Down-pipe Blocked? | How To Clear Blocked Downpipes

How To Clear Blocked Downpipes

Do Leaf Guards Work?

Want to know how to clear blocked downpipes? I'm sure we have all seen those houses that are falling apart in the street and look like they have never been properly maintained.

Have you ever taken a closer look at one of these houses that need full renovations? Better yet have you ever renovated one of these homes before?

If you have you know how much of a nightmare it is to fix leaking roofs and then find that the gutters need fixing too.

When it comes to roofing maintenance, you can't take short cuts. The roof and guttering on a house is like it's protective cover from the sun, rain and storms. It's important that before winter and the rainy seasons that you properly check your gutters and roofing. You should do the following:

1. Fix all the gutters, unblock all the down pipes and repair any visible leaks.

2. Fix broken tiles, and check there is no tiles leaking water into the roof.

3. Check all the skylights for any roof leaks and repair with a new flashing.

Just doing these simple maintenance tasks every few months can greatly increase the life expectancy of your roofing and guttering system. It will also give the peace of mind that when the hail and rain comes down, that your roofing and gutters can handle the downpour that Adelaide, South Australian is famous for.

Usually when the gutters and roofing are maintained, there is less need for roofing repairs and gutter replacement. Keeping the gutters and down pipes clear of debris and blockages helps keep all the water and loose leaves going straight into your storm water system and out into the street.

If you get a high pressure washer and "jetter" tool from Bunnings Warehouse or any other hardware store that sells quality plumbing and drain cleaning equipment. You can easily clear blocked downpipes and your storm-water system and clear out your down-pipes.

This is essentially the most effective way on how to clear blocked downpipes and storm-water drains. This method will cost a little bit of cash, especially a powerful high pressure washer should be purchased and the drain cleaning attachment for the high pressure washer is called a "jetter" and it will clean out blocked downpipes and clear blockages in the storm-water system around your home.

You can also easily fix the loose down-pipe on your rainwater tank with some PVC glue. It is usually blue in color and there is no need to get a high pressure glue, just the plain blue PVC plumbing glue can be used to repair broken rainwater pipes and other PVC down-pipes around your home. PVC downpipes look a bit cheap and tacky, but you can paint them the same color as the surroundings. If you have large pets or rough children that will be playing near the downpipes. It is best to make sure that they are still replaced with metal downpipes when they rust out. PVC downpipes are not suited to regular knocks and scrapes, they will crack and fall apart.

When working on your home replacing downpipes, cleaning gutters and checking for water leaks around your roofing, its important to make sure you use quality equipment such as ladders and good footwear to prevent injuries and safety hazards when working on the roof and close to the guttering. Do a little research on the DIY gutter replacement or installation you are going to be doing.

When we install new guttering we also check the existing downpipes for blockages and hidden rust damage. Is your front downpipe blocked on your commercial or residential property? Contact Gutter Guys Adelaide for a fast and reliable gutter cleaning service that unblocks downpipes as well as cleans the gutters in Adelaide, South Australia.

How To Clean Down-pipes | Which Gutter Cleaning Tools?

Gutter and Blocked Down Pipe Cleaning Tools

There are many different ways to clean gutters. The different ways will require a variety of gutter cleaning tools depending on the way you want to clean your gutters. This post will outline the various methods of gutter cleaning and then also have pictures of the different gutter cleaning tools available from your local hardware store. It goes without say that a suitable ladder is required to clean gutters and unblock down-pipes.

1. Cleaning Gutters by Hand

Cleaning gutters by hand is the easiest and simplest method when it comes to gutter cleaning. This tool has to be the most effective hand gutter cleaning tools available and definitely needed if you plan on cleaning any gutters. Cleaning gutters by hand is self explanatory, however there is a good gutter cleaning tool you can purchase that will make the guttering and down pipe unblocking job a lot easier. This gutter cleaning tool costs next to nothing and is well worth the little money spent if cleaning your gutters and dealing with a blocked downpipe is going to be a regular occurrence.

2. Blowing Out the Gutters

This is by far the best gutter cleaning tool. The petrol blower, preferably a quality brand like Stihl would make a perfect gutter cleaning tool in summer and spring. This is quite an easy method and takes a lot less time to clean the gutters with a petrol blower than to clean them by hand.

If you are looking for a good tool for gutter cleaning, and you have a large home. Then this is the gutter cleaning tools for you. In winter, when the gutters are full of wet debris and mud, then its best to clean them by hand, unless you don't mind mud splattered all over your walls. If you want to see this gutter cleaning tool in action, follow the link.

3. Gutter Vacuum System

This is the third way to clean your gutters. This requires a wet and dry vacuum cleaners that is capable of sucking out the mud, muck and leaves in your guttering & down-pipes. This seems to be the most hazardous method, running around on roofing with vacuum hose lines everywhere etc. Quite interestingly the gutter vac system cannot pick up twigs and small branches from the guttering and down pipes. This downfall on the gutter vacuum system is a major let down in South Australia. Every house in the Adelaide suburbs has small twigs and sticks in the guttering. No gutter vacuum system can vacuum this type of debris that is found all over the gutters and roofing in South Australia.

Some people just do small sections at a time from the ground and empty the wet & dry vac several times every ten meters of gutters cleaned. This method of gutter cleaning is not only time consuming but it also requires the purchase of expensive equipment to convert into a gutter cleaning tool.

4. Downpipe Unblocking Tool

The very best tool to use to unblock downpipes is a simple  garden hose or a thinner patio hose. So if your downpipes are blocked then just shove a garden hose into the downpipe entrance and turn on the water. This should unblock even the most stubborn blocked downpipe.

Blocked Downpipe Cleaning and Gutter Mesh Products

When it comes to gutter guards and gutter mesh in Adelaide, South Australia. The only product that is effective is Fielders Gutter Guards. These gutter guards are made of strong aluminum metal that won't bend, flex and eventually collapse under the weight of the debris the gum tree's drop all year round.

Whether its gum leaves, bark or gum-nuts these massive Australian trees simply make a mess of residential homes in Adelaide, South Australia. Gum trees literally keep our gutter cleaning business going 24/7 day per week.

When it comes to roof leaks, there is nothing more annoying then not being able to find the leak that is causing the water damage on the ceiling. Often roof leaks are caused by poorly maintained roofing or blocked down pipes and guttering.

We have spent years hunting down roof leaks and fixing them before serious water damage takes place. Preventative maintenance is the best way to prevent serious water damage and leaks from occurring. Its a good idea to regularly clean your gutters and make sure the down-pipes are not blocked up with leaves and moss. Even if you do not have trees around your home, it's always good practice to check them every 6 months to make sure nothing is blocking them.

Gutter Mesh can sometimes cause roof leaks as well. Especially if it is installed in the valleys under large gum tree's. Check out this gutter mesh in Adelaide and the work that was done to clean up the gum nuts and the gum tree bark off the gutter guards before they were damaged from the weight of the tree foliage.


This gutter mesh would have collapsed eventually under the weight of the tree foliage and caused some serious blockages in the downpipes and no one would have noticed.

Then one unsuspecting day a big heavy thunder storm arrived in South Australia and the water is overflowing into the ceilings, causing extensive water damage.

This cheap gutter mesh can be purchased at your local Bunning's Warehouse and is relatively easy to install if you class yourself as a handyman.

When installing gutter guards it's important to remember that you will still need to clean your gutters, just not so often. It will also cost more to remove and clean them in a few years time, than a standard gutter clean.

On this residential property it had gutter mesh or leaf guards installed and they just did not do anything but create a blocked downpipe and gutters more efficiently than if they didn't have any gutter mesh installed.