Drainx Pro 50-FT Heavy Duty Steel Drum Drain Auger Plumbing Snake with Work Gloves and Storage Bag

Story time. Months ago, the particle board underlayment in our kitchen floor began to swell and soften---just in spots, at first, along the joints and and near the cabinets. But it spread. The undulations could be felt underfoot, soleful messages that something's not right down there. Some vinyl tiles loosened. "We're splashing too much water from the sink," I guessed. Then we noticed that water was seeping from the cracks between the vinyl tiles even after days of not splashing anything on the floor. "Something is leaking," we realized, with that little feeling of dread and the "oh no" thoughts that come with a realization like that: "How bad is it? Is it going to be something bigger than I can handle myself? What kind of damage is it doing? What's this going to cost? Is the floor rotting? Are we going to punch through and find ourselves standing knee deep in our kitchen?" I grabbed a flashlight and investigated. I got down on the floor and pulled the skirt from the front of the dishwasher and felt around with my bare hand---carefully, avoiding electrical wires. The floor under the left side of the dishwasher was wet, so I presumed the dishwasher was the source of the leak. The machine had a few years on it, and I wasn't interested in searching for parts to repair it. I wasn't too thrilled about shelling out a few hondos for a new one either, but I chose that as the quickest and easiest fix. I found one on sale---a lesser model, a downgrade from the one we were replacing---at a local big box home improvement store. But a few weeks after installing the new dishwasher, the floor was still wet. It's not my favorite thing to do, but I suited up like an astronaut and wriggled into the crawlspace under the kitchen floor to investigate. I shined a light across the top of the concrete block foundation on the side of the house under the kitchen sink. A ten-foot length of the sill of the house was wet along its bottom edge. Stained dark, it looked to have been wet for some time. I couldn't spot an obvious point of entry for the water. After an exterior inspection, I assembled some clues and tried to deduce the source of the problem: A valley of the roof terminated right over the area. I also noted that a drain vent stack poked up through the roof right next to the valley. A wrinkled soffit panel under the eave looked to have taken some water damage. I theorized that water was slowly entering by a leak in the valley or around the vent stack, then making its way down between the wall and exterior brick veneer, and from there soaking into the floor. I rigged safety lines (I always do), set up a ladder, climbed onto the roof, and smeared around a couple of gallons of Henry's roof patch, making sure to spread it generously under the shingle tabs and the flashing around the vent stack. It was a bright, hot day. I remember that. A rainless week or two later, the floor was still wet. Befuddlement and more head scratching ensued. This time we guessed the supply line to the refrigerator's ice maker was the culprit, even though the fridge was on the other side of the kitchen. Maybe the line was leaking and the water was wicking between the subfloor and particle board and finding its way across the kitchen and making its way up and out. We pulled the refrigerator away from the wall and took a look. Dry as a bone. Finally, finally, I began to put things together. The kitchen sink drain exits through the wall behind the sink, takes a left, then makes another turn down to connect to the waste pipe and vent stack via a wye. The wye is located in the wall above the subfloor, so I couldn't see it from the crawlspace. What was happening, I began to think, was a clog in the main drain pipe below the wye was backing waste water up into the vent stack, but not high enough to back all the way into the sink. Waste water was leaking from the joint of the vent onto the sill and into the floor when it was backed up. I disconnected the P-trap under the sink. A lot of water spilled out of the drain pipe sticking out of the wall. Clog confirmed. I already owned a 25-foot hand-cranked drain snake. I returned to the crawlspace to see if I could loosen the drain pipe's cleanout plug to snake the line. The house's plumbing is over fifty years old, and the plug was stuck fast. I returned to the kitchen and tried snaking the line from under the sink, but the snake couldn't make the three turns to get into the main line. "What if I run a snake down from the roof through the vent stack?" I wondered. I knew the drain pipe layout; the snake would only have to make one 45-degree turn instead of three, and there was nothing in the line past that point that could be damaged. But the snake I owned wasn't long enough to do the job. I was already 300-plus dollars into this project with the new dishwasher and roof patching compound. I wasn't too thrilled about spending more money for a longer snake, but I ordered this fifty-footer. Long story longer, I rigged the safety lines again, set up the ladder, and climbed back on the roof. I fed the snake down the mouth of the vent stack, which swallowed it hungrily thanks to some assistance from our good friend gravity. Gravity also added some oomph when I pushed the snake through resistance in the pipe. I first felt some resistance when the head of the snake met the wye and made the turn. Then I felt another spot of resistance. There were no more turns or wyes, so I assume the snake had found the clog. I cranked the drum handle a few times, jogged the line up and down like a plunger, and the resistance gave way. I fed in another few feet of line just to make sure there were no more clogs, then I retracted the snake (eww, grimy). I followed up by pouring a gallon of liquid drain cleaner down the vent stack. After climbing down from the roof, I pulled the full length of snake out of the drum, laid it on the driveway, and sprayed it off with a hose. I left it to dry before pushing it back into the drum. So, here's the review of the snake: It's good. The drum of the snake is metal, and the collar that feeds the snake and holds the thumbscrew is metal too. I noticed complaints in earlier reviews that the collar was plastic and wasn't holding up, so the metal collar must be an upgrade. This snake is not going to chew out any roots, but it will work on typical drain clogs. The included gloves are a bit small, but they're okay. I just used disposable nitrile gloves. The not-so-happy part of all this is I discovered that the drain pipe in the kitchen wall has a leak that still leaks even though the clog has been cleared. So I'll be rerouting the kitchen drain pipe to bypass all that pipe in the wall. The happier ending to this story is that I didn't spend much more than I would have had I called a pro to snake the drain. And the new dishwasher, although a cheaper model than our previous one, outcleans the old one by far. And, judging from the wrinkled eave soffit, the roof probably needed a little patching anyway. And we know there's no leak in the ice maker supply line behind the fridge. And PVC parts to reroute the kitchen sink drain are inexpensive. And I still have a fifty-foot plumbing snake if I need it again.

