how to clean out a clogged downspout

How To Cleanable Leaves From A Sewer Or Downspout

As fall approaches, many homeowners may be thought process roughly gutter cleaning As a part of their regular home-maintenance routine. At this clip it's also important to address any encumbered downspouts that could be preventing the gutter organisation from properly draining. Pelting weewe that can't properly drain can induce water damage to a home's foundation, and may cause the formation of an ice dam in the winter.

Some homes have downspouts that end at a location above ground, others have downspouts that feed into an underground PVC pipe. Downspout systems can become obstructed in some location, above operating room below ground.

Clearing Above-Ground Clogs

Materials:

Garden hose
Hose nozzle
Plumber's snake

Process:

Remove the bottom remnant of the downspout from the clandestine PVC pipe or downspout extension.
Turn the garden nozzle to the highest pressure setting.
Stick the garden hose into the bottom end of the downspout and turn on a forceful stream of water.
Clear off any leaves and sticks that may nightfall out of the bottom of the downspout. If the patten persists, proceed to step 4.
Send a plumber's snake into the bottom of the downspout to loosen debris in the downspout. Proceed with caution if using an electric plumber's snake, as the whorl tip can lam into the downspout when misdirected.
Place the garden hosiery into the bottom remnant of the downspout for the second time and turn connected a forceful rain bucket of water. If this does not fully clear the clog, repeat the process of inserting the hosepipe and auger into the downspout until the foul has been cleared.

Clearing Below-Ground Clogs

Materials:

Garden hosepipe
Hose nozzle
Manual-crank drain auger

Process:

Remove the fanny end of the downspout from the subway system PVC pipe or downspout extension.
Turn back the garden nozzle to the highest pressure mise en scene.
Sting the garden hose into the underground PVC pipe and turn on a forceful stream of water. If this doesn't clear the clog, continue to the next step.
Insert the manual-crank drain auger into the PVC pipe. Crank the auger until it reaches the clog. Ut not use an electric auger for this step, every bit it may damage the PVC pipe.
Push the auger through the patten and dislodge the debris.
Spliff the garden hosepipe into the underground PVC pipe, and turn on a forceful watercourse of water to flush the debris from the shriek.
Iterate stairs 3 done 6 until the clog has cleared.

If you are impotent to clear the clog with the manual hand screw auger and a flow of water, you may need to replace the part of the pipe that has become clogged. To locate the clog, insert the manual auger cable into the tobacco pipe. When the plumber's snake reaches the clog, step the distance from the opening of the pipe to the tip of the cable; this will tell you where the clog in the tobacco pipe can comprise found.

Dig up up the pipe in the appropriate location. Use a hacksaw to remove the subdivision of pipe with the clog. Insert a clean section of bagpipe and use either cement or coupling to join the two sections of pipe.

Encouraging Products

There are some affordable inventions on the market that are designed to keep downspouts cleaner and prevent or gear up clogs. These inventions admit:

Filters that preclude leaves from falling down into the downspout.
Attachments planned to hook up leafage blowers to downspouts. These attachments appropriate you to blow the leaves out of your downspout.

Extra Resources

Proficient Q & A about downspout clogs
How Unclog a Gutter
Clogged Downspouts

Finally, here's a YouTube video that gives a thorough description of glade the clog from a downspout: