Turbo Snake - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Having a clogged drain can cost you a bundle if you call a professional plumber to fix it. But a little $9 gadget called the 'TurboSnake' is suppose to make it an easy do-it-yourself job saving you money!  Does it work though? This week I 'Try It Before You Buy It' and let you know if the Turbo Snake can really make your troubles go down the drain.

The item marketed as The 'Turbo Snake' comes in two versions. A shower and tub snake and a sink snake. When I first saw the product I thought neither looked like they could do much to clear a clogged drain, but I thought I'd give it a shot on photographer Doug Druschke's sink. He's had the problem of the sink being slow to drain for a long time.

I asked Doug what he's done to try to fix the problem. "I've done several things," Doug says. "I've tried pouring Drano down it, I've tried one of those plastic snake things, nothing seems to work."

So, I decided to use Doug's sink as our test location for the 'TurboSnake'. The product is marketed as the do it yourself answer when it comes to fixing small clogs in your sink or tub all while saving you the big bucks most plumbers may charge you to fix the problem.

The 'TurboSnake' is basically a long heavy wire that's covered in plastic. Once you take it out of the package and straighten it, it's ready to use. After a little struggle I was able to get the 'TurboSnake' to go right down the drain. But before you use it, make sure you read the directions and understand how it's suppose to work. That's something I failed to do, all the while thinking that it was pretty much self explanatory. You want to use the end of the snake as a small handle and twist it clockwise to completely sweep the drain. When the proper technique is used you'd be surprised how easy it is to use. But keep in mind, not all drains are the same, so the 'TurboSnake' may work better on some and not as well on others...in this case it worked.

I was a little disappointed in the amount of hair and junk it pulled out of Doug's sink. I thought there would have been more stuff in there to considering the sink was so slow to drain. But, either way, it did clear the clog!

I later tested the 'TurboSnake' on my own sink at home and luck wasn't as good as with Doug's sink. I wasn't able to get the snake down far enough to clear the clog backing up my drain. So, I had to resort to other measures.

So, after all the testing I would say the 'TurboSnake' does a pretty decent job. But again, it depends on what type of drains you're dealing with and how far down the drain your clog resides. We purchased our 'TurboSnake' at a local Walgreens store, and for $9 I would say it was a good buy.

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