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Downpipes and gutters perform an important function in protecting your home from rainwater and melting snow. If water simply drains from the roof, it can cause serious damage to the foundation of the building. The same applies to walls; moisture must not be allowed to get inside the walls in order to protect them from destruction.

Gutters are now a mandatory element of the design of any new home. Of course, good owners equip them in old houses as well.
Water flowing over the gutters can occur either when the flow of water from the entire roof area is incorrectly calculated, or when the gutters are clogged with debris.

Typically, most debris ends up in gutters and pipes in the fall.
It’s clear why, falling autumn leaves can quickly fill drains and prevent water from draining. In addition, dust and debris are caused by the wind, this is already during a wider warm period. Water begins to stagnate and flow onto the walls, getting onto the façade panels, behind the siding and sheathing boards.

Actually, the main idea here is that the drain is a much more important element of protection than the vast majority of people think. Therefore, you should not delay cleaning the system; it is necessary to carry out preventive maintenance annually.
According to the rules, it is necessary to remove debris from gutters twice a year, although not everyone does this.

Safety.

Metal gutters have many sharp edges, so wear gloves and durable clothing when working. Be sure to wear a respirator when blowing debris out. To clean gutters manually, use special plastic buckets. Doing this with your hand or a garden shovel is not very convenient.

If your wall facades are covered with siding, then it would be more thoughtful to use a stepladder. A regular ladder rests on the wall and can damage the cladding.
The ladder must be of sufficient height; standing on the last step while working is quite risky.

Gutter cleaning.

Gutter cleaning must be done from the roof or stairs. There are two main options: Remove debris manually using buckets and brushes, or blow out leaves using a compressor.

The second method, although more technologically advanced, leads to the scattering of garbage over a large area.
Special blowers are sold in stores; they do not have a hose like a compressor; the tool is electric and connected via a light cable.

After removing debris, use a garden hose to wash away any remaining dust.
A hose can also help if drain pipes are clogged. It can be used to break through debris plugs by hand and then rinse off with pressurized water.

While flushing, pay attention to water leaks at the joints and through the gutters.
It is better to repair pipes and gutters immediately, without waiting for the start of autumn rains.

Each drainpipe must have a drainage point. In some cases, containers are placed under the pipes, but it is better to make additional channels on the ground and direct the water into the drainage basin. It’s bad when water flows under the foundation, even if there is a good blind area around the house.

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How often to clean your gutters and when?

The main problem with gutters is mud deposits, which are formed due to dust and sand blown by the wind. They are difficult to detect in winter, as they accumulate in the snow lying on the roof. Therefore, spring cleaning is carried out twice per season.

Before the snow begins to melt, remove ice from the drain, broken branches and leaves blown by the wind. This is done so that melt water leaves the roof without problems. Ice removal is done manually: first, warm water is supplied so that the ice begins to melt. After this, the pieces are removed from the gutters by hand, after wearing gloves.

The second time, be sure to check the drain for the presence of accumulated debris, and carry out the necessary cleaning after the snow has melted, since its layers contain a lot of sand, branches and debris, which fall into the drainage channels with melt water.

During the summer, cleaning is not necessary, but periodic inspection is necessary. You can find a pile of small branches and building material for bird nests in the gutters.

In autumn, the main cause of blockages is strong wind, which brings falling leaves and branches from trees. Dirty gutters become a real problem in winter. Even a small amount of them leads to the appearance of ice, which creates a plug for flowing water. As a result, it accumulates, and during frosts it freezes and expands, which can lead to rupture of drainage pipes, the drains themselves, and even damage to the roofing.

If your drain clogs too often

In the event of an unreasonable and regular failure of the gutters, the problem may lie in the incorrect slope of the gutter. Take a building level and make sure that the indicator is from 2 to 5 mm per linear meter. The minimum permissible slope is 1 mm.

There are two ways to remove blockages: using automated and mechanical devices, and you can also use improvised means.

