A clogged pipe at some point is inevitable. If DIY remedies like using a drain cleaner have failed to work in your case, you’ve got two options: snaking or hydro jetting. Let’s discuss both of these methods, their pros and cons, and which one is preferable in a given situation.
What is the Snaking Method?
Snaking is one of the oldest and most common ways to clear clogged drains. The tool most plumbers use is a long, flexible metal cable that looks a little like a coiled spring.
That’s the drain snake, also called an auger. On one end, you’ve got a handle or motor, and on the other end, there’s usually a corkscrew-shaped or hook-like tip.
When you or a plumber feeds this cable into a drain, it snakes its way down the pipe, hence the name. Once the cable hits the clog, it can do a few different things. The tip can twist into the clog, break it apart, or latch onto it so it can be pulled back out.
For example, if you’ve got hair balled up in your bathroom sink, a snake can hook it and yank it out. If it’s grease buildup in the kitchen sink, the snake might just drill a hole through it so water can pass again.
Snaking doesn’t necessarily clean the pipe walls. It’s more like poking through or tearing apart the blockage just enough to restore flow. It’s simple, mechanical, and doesn’t require much more than the tool itself. You can even rent or buy small snakes to handle easy clogs on your own.
What is the Hydro Jetting Method?
Hydro jetting takes a very different approach. Instead of using a metal cable, plumbers use high-pressure water. You can think of it like a pressure washer, but not for cleaning your car or driveway, but to blast the inside of your pipes.
The hydro jetting machine connects to a hose with a special nozzle at the tip. This nozzle sprays water at pressures that can reach thousands of pounds per square inch.
The water not only shoots forward, but it also sprays backward and sideways. That way, it scrubs the entire circumference of the pipe that peels away grease, soap scum, scale, or small tree roots.
When the jetting hose is pushed into your drain, the water power cuts through whatever is blocking it and washes it further down the line into the main sewer system. At the same time, it scours the pipe walls clean. That’s the big difference: hydro jetting doesn’t just open a hole in the clog; it restores your pipe close to its original diameter.
Because of the force involved, hydro jetting is always recommended to be done by professionals. They inspect the pipes first to make sure they can handle the pressure. If your pipes are too old or fragile, this method might be risky. But when it’s safe, it’s one of the best ways to clean a drainage system.
Pros and Cons of Snaking
Advantages of Snaking
Snaking has been around for decades, and for good reason. It’s reliable for what it does. Let’s break down why people still use it today:
- If you’ve got a simple clog due to food scraps, paper, or hair, snaking clears it in minutes. You don’t need heavy equipment, and plumbers can finish the job fast.
- The labor cost is way less in snaking than in hydro jetting because it doesn’t need expensive machines or huge amounts of water.
- You can find manual or motorized drain snakes at your nearby hardware stores for a low price. If you’re handy, you can clear small clogs on your own without calling a plumber.
- If something solid, like a child’s toy or a clump of hair, blocks the pipe, a snake can grab it and pull it back out.
- For plumbing pipes that are weak, snaking is a safer choice than blasting water at high pressure.
Disadvantages of Snaking
Snaking isn’t perfect, and it does have some drawbacks:
- In most cases, snaking drills a small hole through the clog instead of fully removing it to let the water pass, but the buildup on the pipe walls stays behind. Within weeks or months, the same clog can form and block the water again.
- In long sewer lines or clogs that are really deep in your plumbing, a snake might not reach far enough.
- Drain snakes don’t wash grease, minerals, or sludge off the walls of the pipes and just postpone the problem.
- Sometimes, the tip of the snake just pushes the clog further down the line rather than removing it. This means you’ll deal with the clog again later, but in a deeper spot, which is hard to access.
Pros and Cons of Hydro Jetting
Advantages of Hydro Jetting
Hydro jetting has become the gold standard in modern drain cleaning because of how powerful and thorough it is. Here’s why plumbers love it and recommend it in tough cases:
- The water jets don’t just poke a hole through the clog but blast all of the debris away, and the pipe walls are practically scrubbed clean.
- Since hydro jetting removes buildup, it delays new clogs for a long time.
- Thick grease, sludge, and emerging tree roots are no match for the pressure of a hydro jet. It’s strong enough to deal with clogs that a snake simply can’t manage.
- Restaurants, hotels, and other businesses with heavy drain use always rely on hydro jetting. This is because grease and food waste pile up quickly in those environments, and jetting clears it out before it causes shutdowns.
Disadvantages of Hydro Jetting
Although it’s powerful, hydro jetting isn’t always the right answer:
- The equipment is expensive, and it requires trained professionals. Also, a lot of water is used in jetting. That means the service costs more than snaking, sometimes significantly.
- Older pipes or those weakened by corrosion may crack under pressure.
- This isn’t something you can rent and try yourself, and it takes skill to handle the pressure.
- If you just have hair stuck near the sink trap, calling for hydro jetting is unnecessary.
- Hydro jetting pushes the cleared debris from one spot to further down the line, which doesn’t always solve the problem.
How to Choose Between Snaking and Hydro Jetting
Now comes the big question. Which method should you use for your drains? The answer depends on the situation.
Go for snaking if you have a single, simple clog close to the drain opening. Maybe hair in a bathroom sink, food scraps in the kitchen, or a small toy flushed down the toilet. Snaking is affordable, fast, and less risky for older pipes.
Call for hydro jetting if you’re dealing with repeated clogs, slow drains in multiple fixtures, or foul smells from deep inside the pipes making their way into your property. It’s also the method of choice for main sewer lines, commercial kitchens, or when tree roots are the real culprits.
In short, snaking is like poking a straw to get liquid flowing again, and on the other hand, hydro jetting is like flushing the straw with high-pressure water so it’s spotless. If your problem keeps coming back, hydro jetting is the long-term fix. If it’s just a one-time clog, snaking usually does the job.
Conclusion
Both hydro jetting and snaking are useful, but that depends on whether the clog is stubborn or not.
If you are doubtful of your situation, it is always a good idea to call in a professional like the California Coast Plumbers to come and have a look at the root cause and let me provide you with a budget-friendly fix.