Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Tool Talk Tuesday: The Power Drum Auger

It's Tool Talk Tuesday once again and today I'm really excited to introduce you to another condo dweller...Lisa, from Condo Blues! She's a girl after my own heart, and has been creating a castle out of her condo with one project after another. She's handy, green, and loves a good bargain...a triple threat in my book! Please give her a warm welcome as she talks to us about the power drum auger!!!

Hi, my name’s Lisa, I blog at Condo Blues and I have slow drains.

“Hi Lisa!” you say.

I learned how to clear a drain using a plunger, the environmentally friendly baking soda and vinegar method, and I admit to a few desperate attempts involving a not so environmentally friendly liquid drain cleaner.

All of those methods worked to some degree, but more often than not, the clog would eventually come back like the monster in a horror movie sequel.

During an unrelated trip to the hardware store my husband popped over to the plumbing aisle and came back with a powder drum auger. I got so excited I hugged him and told him he didn’t have to buy me flowers if he bought me that DIY plumber’s snake.

Idiot, I know. I love it when he buys me flowers. I just happen to love this power tool just a little bit more.

Why? Because this little beauty is snakes through drains and cuts through clogs much easier than a traditional cable auger that uses a hand crank. It’s also the only thing that can cut through a “Gee honey I have no idea what’s making the kitchen sink back up for three days certainly not the old coconut you said I shouldn’t throw down the garbage disposal” situation (in theory.)

The power drum auger fits on a standard power drill.

It’s easy to use, just feed the cable down the drain, and squeeze the trigger on the drill. I recommend wearing protective gloves because the cable will twist and turn while it’s working its way down your pipes. Simply reverse the drill and whatever gunk is clogging your pipes will be attached to auger head.


YUCK! And this was only a tiny clog. You should have seen the giant piece of gunk it cut thought and pulled from the shower drain. I’d show you that photo but it’s not for the faint of heart.

While I’m not thrilled at touching the Son of the Blob that it pulls from my formerly slow and perpetually clogging drains (even with work gloves on ), I do like is that the power drum auger permanently removes clogs from my pipes without the use of harmful chemicals. Once I’ve cleared a drain with the drum auger that bad boy stays clear.

As long I don’t buy coconut flakes.

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Lisa Nelsen-Woods is a writer. Other days she is a foodie, DIYer, decorator, crafter, dog mom, and green gal. Lisa shares green living and money saving tips with a dash of humor on the side in her blog Condo Blues. She has a one eyed rescue dog named Blitzkrieg. He likes carrots.


3 comments:

Jess @ Frugal with a Flourish said...

Great post! I think I need one of those - we always end up with clogs from my hair in the shower! Very cool!

FiftyCentLove said...

That's a great tool, but that pic of the hairclog made me gag. No offense. Even my own hairclogs make me gag and my hubby chases me around the house with it. he said it has to come from me because he's bald! haha!!

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

50centlove - I hear you. You should have seen the ick it pulled from my shower - beyond gross! And this comes from someone who's a FlyLady cleaning addict.