Ridgid Auto-Clean K-30 Sink Machine
June 9, 2010 — No, we're not cleaning cars. This Auto-Clean is an automated system for snaking out drains — which, let's face it, is an almost daily occurrence in your bigger co-ops and condos. Hair, fur, gunk and you-don't-even-WANT-to-know-what-that-is all have a way of clogging up sink and bathtub drains, and the ol' hand-crank snake makes for clumsy, tedious work. Take it from us — we've done it. Yuck. You crank the thing back, see what it's got tangled up in there, and forget it — you ain't having lunch today.
But with the Auto-Clean K-30, you can go ahead and call in your takeout order — nothing's going to turn your stomach. And you yourself don't have to turn anything: Just squeeze a pair of "Autofeed" controls that look like motorcycle handles. One advances the feed cable at 18 feet per minute, and the other retrieves it. In fact, they probably have the word "feed" in there just to remind you that you won't be too disgusted to eat afterward.
The 10-pound Auto-Clean keeps from creating splatters by having its cable contained inside a guide hose, minimizing the clean-up of hands, work areas and fixtures. A 450 rpm motor is behind that cable, which has a built-in quarter-inch by 30-inch core cable for increased strength and longer life than most other cables, says the company. And seeing as how that company is the more than 85-year-old Ridge Tool Company of Elyria, Ohio, whose Ridgid brand of plumbing, electrical and HVAC tools were top-of-the-line long before it ever became a subsidiary of the multinational Emerson Electric, we're inclined to believe 'em. Especially since all their tools come with a lifetime warranty.
You can watch an animated video of the Autofeed at work. No gunk, we promise. So go ahead and order yourself a hoagie.
Ridge Tool Company • 400 Clark Street, P.O. Box 4023, Elyria, Ohio 44036-2023 • (440) 323-5581 • toll-free (800) 4-RIDGID • E-mail contact form here
Share