Drain cleaning technology has come a long way in the last decade and  the changes have meant greater power and versatility for technicians responsible for ensuring drains and piping remain free of clogs, according to an article on the FacilitiesNet website from Facilities Maintenance Decisions magazine.

The challenge is to keep up with essential drain-cleaning tools, including snakes, water jetters, and sectional machines, in order to specify the most appropriate products based on versatility, cost considerations and department and facility needs.

The major improvement related to drain snakes is the increased variety beyond the basic manual 2- to 3-foot trap snakes and toward drill-powered or integral electric corded or cordless models with 100 feet of cable or more. 

In addition to cleaning snakes, technicians can use troubleshooting camera snakes to find and identify the location and type of a clog — clearly an improved method for deciding which cleaning machine to use, the amount of cable, and the attachment best suited to get to the site and clear the clog.

Read the article.