A yard drain or an area drain prevents rainwater from stagnating on your yard and other completed areas. Typically, drains prevent both indoor and outdoor flooding on your property. This is especially helpful during the spring season when it rains frequently and intensely. If you do not have correctly functioning drains, rainwater will have nowhere to go and thus create a muddy setting on your property. Also, pooling water is a health risk and it attracts insects too.
Just like any other plumbing system, a yard drain needs proper care and maintenance to guarantee efficient water flow. Since it is normally placed outdoors such as at a driveway or backyard, it is susceptible to accumulate waste, leaves, and other items blocking the duct or the entire drain.
Common Area Drain Problems
Generally, area drain care and maintenance include removal of visible clogs including stones, leaves, sticks, plastic, toys, and other waste. If the blockage appears only near the Outdoor drainage grates, you can clear them using your hands, a scoop, or basic gardening apparatus. If your yard is significantly wide, there are likely more than one yard drains installed. When one is clogged, the rest could as well be clogged. This mostly occurs during the Fall when trees shed rapidly.
To properly maintain an area drain, open all the grates so you can check inside the pipe properly; you may discover some awful things or smells. This only takes a few minutes. If a scoop or shovel doesn’t remove it, you can utilize a professional vacuum to go deeper into the drain duct and eject all of the waste. If the yard drain is multi-directional, ensure to clear every line as well as the catch basin.
After removing all the debris, flush water using a garden hose and check whether it flows freely. If it doesn’t do so, you may need to do a thorough cleaning. If the problem persists, it may be time to replace the grates with finer ones.
Subject to how your lawn is designed, your property might have numerous inspection portals or clean-outs. It can be placed adjacent to the house or near the street. Normally, inspection portals are installed in the house to stop them from freezing during Winter.
Without appropriate tools, it is difficult to establish where the clog is. Professional plumbers or the city sewer office can help you know where the blockage is. Generally, the problem is caused by root invasions and damaged pipes. Drain ducts break constantly because they are shallow and freeze easily. They can cause you headaches trying to handle them and it is advisable to let professionals do the job for you.
Tools For Care And Maintenance
Professional plumbers have all the required apparatus to do a thorough cleaning. However, if you want to clear the drain on your own, you can get the tools from a local hardware store. Some of the tools you need for a complete job include;
A Drain Machine – It efficiently removes roots in the channel. It includes a cutting blade that clears small and big roots making it easier to remove them from the Outdoor drainage grates.
A Rubber Drain Bladder – This is a rubber bag that fits tightly into the area drain duct. It forces water to follow certain directions.
A hydro-jet – provides high-pressure water jetting that is effective for stubborn debris beside tree roots. Pressurized water can clear a blockage from sludge, grease, paper, dirt, and toys by dispersing and flushing it out.
If the flow of water is still slow even after cleaning the channels, you may consider replacing them with new or larger ones.
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