What are the dangers of clogged drains?

Neglect of cleaning gutters and pipes leads to a number of problems that can damage the drainage system and harm your home.

Dampening of walls and undermining of foundations

Accumulated debris blocks storm drainage, causing water to pool from the entire roof and drain into one place. Consequently, the foundation is undermined, as well as water penetration into the house through the walls and ceilings. This leads to the appearance of wet spots and dampness, as a result of which you will have to make major repairs to the room.

Failure of the drainage structure

In pipes clogged with debris, water accumulates and creates a load on the plastic parts of the drain, this will lead to their breakage, and at any second the structure may collapse.

Spread of diseases and pests

Accumulated wet debris will become a suitable environment for the growth of moss and mold. Pathogenic bacteria, fungi and even insect larvae will multiply in it, and in the summer they will infect plants in the garden.

Accumulations of debris can cause a fire

In summer, straw, dry leaves and branches fall on the roofing, and pieces of fabric and bird feathers can be carried in by the wind. In hot weather, plant residues dry out on the roof very quickly, and a coating heated in the sun can cause a fire.

To avoid malfunctions and emergency conditions of the drainage system, and to ensure its uninterrupted operation, it is necessary to properly and regularly clean gutters and pipes.

Best Ways to Clean Gutters

Before you begin cleaning your gutters, you should fill them with water from a hose. Strong pressure will help determine how the system copes with water flows during a rainstorm, and will also soften dried dirt, making it easier to remove later.

Gutter Robot Application

There are special devices that make cleaning less labor-intensive and also significantly speed up the process. For greater convenience, a robotic mechanism is used. But it is intended only for cleaning gutters.

The robot is 56 cm long, 13 cm wide and 8 cm high, and weighs no more than 1 kg.

It can determine the degree of contamination, which makes it possible to determine the number of passes for complete cleaning. It can clean wet clogs and can also be used in gutters filled with water. In 5 minutes of work it can handle 9 meters of drainage.

Special brushes with telescopic handle

For manual and urgent cleaning, you can use special brushes for gutters. The advantage of this device is that it can be cleaned from the ground. The tool is equipped with a telescopic handle, which has a length of up to 5 meters. The brush also has an adjustable angle, which allows you to get into hard-to-reach places to remove debris from the drainage protective meshes.

She can also work from the stairs, or from the roof if the height of the house is more than two floors. When working at height, you must follow safety rules, use a mounting belt and reliable fasteners.

Blowing out drainpipes and gutters

Cleaning the pipes with brushes is not possible because the drain pipes have many bends. If they become clogged, blowing them with a powerful stream of air helps.

You can do this by using a leaf blower in your garden. It comes in three types: electric, battery, or gasoline. Use the blower in dry weather to keep the debris dry. A battery-powered device is best suited, as it is lighter, more convenient, and not tied to wires. The blower creates a powerful, directed stream of air in the pipe, which pushes debris out.

How to properly blow out drainpipes

Blowing can be done from below, without going up to the roof, but debris from above can scatter wildly, and this is dangerous. You must work with a helmet and goggles, and protect the area around from children and bystanders. When working from the roof, it is recommended to install a bucket below to catch debris.

You can also use a leaf blower with a special attachment to clear dry leaves from the gutters of low-rise homes. The debris is simply blown out of the drain by air pressure. This method is very convenient for quickly removing fallen leaves in the fall, but is only productive in dry weather. Air will not remove stuck dirt, so it is not suitable for general cleaning of gutters.

Cleaning drainage systems using improvised means

If you don’t have the necessary equipment nearby, you can carry out high-quality cleaning using products that are always at hand. To get started, prepare everything you need for work:

• ladder;
• a scoop or wooden spatula that fits the size of the gutter;
• garbage collection bag;
• protective gloves for hands.

For greater stability and safety, you should take a folding ladder with additional fastenings and supports. A scoop can be made from a regular plastic bottle by cutting out a semicircle that will follow the shape of the gutter.

