Michael Hawk moved from Michigan to Fort Jones, California, in early 2025 and entered the local plumbing and drain cleaning market, doing business as Hawk Handyman & Plumbing Services.

“There are [fewer] plumbers out here than there were in Michigan,” he says. “It’s rural out here. I am drilling down, day in and day out. I’m focusing on the places nobody else wants to go. People haven’t had a plumber for so long, some won’t even come to these areas. There is such a shortage. They will wait for someone they trust.”  

Hawk racked up eight years in the Air Force as a combat rescue officer. He wrestled in college and attended the Air Force Academy. But the possibility of plumbing as a career started early, during his upbringing in southwest Colorado. Both his father and grandfather were licensed plumbers. His dad and uncles grew their business before evolving into general contracting work for the federal government. 

After the Air Force, Hawk leveled up his expertise in plumbing and underground jobs, working for contractors in Wyoming and Michigan.

Long and flexible

Among Hawk’s key equipment investments as he builds his business and tracks toward a return have been a plethora of Milwaukee Tool items. He says the costs haven’t been too unbearable for a startup company. The stack is growing: a 4-foot urinal auger, an M18 Fuel Switch Pack with three separate drums including 3/8-inch and 1/2-inch cable units, and a 100-foot, high-speed chain snake for 1.5-inch to 4-inch pipe diameters. 

The most useful tool uncovered so far has been a 6-foot toilet auger, the M12 TrapSnake.

One feature of the M12 TrapSnake is an integrated locking mechanism that secures the cable for easy telescoping extension. The ability to replace cables enables maximum tool longevity. 

Hawk states it’s fast, simple to operate and has been proven effective for an application that goes further than unclogging toilets. Instead of picking up another pricey chain snake, Hawk uses the tool on clogged shower drains.

“It is long and flexible enough, I can get it in there,” he says. “It just reaches far enough to release the clog and open up a [shower] drain. I’ve also used it to get clogs loose that some of my longer, thicker snakes couldn’t get. For whatever reason, they couldn’t make it past a 90 or P-trap. 

“I know Milwaukee did not design it that way for shower drains, but it works fantastic. It is small and flexible enough to make it around any bend.”  

Every drain clear

Hawk’s business focuses on smaller plumbing jobs and drain cleaning tasks that can be completed quickly and cleared the same day. Hawk identifies Milwaukee’s M12 TrapSnake as the one piece of equipment he uses consistently, especially when unclogging older drains. 

“Just recently, I had a clogged shower drain that I thought I was not going to be able to get because of my other snakes. There has not been a drain cleaning job I have not been able to clear yet, and it’s because of this tool. A couple of times it has been a last resort, without cutting out a wall or doing a demo or something else.”