Buried Downspout Cleaning

Drain Jetting, or pressure jetting, is the process used to clean buried downspout extensions or drains that have become clogged. First note that this is not automatically necessary and is generally only done when truly needed.

A specialized, high-pressure nozzle is snaked through the drain simultaneously forcing large a large volume of water both backward and forward at high pressure. The nozzle pulls itself through the drain, breaking up clogs and debris of all kinds into small pieces that are flushed out. In addition to clearing out internal debris, it’s also an excellent way to find out where these drains actually go and locate drain caps that are frequently lost under landscaping.

This is a standalone service that can be scheduled by itself or alongside a gutter cleaning.

Drain Jetting is only applicable to downspout extensions, typically of black corrugated pipe and sometimes of white PVC, that connect to the bottom of the downspout and continue underground to drain elsewhere.

The most obvious sign of a blocked extension is water backflowing from the base of the downspout where it meets this extension. This typically indicates water is making it through the downspout, but not through the extension. It may also be necessary if you’re unsure where these drains actually go; the pipe itself may be mostly clear, but landscaping could be covering the drain cap where it should exit.

We can often test suspected drains for flow before needing to jet them. If you have removable, entirely above-ground extensions, these do not require jetting and are usually cleaned out as a courtesy with a typical gutter cleaning.

We require an outdoor faucet connection to supply our pressure jetting equipment with water. During the process, we’ll have a few hoses reaching from our vehicle to the service points. If the location of the drain caps is known, we’ll start there and pull backwards from the downspout. If the cap locations are unknown, we’ll start from the downspout end to find them first before switching sides.

The high pressure line is ran up and down the length of the drain several times, breaking up debris and pulling it back towards the drain cap and out. While we pick up most tangible debris, it’s important to know that a great deal of muddy water is likely to exit these caps and pool nearby but the goal is to ensure this is the last time that happens. When we’re finished, you should see standing water of a light brown color.

Yes, it is perfectly normal to see standing water at the drain caps of buried extensions, especially after any significant rain, and is typically a good sign. These drains are rarely positioned in a way that allows gravity to force all of their contents out. Instead, the pressure of active rainfall forces debris and any excess water out while the remainder fills the pipe and very slowly evaporates.

Counterintuitively, it is also good to find some debris underneath these caps as this indicates the debris is flowing all the way from the gutter interior and through to this point, precisely as intended. It is NOT normal to see a perfectly dry drain after a rain shower, or to see debris entirely blocking the pipe.

Unlike gutter cleaning in which we are able to give an exact total, drain jetting is quoted as the cost per individual downspout with an extension that requires service. You may need none, one, or several. If multiple downspout extensions share a drain cap we frequently discount the rate where appropriate but the rate is per downspout, not per drain cap, since multiple clogs can exist in each branch. We always charge for the first drain, but we only charge for additional drains if they are successfully cleared.

We won’t know which downspouts actually require service until we’re on site and have disassembled the bottom portion of the downspouts, which simply isn’t practical to do for a quote. If you already know how many extensions you want serviced, we can happily quote for that number. Otherwise, we’ll provide the exact per-drain pricing and let you decide how many drains need cleaning.