The gloves are absolutely terrible and do not protect you from anything that comes out of the drain. That said, the actual product works wonders. My tub was backed up, clogged, and wouldn't drain almost at all. I originally used one a cheaper drain insert to try and grab the clog, but nothing was coming up. This thing grabbed something LARGE, rotten, and matted (it was a massive wad of my hair [hopefully]) that was blocking my older pipes. It was easy, quick, and although gross, wildly convenient - and cheaper than calling a plumber to come do the same thing. It's also flexible without being too stiff and the head fit through the little drain flap at the back of the pipe; the the directions are a little funky, but still 10/10. Would highly recommend as a step before getting a plumber.

I had a massive, long term clog somewhere deep under the monolithic slab my house sits on. The 25" snake at Homeless Despot was not long enough, the Roto-Rooter guy was convinced I had a broken pipe under my solid concrete floor and wouldn't touch it. It took some serious work and a lot of cussing but this tool got the job done and I didn't have to jackhammer the floor in my dining room. Pros: value, the snake is sturdy, even 50' down and didn't tie itself in a knot no matter how hard I beat it. It didn't break at all Cons: the wingnut to lock the snake is small and tedious to use, I'd have paid extra for a locking lever or even a bigger wingnut, the plastic fore grip feels like it will break and is thin in my hand (I beat this thing, it did not break), the hurricane knob on the back could be a little bigger and should be mounted a little closer to center so you don't smash your knuckles on the wall when spinning it. Overall, this tool saved me a huge headache and a massive amount of money and is something I will always have if I need it. I hope this helps!

Buy THIS ONE if you have a backed up sink. Why? It works. period. Well made - the housing is steel, NOT plastic. Mine has a 50 foot long cable. Don't get cheap and get one with less cable. You WILL need all 50 feet to clear the drain! This one has 1/4" cable. Do NOT get thicker cable because it is too stiff to turn corners when it if fully extended. Comes with gloves. You WILL get muck on your hands so wear gloves. They aren't great, just vinyl dipped knit, but good enough for a use or two. How to: do you have access to a roof vent? If so, keep reading... Run some water into the blocked-up sink. Have a 'helper' on cellphone (speaker) tell you what they observe at the sink. Pull the paper lid off the drum and discard. If you are adventurous and able to do so, go up on the roof. If you fall off, don't blame me :>) Loosen the thumb-screw and pull out a couple of feet of cable and drop it down the vent-pipe. Now, holding the drum directly over the top of the vent pipe, pull out cable and drop it until it stops. You have either found the FIRST blockage, or come to a 90, or a tee. Tighten the thumb-screw with about 6" of cable between the top of the vent and the drum and crank the handle. Don't hold back - CRANK IT! Do NOT have a length of more than 6" of cable between the drum and the vent pipe when cranking, it could kink!!! As soon as either the blockage clears, or the tip navigates past the 90 or tee, you will feel a 'drop'. Loosen the thumb-screw and repeat. And repeat. Be sure to stay in communication with the helper. They will tell you when water drains!!! Go all the way out the full 50 feet, then pull the cable back into the drum. Clean-up and maintenance: do you have a laundry sink? Good... if not a bucket and hose will do. Rinse the cable/drum well with water, then squirt a generous amount of laundry or dish soap in the drum and flood it with water to wash it out real good. If you have a compressor, leaf blower, etc blow it dry, or set it in the sun to drain/dry. Once dry, spray inside with WD-40 or your favorite anti-rust agent. Let dry. Now it is ready for the next use. Read this note twice before work. Good luck!!!!!

