After some recent fall rain, I realized our underground pipes that drain water to the street from the downspouts were clogged with debris. I ran a hose toward the house from the street side and cleaned stuff out. Did the same on one overflowing in the back yard. Today hoping to clean the other side in the front before more rain. I bought some bladder things that squirt water from a garden hose and inflate a bit to scrub the pipes. Any other ideas? It's difficult to fit things down the spout entrance and get it to turn down the line of the pipe. I don't have a pressure washer but know there are attachments for them for high pressure hoses to flush the pipes.
Underground Gutter Pipes Clogged
- Thread starter HowAboutThis
- Start date
Yeah, just moved in a couple years ago. Bought some screen things to go over the downspout entrance but they'll still let in small stuff, just not the pine cones and such. So hoping an annual flush (or twice a year) we'll keep them clean enough.
Edit: much of the pine cone stuff was from a tree that blew down soon after we moved in. So hoping if I actually take some proactive measures now it'll be better from now on.
had the same problem two years ago, tried about everything, nothing worked, had to get a backhoe and lay new pipe. seems like you caught it in time
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gutter-...Mesh-Gutter-Guard-Single-Piece-THD3/325989341
My dad has had these on his House for the last 10 years; nothing gets into the Gutters. He had issues mostly with those helicopter things that fly off the trees and then clog the Gutters. Any junk collects on the screens and then blows down onto the ground.
My dad has had these on his House for the last 10 years; nothing gets into the Gutters. He had issues mostly with those helicopter things that fly off the trees and then clog the Gutters. Any junk collects on the screens and then blows down onto the ground.
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
I've had to use a plumbing snake to clear the stubborn junk out of my buried 4" piping. This was after I found where their outlets were, dug them out, installed a tee and built a a little stone pit bubbler around them.
I also have those green triangular strainers shown above. They're great, but they will plug every few weeks or less in the bad months. I've also never been able to find "gutter guards" that work reliably, long term where I live. They all get to the point I have to remove most of them to clean what has slipped through, or to clean the clogged gutter guards themselves.
I also have those green triangular strainers shown above. They're great, but they will plug every few weeks or less in the bad months. I've also never been able to find "gutter guards" that work reliably, long term where I live. They all get to the point I have to remove most of them to clean what has slipped through, or to clean the clogged gutter guards themselves.
I have Leafguard gutters which have a pop-out catch screen installed on the downspouts that you have to clean-out on a regular basis.
Once the OP cleans-out the obstruction, a quick search found a more generic product that does something similar to prevent future debris from getting into the underground piping:
https://frenchdrainman.com/product/downspout-leaf-filter-clean-out/
Once the OP cleans-out the obstruction, a quick search found a more generic product that does something similar to prevent future debris from getting into the underground piping:
https://frenchdrainman.com/product/downspout-leaf-filter-clean-out/
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
The leafguard system and those are the Cadillac of what you can get in this type of system.
You know, in the end, it depends on exactly what the buried pipes are made of. Yes, you definitely need to keep the debris out of the pipes, however other things can cause blockages too.
I had a home that used that corrugated black plastic tubing for drains. I had to dig up more than one, only to discover kinks and crushed areas that were restricting flow and accumulating leaves and stuff.
You'll just have to see if you can clear them with a hose or pressure. If that fails, it's time to get out the shovel and start digging.
I had a home that used that corrugated black plastic tubing for drains. I had to dig up more than one, only to discover kinks and crushed areas that were restricting flow and accumulating leaves and stuff.
You'll just have to see if you can clear them with a hose or pressure. If that fails, it's time to get out the shovel and start digging.
Plumbers have various end heads they can install onto their snake/rooters, depending on the diameter of the pipe. If the pipes are sound, some leaf/yard debris, can be cleared with the proper tooling.
This said, I'm going to get gutters installed on my house pretty soon, and there are a couple of sections, where I'm going to have to figure out how to route the downspout runoff to a safe place. Most places in my area don't even have gutters, but I'm looking to future proof this place for bigger storms where water pools against the side of the house. Thinking about building a drain tile system, but concerned about clogging.
This said, I'm going to get gutters installed on my house pretty soon, and there are a couple of sections, where I'm going to have to figure out how to route the downspout runoff to a safe place. Most places in my area don't even have gutters, but I'm looking to future proof this place for bigger storms where water pools against the side of the house. Thinking about building a drain tile system, but concerned about clogging.
Am I the only one that's never seen or ever heard of a gutter that goes underground all the way to a street? Here they terminate the gutter right at the base.
Yes, and in California, where you, and I, live, most houses don't even have gutters (at least the older homes). Fast-forward to modern times, where rainstorms are sometimes monsoons, rain runoff management is important.
At my place, I get water pooling on the back patio, and against the side of the house in places, because there is not a proper water management scheme. I just paid a bunch of money to fix the stucco along the ground line around my house and garage, all because of water pooling and/or splash from not having gutters. Just received a $3600 dollar quote to install gutters, which I'm going to jump on. Weather change is real, and house repair ain't getting cheaper.
Owen Lucas
$100 Site Donor 2023
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I had a septic company hydrojet my drain tiles. About $300 with scoping. Turns out corrugated drains won't last 20 years and had multiple crush spots from frost heave and possibly large vehicles driving over them. $4500 and I'll get a 150' run of PVC which includes rerouting a lot of the plumbing outside. Oh goodie!
It depends on a lot of things. My other home was in Ohio, near the Ohio River. That area has a lot of clay soil. Clay doesn't let water drain through very quickly (like sand would) plus it is hilly country. But you really wanted to get water away from your house as fast as possible. Clay has a tendency to swell when wet, and contract when dry. Guess what that does to your foundation if you don't keep saturation to a minimum?
Here in FL, sandy soil, fairly quick draining. I only have one gutter on my house, and that's by the pool enclosure. It's enough to cause me to inspect it often. Springtime is worse when the oak tree leaves get pushed out by new growth.
Keep those downspouts and piping clear. It drains there for a reason.
I just bought some mesh that goes around the hole and saw these. I'll try to get through this rainy season and look into these things for next year
New for me, too. In the Midwest they just drained into the yard. I'm tempted to just disconnect and add those cheap plastic extensions if I have issues again and then just to normal downspouts to the yard like you're saying.
My Dad originally had the plastic gutter mesh, it did not work well, it would get weighed down from junk and collapse into the Gutter. He would those helicopter things weighed down and then the water would overflow over the Gutter. How many feet of gutters do you have on your house?
Probably about 100. Estimating quickly based on square footage and only a couple edges without gutters
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