Saw this news story earlier today about a homeowner who tried to DIY unclog their drain with one of those drain snakes and ended up seriously damaging their plumbing. Apparently, they got it stuck and then forced it too hard, causing leaks and a huge repair bill. Made me kinda nervous since I've been thinking about getting one myself for minor clogs. Has anyone here had good or bad experiences using these things?
Drain snakes can be pretty handy, but they're definitely not foolproof. A few things I've noticed from experience:
- If you're gentle and patient, they're usually fine for minor clogs.
- Problems happen when people force them too aggressively or use the wrong size/type snake for their pipes.
- Seen plenty of DIY jobs go smoothly, but also a fair share of disasters from folks getting impatient or frustrated.
Curious though, was the homeowner in that story using a powered snake or just a manual hand-crank one?