Do not use metal tools for cleaning

Do not use metal brushes or tools with sharp edges, as this may damage the gutter coating. It is recommended to use a tool made of plastic, rubber or silicone.

To begin, remove the pine needles, leaves and small branches using a spatula and a scoop. Remove accumulations of silt and dirt by hand, after wearing rubber gloves. For convenience, attach a garbage bag nearby and dump dirt into it. Never try to push leaves or other debris into the pipe, as this may create a dirt plug.

Bottom line

After carrying out surface work, you need to arm yourself with a garden hose and rinse the gutters under water pressure, this will finally clean the gutters and pipes of sand and small particles of dirt. To prevent gutters from becoming clogged, use special covers for drainage systems; this will save you from grueling procedures for cleaning them. And the installed removable grate in the pipe funnel will protect them from clogging.

The functioning of the drain is extremely important for the entire house as a whole.

If it breaks or is not cleaned in a timely manner, water can seep out in the most unexpected place and over time damage the foundation, walls of the house or blind area.

To prevent the worst consequences, it is necessary to take a very serious approach not only to the choice of drainage system, but also to its planned prevention.

In this article, you will learn everything about cleaning gutters using available tools.

When building a house, try to choose not only a beautiful gutter, but also one that will be combined with the type of roofing material and will fit correctly into the overall design of the house.

Drains are internal and external. And if increasingly are made of plastic, external ones can be made of plastic, metal or (homemade).

Plastic gutters

The advantages of galvanized gutters include:

• durability;
• frost resistance;
• impact resistance;
• do not deteriorate when exposed to sunlight.

But there are also a number of significant disadvantages:

• difficult to attach the drain to the wall of the house due to the heavy weight of the structure;
• the appearance of corrosion and rust on metal pipes without special polymer impregnation.

Metal drain

DIY plastic drain

The most economical, but not very technologically advanced type of drainage. Plastic bottles are connected to each other using sealant and plastic connectors. The design will be quite cheap, but temporary.

Depending on the quality of the bottles, such a drain will last you from one to several years. Whatever type of gutters you choose, if they are not maintained, cleaned and repaired on time, even a steel gutter will not last even a couple of seasons.

What is the most common way to clog a drainage system?

After winter, damage to the drain can be caused by the resulting ice or debris that has accumulated since the fall.

Even a small amount of fall leaves can damage the integrity of your gutter, causing it to break or cause a leak.

The blockage can also serve as a source of active spread of moss and plants along the drainpipe, which will be quite difficult to remove when cleaning.

In the summer, wasp nests can form in such blockages, and then disinfestation will be added to simple cleaning.

To prevent blockages, you should regularly clean the drain, treat the drains from ice and carry out.

Cleaning drains using improvised means

1. First of all, choose a suitable staircase.
2. Since most gutters are installed under the roof of the house, the ladder must be sufficiently stable. If your house is two or more stories high, it is better to install scaffolding or use climbing equipment or use the services of an aerial platform.
3. Thoroughly clean all the upper pipes and funnels, put the garbage in a pre-prepared box or bag so as not to litter the local area.
4. Clean the pipes on both sides from layered sediment using special homemade scrapers and long sticks.
5. A clogged drain pipe can be cleared using a plumber's rope.
6. Rinse with water - from a bucket or hose, after placing an empty bucket or barrel under the drain hole so that all the debris collects in one place.

Special brush for gutters

NOTE!

• Manual gutter cleaning is best done after it has rained - the debris will get wet and will be easier to clean.
• Never use a brush with metal bristles to avoid damaging the surface of the pipes.
• When manually cleaning the drain, you can completely inspect all areas for damage and carry out timely repairs.

Cleaning the drainage system using compressed air

You can clean the drain using special equipment - a blower. or a robot vacuum cleaner that can both suck in air and blow it out with great pressure.

A strong enough air flow can clear any accumulated debris from your roof and pipes and remove clogs, but it may not be enough if the clog is deep in the pipes.

