainage system, they can very easily stick together and form a clog.
• Bathtubs and shower drains: bachelors beware, you are still at risk from clogs caused by human hair. Wet hair will stick to anything regardless of length (although longer hair does create slightly larger hairballs). When combined with soap and bits of skin, you have a solution similar to brick and mortar. Small pieces of soap can stick to the inside of a drain and slowly build up a proper blockage, as more and more soap and hair are added to the mix.
• Bathroom sinks: these drains don’t get clogged as often as the others, but are still susceptible to blockages caused by hair and toothpaste combos.

Unclogging Your Drain
Once you have worked out that there is something blocking your drain, sometimes a plunger will do the trick. But if not, you’ll need to hire a qualified plumber to come and fix the problem using a rooter.

What Is a Rooter?
A drain rooter is more commonly known as a drain or plumbers snake. It is also known as an auger, which is a type of drill bit that is used to dislodge difficult plumbing clogs. The plumber operating the rooter will rotate a crank found at the end of the device, causing a metal wire to move down your drain. Eventually, this wire will meet resistance in the form of the mass clogging your drain. In order to get rid of this mass, the plumber will continue to push against it until it gives, or, depending on the type of clog, will rewind the drain snake, bringing the blockage with it.

Once the mass has been removed, all you need to do is run some water through the drain for a few minutes to ensure that there is nothing left of the blockage.

Different Types of Rooters
Depending on the type of drain, there are different drain rooters that one could use to remove a blockage.

• Hand spinner: these are manual rooters that require the operator to physically crank the lever in order to move the drain snake through the blocked drain. They are suitable for most drains excluding those found in toilets.
• Closet/toilet auger: these are specifically designed for toilets. The rooter consists of a relatively short length of wire through hook-shaped metal tubing, making it easier to access the toilet drains.

So, if your partner forgets to clean her hair out of the shower drain, or your kids keep putting leftovers down the kitchen sink, give us a call. Here at Art Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electric we can fix all your clogs.