Here’s how to clear your outdoor drains without spending money. We’re getting to that time of year when the leaves will once again start to fall, blow around, and end up in your roof gutters and drains. And while we’re always on-hand should you require a professional service, we know many of our customers are happy to give it a go themselves. Here are a few tips to help get your drains flowing again without spending your money.
How to clear your outdoor rainwater drains without spending money on extra equipment
You’ll need protective gloves, a bucket for gathering debris, your garden hose and a container for scooping water.
Your outdoor drains are susceptible to blockages from leaves, mud and debris. You could easily spend hours clearing gunk, using drain rods, or using outside drain unblocker chemicals. We never recommend unblocking chemicals, but it’s never a bad idea to try using rods if you have them. If you don’t have them to hand, here’s another trick that can get things going.
Go to your blocked drain and remove the grill. The first step to clear things up is to use a container to empty the water so you can see what you’re looking at.
Wearing protective gloves (you never know what could be in there), reach in and see can you remove anything blocking the bottom of the drain (gully trap). If you can, scoop it out with those gloves and put them in a bucket. You may find mud, rocks and debris. Sometimes there can be bits of glass or dangerous objects, so be careful. Remove as much as you can. If you can still feel a blockage but can’t reach it with your hands, see if you can use a bit of a stick or something similar to help get a grasp on it.
Once you have pulled out all the debris from the bottom of the gully trap, you’re ready to give the pipe downstream a good flush.
Flush through the debris
Fill up a bucket with clean water and pour it quickly into the gully. This surge of water should shift on any small bits of silt and debris at the bottom of the gully trap and in the pipe downstream.
The gull trap should fill up to its normal level again and the hold at that level. If you add more water and the level continues to rise, there is a problem further downstream in the drainage system. In some cases this might suggest a problem with a soakaway.
If these simple steps don’t get the drain flowing, it might be time to call in a specialist drain service provider such as Dyno-Rod. Our equipment is designed to travel further down a long the pipe than just the gully to clear bigger problems. So if you’d like to give us a call to arrange that, you can do so on 1800 437 246
