Cobra Products 400 Zip-It Drain Cleaning Tool
by Cobra Products
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List Price: Our Price: $2.09 You Save: $1.30 (38%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $1.99 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Cobra Products 400 Zip-It Drain Cleaning Tool
Customer Review: Works...And Reusable....Like They All Are...Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw an ad on TV for the "turbo snake" that got me hunting down something similar here on Amazon. First up, don't buy the turbo snake from its online site, or on the phone. Like all these pitchman products they slaughter you with the S&H, and you can do much better here on Amazon. The turbo snake, like this product and many other variations on Amazon are basically a thick flexible nylon or plastic strip around 18" long that have some kind of teeth at the end designed to grab and extract the hair and gunk that gets caught in the trap of bathroom sinks and tubs. Most of the products you will see here on Amazon,(including the turbo snake) claim they are for one application only. (Something they fail to mention at all in their infomercial). Be advised this is a gray area. ALL the products of this type can be used more than once if you have a strong stomach, or are just plain cheap. The reason why drain cleaners such as these tell you to toss it out after each use is because the prickly system of teeth employed at the business end that is responsible for grabbing the hair and gunk is very hard to clean. The teeth tend to hold on to its yucky prize most tenaciously. You will be forced to use your fingers diligently to dislodge the crap, which a lot of folks will cringe at. And in the course of the cleaning you may get carried away and break a few of the sensitive teeth, thus making it a little less efficient each time. Still however, if you're willing to do this, and or feel that a little disgusting chore comes about easier than $$$, you can accomplish it and use each of these tools at least a couple of more times. The other reason why products such as these tell you to throw them away is because after each use the flexible rod gets bent and twisted a little, thus a tad harder to operate. Not impossible or greatly damaged, but a little misshapen. Certainly not does it get so bent out of shape after one application that it becomes useless to be sure. One has to decide for oneself if they want to use this tool once and buy in multiple units, or perform the disgusting deed. As for the tools effectiveness, let me say first off that I have owned 3 different versions of this type of unclogger and have found them all to be of great use in getting to the clog and effectively extracting the crap. There is only a very small or moderate difference in all of them. Mainly in the design of the teeth. All of these tools are designed for clogs at the trap, and very close to the sink or tub. That means they are unfortunately a little short, around 18 to 24 inches, and designed only to turn the corner of a bend in the sink and that's it. If you suspect your clog is a little deeper, you will either have to purchase a longer snake, or call a dreaded professional. Other than that, this product, and all of them I have tried like them are both very effective, AND reusable if you are willing and accept the terms described beforehand. I cannot recommend any one over the other since all of them seem to be equally effective despite the small differences in design. My only recommendation would be that if you are going to be one that passes up on the squeamish cleaning and use once, buy several of them at a time and make the shipping charge worth it. Trust me, these little tools work much better and are far easier than removing a trap underneath a sink or tub to get at a clog. Which for me, always and relentlessly no matter how careful I am or how much I tighten it, means they leak forever more...Customer Review: Hard to believe it's this good
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading Mike V's review, I had to give this thing a try. I also am not the best home-fix-it guy. I have not fallen through the ceiling like M.V., but let's just say that when I announce to my wife that I am about to try to fix something, it is only with the greatest of self-restraint that she can suppress a sigh and rolling of the eyes. But this time--it worked! I had been using super-pro-Drano, or something like that, on our shower drain once a year each time it clogged. But after reading more about it, I became concerned that I would soon eat through a plastic pipe and cause a true plumbing disaster. So I tried this 3 dollar zip-stick and...it worked. It is really easy to use. Just unscrew the drain cover for the shower (I expected that to be rusted shut, but no -- it was easy) or, in a sink, just pull out the plug. Stick the zip stick down and pull it up. You will not believe how much gunk and hair comes up with it. The zig-zagged edges really grab stuff. If you only had to run it through once, you'd be done in less than 10 seconds. But I found I needed to wipe off the gunk with a paper towel (easy) and repeat it about 5 more times before it stopped picking up more gunk. Man, I pulled a lot out. And..ta da..the shower drained perfectly after that. The whole thing took about 3 minutes.
Only down side? It's pretty long, but if the clog happens to be lower down than that, you will not be able to reach it. They probably should make a longer version, too. But, I would imagine that it will reach the great majority of clogged drains. I also could not use it on my bathtub drain because it is a very weird sort of thing with a central piece of iron with water draining around it. Can't get a zip-stick (or anything else) around it. But I imagine that is pretty rare. Also, you really won't want to save this when you're through. You better toss it and buy another for the next time a drain clogs. We are recyclers, but really, this is just a thin piece of plastic; no big deal to throw away. And it only costs 3 dollars.
This thing is great! I'm buying one for all my family members for Christmas! (Seriously.)
Customer Review: Doesn't Work In Every Case
Summary: 2 Stars
It only costs a few dollars so there is not much to lose if it doesn't work.
Zip It may not work for bathtub drains.
Zip It does not work for deep clogs (even in a sink).
Zip It is a nightmare to get the Zip It to go DOWN instead of UP the drain of a bathtub and is too short to reach the clog if using the overflow drain.
Zip It will not work if the clog is something the little spikes cannot catch (like something too soapy or greasy)
Zip It may not work if your older home has a different pipe set up
Zip It is weak and bends easily. This may be why it sometimes takes awhile (up to 15 minutes according to one reviewer or not at all) to get the Zip it around or through some clogs to grab it.
To be fair, this bathtub clog defied not just the Zip It but 6 types of plungers: 2 different rubber type/sizes and 4 different types of plastic accordion type plungers purchased from a plumbers website. Yes the overflow outlet was covered securely while plunging. One of the accordion plungers loosened the clog but also pushed it further down the drain. CLR Power Plumber pushed the clog down further also but did not clear it.
Drano was already known to be worthless from years past experience so going the natural route, a HUGE box of baking soda, gallon of vinegar and boiling hot water was poured into the bathtub drain TWICE. Lot of steam and foam but no dice on the clog.
Driven by desperation, it was back to Home Depot and they only supplied a few plungers already used. There was a man with a plumber company shirt on in the aisle and I asked him what to do short of calling a plumber. He picked up a bottle of INSTANT POWER HAIR & GREASE drain cleaner from Scotch Corporation.
The bathtub drained almost immediately. Absolutely no problems since.
Customer Review: Clogged my drain worse
Summary: 2 Stars
I don't know who piped older houses but they never gave a thought to having to repair/replace plumbing pipes. The one in our master bathroom is in frequent need of cleaning and the way I have to do it is by taking apart the plunger pin apparatus under the sink--forgive me if I don't know the correct terms, I'm not a plumber. After taking out the sink plunger I can usually extract a wad of hair/crud that I couldn't get to before. But with the goofy angle of the pipes under the sink, reinserting and reassembling the plunger are a B---ch with a capital B. Usually takes 15 minutes before I have the angle of the pieces just right. So I thought I'd try the Zip-It because our drain was starting to slow again and I did NOT want to wrestle with the pipes.
I inserted the Zip-It 4 times completely and pulled out a little bit of stuff but nothing compared to what I was used to. And that's when I decided to try a little water to see if it drained any better. If anything, it was even slower. I waited for the water to drain and then tried the Zip-It again. Nothing changed. So I had to go back to my old stand-by and pull the plunger piece out. I then proceeded to use the Zip-It for about ten minutes, fishing around and trying to unclog the drain as if it were an actual plumbing snake.
Well, the slowed drain is gone--I've now got a clogged drain with standing water.
The reason I graciously give it two stars is that it might work for some drains but not the one I was working on.
Customer Review: It works
Summary: 5 Stars
This item is one of those things that looks like it would never work.
Bizarrely enough, it worked very well on my bathroom drains, even those that have the stopper pretty much permanently attached. With some creativity you can get it down the drain and back out again without breaking any of the plastic tines. Just be patient and don't freak out if it gets stuck.
Since noticing my drains were slow, I had not used any liquid drain cleaners in the drains since that stuff is complete bunk and does not work at all...not to mention it's poison. I had some luck with an enzymatic drain cleaner, but by the time I used it I think there was so much crud built up in the drain that I would have had to use several gallons to see the problem totally fixed. Sadly, non-poisonous liquid drain cleaner options are often expensive.
This was the last step before calling a plumber. I reused one of these on my two bathroom sinks and the master bathroom tub drain. After about 20 minutes of work all three drains were perfectly free flowing again. I was so pleased I quickly bought more to have a stock on hand just in case!
The picture on the back of the package that shows a bunch of horrible gunk attached to the tines is literally what I pulled out of one of the sinks. It was astonishing.
I would highly recommend giving this little contraption a try. It is much cheaper than a drain cleaner or a plumber and it might just do the trick!