Types of Drain Cleaning Machines

A clogged drain can be a massive pain for any home owner to deal with. They back up the flow of not just water, but home life in general. When drain clog chemicals are not doing the job, this is when the professionals get called in. There are a number of different ways to go about solving the issue, but the most efficient involves a drain cleaning tools such as a drain cleaning machine. Depending on the drain system in place, the kind of clog being dealt with, and a wide variety of other factors that often come into play, there are different types of drain cleaning machines that all have their advantages for cleaning sewer lines. Spartan Tool is here today to walk you through the basics of some of the most common sewer drain cleaners.

What are the Types of Drain Cleaning Machines?

Drain cleaning machines come in a wide variety of different shapes and sizes, each utilizing a different source of power and having their own individual applications for which they are the best professional practice. Understanding what these types of small sewer machines are as well as where each kind can come in handy can be a massive help in getting a drain unclogged in a quick and efficient manner. The following is a list of the most common types of drain cleaners, what they are, and how they can best be of assistance to you when clearing a clog out of a line.

Handheld Cable Machines

One of the most common drain cleaning tools that is often reached for first after liquid drain cleaners have proven to be ineffective against a clogged drain is a hand drain cable machine. These hand operated machines have the ability to reach down into a drain of a sink, toilet, or shower using a professional grade drain cable to get a wide array of different things, including but not limited to: clumps of hair, food waste, mud clumps, and more.

Handheld cable machines can also be good for reach jewelry, small toys, or other objects that have fallen down into a pipe without having to get out the wrenches and remove pipes from where they are connected. Hand cable machines typically work in tandem with augers, which are tools that have a hook and loop design that makes it so that the operator can grab onto the source of the drain clog and can pull it out with ease.

Drum Machines

Some times, however, a drain cleaning job requires a piece of hardware that brings more to the table than a typical hand cable machine is able to. This could be for any number of reasons, such as the clog being noticeably farther down a line than a standard hand cable machine is able to. Powered either by gas or electricity, drum cable machines are a form of drain auger that are able to provide the power and force necessary to break through tough blockages that are situated far down into a drain and get water flowing again.

Cable drum machines work best with drains that measure between 3/4" to 10” in diameter. When ridding a line of whatever obstruction is barring the path of water, cable drum machines will use either a cutter or cable attachment. Which one gets used is dependent entirely upon the type of obstruction that is being dealt with at a given moment.

Continuous cable machine pieces may consist of cables that measure up to 25’, 50’, 100’ or more in length and may vary in said length. They are joined by only a couple of different couplings. When being operated however, it is usually not necessary for more cables to be added onto the one(s) that are already in use.

Unlike sectional cable machines however, continuous cable machines are one entire unit. They consist of the drum, the power auger unit, and the cable, which are all attached to one another. This does make them a little more difficult to transport and store, but the results are often considered to be well worth the trade-off. Some of the major upsides for drum machines is that not only do they operate faster than other auger based drain cleaning machines, but they also never have any splatter due to the cable all being contained within its drum.

Hydro Jetter Cleaners

As we have seen in a variety of contexts in nature as well as a variety of human devised applications, water can be an incredibly powerful and effective force for getting most things moved from one place to another. Liquid when moving at a high enough velocity can move solids like rocks, trees, and even buildings. Because of this, the same idea can be applied to removing tough obstructions from a line through the use of a hydro jetter cleaner.

How hydro jetter drain cleaners work is relatively simple. The operator will feed the jetter’s hosepipe with the appropriate nozzle attachment down into the drain or sewer that is experiencing a blockage. From there, the hydro-jetter can be activated to use powerful high pressure water based force (up to 35,000 psi, depending on the machine being used) to help you get rid of whatever clog is causing the blockage down in the line.

That being said, hydro jetter drain cleaning machines are good for more than just ridding drains and sewers of blockages. Additionally, they are capable of effectively removing undesirable contaminants that can often be found down drains and sewers, such as grease and oils. This useful ability in turn makes hydro jetter drain cleaning machines a useful tool for taking preventative measures to keep pipes in good condition and unblocked. Regular use of a hydro jetter drain cleaner in a drain or sewer can end up saving owners a great deal of time, hassle, headache, and money in the long run.

Video Inspection Machines

It can be a massive pain to deal with a drain that keeps on clogging time and time again. You can take all steps necessary and use some of the most powerful and effective hardware currently on the market, but some times the same drain or sewer will keep becoming clogged. When this happens, it is time to get a closer look at what is going on and causing this to happen. This is where a drain video inspection system can be a massive help.

With a video inspection system, it is much easier to see what is causing a clog to happen, as with other methods, you can only make an educated guess at best. When you can get a look at what you are dealing with, you can not only see what is going on, but then take the necessary steps to prevent it from ever happening again. As a result, this can save your customers a lot of money and potentially damaged plumbing later on. Plus, it keeps you from having to open up or dig up a pipe system, saving you tremendous time and effort as well.

Video inspection systems are typically set up with a camera that has high resolution which is then mounted onto a flexible rod that can bend in a variety of different ways. The operator will then insert the rod with the camera attached to it down the drain or sewer. As the camera is making its way down the line, it will begin recording all images it comes across. This will allow you to identify where the issue is happening down in the drain or sewer system and also what the issue happens to be.

What is the Best Drain Cleaning Machine for the Job?

We have talked about a wide variety of different types of drain cleaning machines today. You may be wondering what the best tool for the job is, depending on what is currently clogging up a line. Naturally, each of these drain cleaning machines have their own individual strengths, and you will want to know what they may be before you go ahead and invest any serious money into them. To help you get a quick understanding of what kind of sewer clog or drain clog is best cleaned by which type of sewer cleaning machine, we have compiled the following information:

Grease Clogs

Grease clogs typically happen when grease is dumped down a drain frequently, as well as dishes with greasy content getting washed in the same sink over and over. When a clog from grease happens and household cleaners are not doing the job, an auger based drain cleaning machine or a hydro jetter are the best go-to tools for the job.

Hair Clogs

Hair gets everywhere, and nowhere is this true more than when it comes to the shower or over the sink. Whether it is from shaving or washing, hair can often accumulate in the plumbing and cause a clog. When this happens, you fortunately have a number of options available to you in regards to how to deal with it. Drain cleaning machines like drum machines, hydro jetter machines, auger based machines, and hand cable machines are all viable options for getting water flow going again.

Vegetation Clogs

Tree roots and other kinds of vegetation getting into plumbing can be an absolute nightmare to deal with, as household drain cleaners and many other professional grade solutions do not stand a chance. However, by using cable drum machines with blades and other attachments specific to removal of vegetation from pipe and sewer lines, you can get roots out of the plumbing again with no problem.

Object Clogs

Things like jewelry, toys, and other smaller objects frequently seem to find their way into sinks, toilets, drains, and other parts of a buidling’s plumbing. When you find yourself dealing with a situation where you need to remove an obstruction caused by such objects, there are plenty of ways to go about dealing with it. You will need to of course take into consideration the size and shape of the object. However, auger based drain cleaning machines, hand cable machines, cable drum machines, as well as hydro jetters are all viable options.