Electric Drain Cleaner

• An auger is basically a flexible cable that can snake through plumbing pipes to reach deep clogs. An electric auger, or electric drain cleaner, takes this simple mechanism a step further and uses an electric motor to power the cable's uncoiling as it stretches deeper into the pipe and recoils back out of the pipe. The cable length often reaches 75 or 100 feet, and the cleaner frequently has a switch to operate the cable in forward or reverse and a foot switch to stop the cable.
  
  

Using an Electric Drain Cleaner

• A toilet may appear sturdy, but it is constructed of porcelain. If you use an electric drain cleaner on it, you'll smash the porcelain apart. Use other methods to unclog a toilet through the toilet drain. If you are unsuccessful, the clog may be deeper in the main drain. An electric drain cleaner works well for cleaning out clogged main drain lines as these lines are much longer and more difficult to reach than toilet drains. Feed the head of the cleaner's cable into a drainpipe cleanout, and operate the cleaner in the forward setting until the cable reaches and breaks up the clog.
  
  

Closet Auger

• The cable on a closet auger is much shorter than that on an electric drain cleaner and usually stretches to about 3 feet in length. Also, unlike the electric drain cleaner, which sits on the floor, a toilet auger is a handheld tool that relies on the user cranking a handle one way to send the cable traveling down the toilet drain and cranking the handle in the opposite direction to retrieve the cable. By holding the auger, the user quickly notices when the moving cable encounters an obstruction and can ease up on sending more cable into the toilet drain.
  
  

Properly Clearing Toilet Clogs

• Because it is designed specifically for deeper clogs, use a closet auger as the next step after you try a plunger on the toilet drain. A plunger creates a suction whose force works on shallow clogs but not deep ones. Carefully place the bottom of the closet auger into the bottom of the toilet drain, hold the shaft with one hand and crank the auger's handle clockwise with the other hand. If you encounter resistance, stop. Pull back on the auger and crank the handle counterclockwise, and then crank it clockwise again. Don't jerk the tool or operate it roughly, or you might easily crack or damage the toilet with the closet auger.