Needed the length to snake out my central vac lines It worked. The wire snake was fine and worked as expected. Did not use it on an actual clogged drain, yet. THE ONLY ISSUSE WITH THIS PRODUCT IS THE HANDLE GUN GRIP. IT IS FLIMSY FOR THE WEIGHT OF THE 50 FOOT SNAKE LINE. (Would probably be OK a 25 foot snake line, which I think this grip is actually for but they just used it anyway). A few times when spinning to turn a corner I could feel it give and bend ( that's when I backed off so as not to break it). SO, SNAKE GOOD, HANDLE GRIP BAD.

I had a severely clogged tub and bathroom sink. I bought this auger because it had the best reviews and because it had a uniform coil at the end. It arrived quickly and I went to work. I was able to unclog the tub rather quickly when I fished out a disgusting hair clog the size of fair sized trout! I will save you the disgust of adding a photo but trust me it was impressive, lol! The sink actually took more time that the tub and required more finesse to feed the snake in but it too cleared in no time. The hair clog in it was no where near as impressive as the tub though. So, I recommend this auger because it is both easy to use and provides a fair amount of comedic entertainment!

Paid for itself the first use! I had a clogged tub. I had never used a pipe snake until now so my journey took a bit longer than necessary. First tried going through the tub drain and the tip of the snake was too thick to fit through the piece that holds the drain cover on my Kohler tub. I was able to use pliers to narrow down the end of the snake and fit through the drain, only to find out that when I pushed it the snake came out the overflow drain at the top of the tub instead of going down the sewer side of the intersection. Then I realized that I should probably be going in through the overflow drain instead. So I ran the snake down the overflow drain, and water started draining a bit better. I turned the snake a few turns and pulled the snake out and it came out without anything and the entire drain stopped flowing altogether. I realized that whatever was clogging I must have pulled back into the narrow part of the pipe and lodged it there and it didn't come out with the snake. So I sent the snake back down until the water started draining again and this time I turned the snake from the handle several times more to catch the blockage. Pulled (it required some strength actually because the clog was really bad) and after a few hard tugs, a 6" plug of hair and soap scum and other unidentifiable stuff came out. Great success! Now the drain flows superbly, and I didn't have to spend $100 on a plumber to come out, and next time I already have a pipe snake so the savings will continue!

The drain line from my bathroom sink was backed up, and liquid plumber could not unplug it. I fortunately had previously bought the DrainX Drain Auger Pro months earlier to have it in my tool chest just in case I ever needed it. The DrainX drain auger worked great and was easy to use (see picture 1). They have a number of videos on YouTube that show how to use this tool properly. I would not hesitate to recommend getting one to have around just in case the need ever arises. It certainly is cheaper than calling a plumber. In retrospect I wish I would have bought the next model up. The only criticism I have of this model is that the handle is a little flimsy, otherwise its solidly constructed. I had one small problem using it, when I tightened the thumbscrew that anchors the snake line it sheered the bracket off (see picture 2) (might have been a flaw in metal of that one part). I immediately contacted the company by email and the very next day they had responded, and quickly sent out a replacement part. I really appreciated their customer service and how they stand by their product.

The DrainX Auger worked like a charm completely clearing my drain in just minutes. Its pretty gross but a tone of hair came out. Pics are gross ( sorry) but shows it works so well ! There was a negative review that mentioned a malfunction of the unit but in further reading it became clear that the user was not using it properly. You must read instructions or watch a YouTube video on how to use a snake/auger. The long steel coil is not supposed to wind back in by turning/cranking of the handle! You extend and retract the coil by manually pulling and pushing it in and out. The turning of the crank handle is done only once the steel coil auger is pushed into the drain and the coil is locked into place with the screw to hold it once it hits a blockage - then you crank the handle and push the whole DrainX unit at the same time. The cranking of the handle spins the locked steel auger and the added pressure digs into the blockage .

I've had a 2" drain that's slowly been clogging up over the course of 10 years. It finally become too much when the shower upstairs started overflowing into the shower downstairs and the washing machine was overflowing its fill pipe. I got this item in almost less than a day since ordering it. I was able to fish it into the cleanout opening in most easy spots. I then had to do the twisting motion for any sudden turns and blockages. I had zero issue using it. It worked extremely well. I do recommend this length as I needed more than 25'. The 50' is really handy. I like how it easily comes in and out of the metal spool. The plastic handle was no issue for me at all. Unless you're really rough with it and drop it or something, you shouldn't have a problem. My drain now works better than ever. No more overflow on any floor drain, or lower bathroom drain. This was less than half an hour of easy work I should have done a long time ago.

It's nice for its money. Not so easy to use as fully automatic electric versions, but it's doing its work nice!

It really unclogged the clogged kitchen sink. But keep in mind these: After your job is finished, remember to wash the snake with high pressure water and also spray WD40 to the metal parts so that it will not get rusted and you can use it later as well.

As shown in the description, it connects to a power gun in the back. But it didn’t come with it. Other than that the tool is ok it will do the job but manually only by pulling the snake by hand.