Clearing outside drain?

[Time Waster]

We've got a drain next to the garage door that drains down to main rainwater drain in the middle of the road. It joins next door's drain on the shared driveway before the road somewhere. There's a square to round vertical drain by the garage which has a kind of shallow u bend before what I think is a straight pipe. I suspect the drop in the line might be slightly shallow but that's not possible to change.

There's no leaves in the drain it's basically silt and grit when I stick my arm down to unblock. This is probably impossible to prevent it getting into the drain unlike the leaves we've already stopped with two grids, heavy metal over the round part of the drain and a plastic grid conver in the square part of the drain at the top.

I'm thinking of getting one of those wire coil drain unblockers to try and sort it when needed. They're only £18 for a 10m one from silverine. Are they any good? Or would they not work with grit blockages?

The only other option I can think of is a flexible pipe attachment for a karcher pressure washer. They're also cheap but we would need to buy a pressure washer to go with it. Is it worth getting this issue?

Any recommendations? We're trying not to have to get a drain company in not least because that would mean a regular callout with each blockage.

 

[iandg]

I just regularly put on a pair of long rubber gloves and clear ours manually. I have a soakaway that had a drainpipe leading straight in to the waste pipe leading to it with no grate or u-bend. Over the years it had clogged and was full of rotting leaf debris and the garden flooded in heavy rain. I had to dig 3 metres of pipe out and clean it through to sort it all out. Photos on FB somewhere.

 

[slowmotion]

If you have a tap that's fed from the mains water supply (not a loft tank), try feeding a hosepipe down there to blow the silt etc out. It's worth a go.

 

[MikeG]

Drain rods are what you need, and they should come with an assortment of heads (attachments). They're not expensive, but also the sort of thing you can find on FB Marketplace or Ebay. You really shouldn't be pushing your arm up drains.

 

[CXRAndy]

Depending on the pressure washer, you can get extension that project high pressure on the end of a hose. Pretty much what Dyno rod use for clearing drains

 

[slowmotion]

Drain rods are what you need, and they should come with an assortment of heads (attachments). They're not expensive, but also the sort of thing you can find on FB Marketplace or Ebay. You really shouldn't be pushing your arm up drains.

If you use drain rods, always turn them in the correct direction. The last thing you need is an escaped rod down in the bowels of your drains.

 

[MikeG]

Correct! I should have said.....

 

[Time Waster]

Depending on the pressure washer, you can get extension that project high pressure on the end of a hose. Pretty much what Dyno rod use for clearing drains

Yes, I've seen a few metres of higher pressure hose for drains to attach to karcher pressure washers. That's what I think is the best option but without a washer it becomes expensive.

I can't stick my hand down a drain up to my armpit, then turn n it 90 degrees, through a u bend and metres down the drain line. It's the tricky drop then bend at the bottom.

I'm not sure a rigid rod is feasible. Are drain rods able to bend 90 degrees as they're being pushed down the drain? That's why I thought the 9-12mm diameter springy coils might be better.

 

[Gwylan]

We've got a drain next to the garage door that drains down to main rainwater drain in the middle of the road. It joins next door's drain on the shared driveway before the road somewhere. There's a square to round vertical drain by the garage which has a kind of shallow u bend before what I think is a straight pipe. I suspect the drop in the line might be slightly shallow but that's not possible to change.

There's no leaves in the drain it's basically silt and grit when I stick my arm down to unblock. This is probably impossible to prevent it getting into the drain unlike the leaves we've already stopped with two grids, heavy metal over the round part of the drain and a plastic grid conver in the square part of the drain at the top.

I'm thinking of getting one of those wire coil drain unblockers to try and sort it when needed. They're only £18 for a 10m one from silverine. Are they any good? Or would they not work with grit blockages?

The only other option I can think of is a flexible pipe attachment for a karcher pressure washer. They're also cheap but we would need to buy a pressure washer to go with it. Is it worth getting this issue?

Any recommendations? We're trying not to have to get a drain company in not least because that would mean a regular callout with each blockage.

There were German shop drain unblocker attachments for Karcher.
But that needs the Karcher.

Very handy the once a year when somebody needs to use it.
Also have a treacherous quasi sand blaster attachment.

Based on my experience I'd say do buy a Karcher not some cheapo rip off. Karcher was the second pressure washer I bought

The twisty handle Silverline jobbie less than great for our lead filled drain. Just postponed calling DynoRod. Or buying a pressure washer.
Can you borrow one?

 

[oldwheels]

I use a rubber disc with the same diameter as the pipe inside. This goes on the end of a drain rod and you can work up a good suction then a hefty pull up and it usually works first attempt.
Got this tip from a plumber we employed many years ago as where I worked we had frequent blockages.

 

[Nibor]

the Hoise for the pressure washer works very well I have one a pressure washer does not need to cost a fortune

 

[Time Waster]

The thing is with the grit I doubt that loosening the blocking material will wash away the rest with the backlog of water. I'm just not sure what is going on. I do know I've pulled out a lot of grit and it then drained. That was hard and very wet to achieve.

I was armpit deep in the vertical drain to reach the horizontal drain part and then the longest stick I could get round the bend poking at the grit. That was after digging out the vertical bit which had the length of my hand full of grit. Then the stick, only a foot long, was moving around a bit more grit in the horizontal drain.

I'm wondering if using a pressure washer with a hose when flooded is a great idea. Adding more water? I reckon when dry that's when I would be best to flush it out. Prevention before the drain has ab issue.

One info not mentioned. The drain removes water from above the garage past the door underground but it also takes water from a washing machine in the garage. Unfortunately when it's raining we still have to wash clothes. Although the issue happens with just the rain so washing drainage isn't the big issue here in reckon. The other point is we've been here for 3 years. This issue is now happening a lot more frequently. First year and half to two years it only happened once after weeks of continuous rain and flooding in the wider area. This issue seems more recent as a regular issue. Something changed we think. Perhaps it's just a build up or something uphill / downhill that's changed.