Long Island-Based Snake Trap Product Could Hit Market By Year's End

NORTHPORT, NY — Snake Trap LLC, a Northport-based start-up, is getting close to launching its product that the founding trio hopes will boost health and sanitation on a global level.

The snake trap will act as a sleeve for dirty drain snakes, allowing maintenance workers to clean toilets and sinks without dripping wastewater in elevators, on a staircase or in hallways.

"The men and women who use this equipment in public as part of their job deserve to have a cleaner and safer way to do their jobs without harming all of their co-workers, guests, clients and themselves," Robert Lauth, a co-founder of Snake Trap LLC, told Patch.

Lauth, 44, of Northport, originally founded the concept with Robert Dapaah, 50, of Hauppauge, in 2020. The two were joined by Gordon Cinco, 36, of Northport. The three have since worked from a shop in Northport containing 3-D operating equipment and resin printers. The trio has also worked with an engineer at Stony Brook University to make the snake trap a reality.

The team is working to have its product onboarded to Home Depot's online supplier portal, while another major retailer is looking at the company, too. The men hope the snake trap, with a suggested retail price of $35, will be on sale by the holiday season in December.

The product is initially planned to come in three models: three-foot, six-foot and the M-12; the last of which is designed to fit the Milwaukee drain snake, according to Lauth.

Snake Trap LLC is hoping to eventually sell its products internationally to a target market of school districts, health care facilities and nursing homes, in addition to homeowners.

"Our main focus is curbing and minimizing hospital illnesses and infections," Lauth said.

Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, is one such infection the Snake Trap brass hopes its product will help minimize the spread of. C. diff causes severe diarrhea and colon inflammation. There are nearly half a million C. diff infections in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People older than 65 or those who are immunocompromised are most at risk, especially in a hospital or nursing home setting, according to the CDC. One in 11 people over 65 diagnosed with a healthcare-associated C. diff infection die within a month, and the disease is contagious.

Snake Trap LLC has been endorsed by Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Long Island. While Northwell Health has not formally endorsed the product, members of the brass have left testimonials on the Snake Trap website.

"As a healthcare facility we should not be carrying plumbing devices through the patient care units that drip waste from clogged drains," wrote Denise Naval, president of APIC Long Island and director of infection control and prevention at Northwell Huntington.

With the snake trap, when someone is finished snaking a toilet or drain, they would sheath the tool into the trap. The trap would then be taken back to its storage spot without dripping wastewater in elevators, on a staircase or in the halls.

Previously, without a snake trap, the tool would drip fecal matter through public spaces, Lauth said.

"Globally, there needs to be a better way that this is done," Lauth said. "This process is so antiquated and so barbaric."

The closest thing to a snake trap currently is an auger bag that is a zipper bag, according to Cinco. He said the current solutions are all unacceptable: Plumbers either handle the soiled coil directly before sticking it into a spackle bucket that is prone to tipping and spilling; a garbage bag prone to ripping; or an auger bag that requires the user to touch the coil, which transfers bacteria and fecal matter to every surface he or she touches.

"Our product is a game-changing innovation that changes the way a plumber handles a closet auger," Cinco said.

With the snake trap, people would no longer need to touch the soiled tool, Cinco said.

Snake Trap LLC's progress can be followed on Instagram or Facebook.