Hello DIYers,
so here’s my embarrassing predicament... we had a clog in upstairs bathroom sink drain. I went through the steps (plunger, baking soda/vinegar, wet dry vac, snake). Nothing was working. Even went on roof and looked in stack - there was a nest about 8 years ago causing a clog so I gave it another shot. Nothing. Tried a new snake today, my old one was rusty and kinked. Snakes about the full 25’ felt like I cleared the clog but now the snakes stuck. I’ve tugged, pulled, shook, etc with nothing. Sooo I cut the coil thinking I’d have an easier time moving it in and out to loosen it up. Nothing. So I reassembled the trap turned the water on and the clogs gone, but there’s a 25’ 1/4” coil still in there I’ll have to deal with. Any ideas? Can I access through crawl space if it even made it that far? Give it some time and try to pull out again? Leave it u til the next clog? Thanks for all your help!

 

How much is stuck in ?
It must come out or it will create clogs.

If you can't pull the snake out by hand.... try a pair of vise grip pliers on it.
Depending on the type of head on the end.... you may have to turn counterclockwise and pull at the same time.

 

Just about all 25’ are in there. I tried linesman pliers to get a good grip and pushed and pulled and nothing. I was trying to remain as calm as possible and resist the urge to pull as hard as possible and potentially risk damaging the pipe. Last thing I need is water dripping from second floor. I’ll try the vise grip Idea and try to turn in any direction.

 

If it had a coiled head on it..... turning counterclockwise will be helpful.
It sounds like your snake got stuck in a tee fitting.

 

Ridgid kwikspin
i used the ridgid kwikspin in the link above. I gave up for today but was looking for some ideas for tomorrow. I’ll try the counterclockwise spins. Thanks

 

I have the same snake. I've had it stuck in the wall too and just had to bang it around.
It definitely uses the clockwise auger so counterclockwise will help release it.

 

Wanted to send an update. I was able to get back to my sink today and a huge THANK YOU to PJmax ! I used the channel locks and the counterclockwise motion worked to get the snake coil out of the drain with an ungodly amount of hair and gunk. This took some time and I cut the coil with snips every two feet or so as it came out but eventually got to a point where I could simply pull back out. Again thank you to PJmax for answering the call!!! Much appreciated and I hope you have a great weekend.

 

Good job. Thanks for letting us know how you made out.

 

I guess the snake did it's job. I believe you could avoid issues like that in the future if you get on a regimen of preventive drain maintenance with a good enzyme drain cleaner. When we bought our house 32 years ago we had regular drain issues with the 4" cast iron drain piping under the basement floor. Since I started using enzyme drain cleaner on a monthly basis I haven't had a problem in over 30 years.