If you work at heights, you can use a compact battery-powered blower rather than a gas or mains-powered blower.

The downside to cleaning a drain this way is that an air blower, and especially a robot vacuum cleaner, will not be cheap.

This type of pipe cleaning can only be used in dry weather, so as not to damage the equipment or injure yourself with an electric shock.

Cleaning with pressurized water

The third method of drain cleaning is to clean the pipes using pressurized water.

You can also use a simple garden hose, but as a cleaning method after manual work, since low pressure will not allow you to remove all the blockages entirely.

• How to increase water pressure? Plug the end of the hose with a rag and begin lowering it into the drainpipe, under the pressure of water, the hose will lower to the maximum possible distance, and after the rag falls out of the hose, the water under maximum pressure will completely clean the drainpipe.
• Use a special generator with a special nozzle that creates high water pressure. Connect a regular garden hose through it and clean the pipes. If you have pipes made of plastic or plastic bottles installed, this method is unacceptable, because strong pressure can damage the integrity of the pipe.

Very often, when you clean your drain with pressurized water, you only remove dirt and not plants, moss, or heavy clogs. Before starting work, install a grate at the outlet of the drainpipe, which will prevent the escaping debris from scattering throughout the local area.

How to clear ice from a drain

Very often, problems with drainpipes arise in the spring, when the frosts end. Water cannot pass through frozen pipes and blockages formed in them. Drainpipes become heavier and can collapse under their own weight.

• The easiest way to clean is to wait until it gets warm. The method is completely inexpensive, but can completely destroy the drainage system during prolonged thaw or rain.
• Heat the drain using a heating cable or a heat gun and carry out a quick anti-icing treatment. The method is expensive and not always effective.
• Warm up the drain by manually supplying warm water, and removing pieces of ice again by hand.

Cleaning the drainage system from ice

How to prevent blockages in the system and how to avoid icing

As we can see, removing ice or complex blockages can be technologically difficult or financially expensive, so it is better to take preventive measures in advance to prevent serious consequences and protect yourself from unnecessary problems.

1. Clean the drainage system at least twice a year - in the spring, when the temperature is above zero, and in the fall, before the first frost. If your house is located close to a forest or a large cluster of trees, carry out extraordinary cleaning in the summer.
2. Carefully check the tightness of pipes at joints and connection areas. Seal the joints with special metal tapes or replace damaged areas.
3. Check the attachment points of the drainpipes, do not allow them to become loose or break.
4. If you have metal pipes installed, carry out anti-corrosion treatment in a timely manner.
5. To prevent leaves, falling fruit, or windblown debris from entering the pipe when installing downspouts it is necessary to “cover” them and all installed funnels with a special metal mesh, with the size of holes/cells no more than two by two centimeters. Larger diameter holes will not keep out feathers, dust and small debris.

If blockages in the drain pipe occur too often, check the level of the pipes and gutter using a building level. The permissible slope should be from two to five millimeters per linear meter.

Safety net

When cleaning pipes made from plastic bottles and plastic, do not use metal tools or brushes, which can damage the pipes themselves.

Treat pipes against icing in advance:

• When installing pipes, treat them with special impregnation;
• install a special heating cable (cheaper, but energy-intensive resistive or more expensive self-regulating) around the perimeter of the drain (this method can be expensive, but will save you from breaking the drainage system).
• Clean the roof and roof from snow and ice in a timely manner so that they do not damage the drainpipes.

CAREFULLY!

If you install heating cables in drainpipes, the possibility of blockages may become more frequent, so preventative cleaning and inspection must be done a little more often than usual. When clearing such blockages, there is a high probability of cable damage.

The service life of drainpipes varies, and sometimes it is not long enough, like homemade plastic. We can extend this period by using only high-quality materials during construction, properly and systematically caring for pipes, removing all blockages and debris in a timely manner, and carrying out timely treatment to remove ice and rust.