Leaves Blocking Your Drain? with DrainUnblock.com, your handy online resource for Drain and Sewer Unblocking Information.

Fallen leaves can block gullies, downspouts and grid covers. Leaf blockage in the gutters is fairly easy to clear once you have reached them via a ladder. If you're using long ladders be sure to secure them firmly at the top and have a helper holding them at the bottom (serious accidents can happen if someone walks into the ladder or a youngster runs into them on a bike or with another toy). Some gutters can be reached with either a home-made or a commercial gutter cleaning appliance. These are usually variations on the notion of a stick with an angled metal plate on the end.

Use of this method does, however, tend to deposit the rubbish from the gutter straight onto the ground or, worse, onto your own head if you're not careful!

The only certain way to clean the gutter thoroughly is by using a garden trowel to scoop out the muck and then tip it into a handy bucket. When cleared, flush the gutter thoroughly with a hosepipe or watering can.

If the downspout is choked it will usually only be at the top so a garden cane, poked down from the top, will often clear it. Occasional flushing with clean water will help to avoid the build-up of blockages. In many instances damp patches on inside walls can be attributed to blocked and overflowing gutters.

Leaves blocking grid covers can be another problem. Leaf-covers can be obtained fairly cheaply and are fairly effective. They fit over the downspout and cover the grid opening.

If a blocked grid has its grid protector covered by leaves then clear these before lifting the cover as they may be the actual cause of the problem. If, when these leaves are removed, the grid is still blocked, then check the metal grille to make sure that it isn't just the 'holes' that are obstructed. If they're the problem then they can usually be cleared just by scraping with a stick or soaking in a bucket filled with a strong solution of washing soda.

If the drain itself is blocked it will usually be by the gradual build up of soil and small bits of garden debris in the u-bend of the drain. (More serious would be blockages caused by builder's rubbish after any maintenance work carried out on the house or pathways).

It is not always necessary (or advisable) to push one's hand down the drain to clear it. Use a drain plunger for the job. This is a thick, flat piece of rubber on a wooden handle. Inserting this into the grid opening and plunging it up and down will usually clear the blockage.

A good substitute for the plunger is an ordinary cotton mop which can be used to effect the same result.

Copious amounts of clean water should then be flushed down the cleared drain.

*In some situations it can be possible to cover gutters with wire netting to prevent leaves settling in the gutters. However, this isn't always an effective preventative.

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