All too often people forget about gutter cleaning and roof maintenance of the home they live in or rent out until water starts to over flow out of the gutters or water leaks start to occur inside the home. When these two things happen, then most people remember to get the gutters and downpipes cleared as soon as possible.

Try to keep cleaning gutters and checking the down pipes for blockages every six months. Something as simple as a tennis ball can cause a down pipe to get blocked up and then over flow with water when it rains. Make sure your gutters and downpipes are cleared before winter in Adelaide, South Australia

When the roof maintenance and gutter cleaning is left until the last minute. The water does end up overflowing, and causing roof leaks inside. This is often a lot more expensive to repair, compared to cleaning the gutters and roofing on a regular basis to prevent a blocked down pipe and clogged up gutters. Preventative roofing maintenance can also stop costly water damage repairs.

Even in summer if there is a sudden heavy summer storm and the downpipes are blocked up, then you can expect some severe water damage if it is heavy and constant rain for a few hours. Once water is sitting inside the ceiling of your premises, it is very likely the weight of the water will pull the entire ceiling down. This is really expensive water damage repair work.

One of the most common repairs you will come across as a handyman is blocked downpipes. This situation is all too common and if the down pipe is left blocked up, your guttering and roofing will eventually rust out quickly, especially if you live near the beach. If the tree leaves, sticks and bark are regularly blocking up your gutters, you can simply unblock them by following this simple method.

You will need the following tools:

1. Sturdy Ladder
2. Some garden housing
3. Thin piece of rounded metal
4. Metal Rod 2-3 meters long
5. High Pressure Washer
6. Pressure Washer blocked pipe attachment

Once you have these tools, you will be ready to unblock your down pipes quickly and easily with these simple short steps:

Step 1: Position the ladder beneath the blocked down pipe to gain access to the guttering from above and climb onto the roof.

Step 2: See how bad the blockage is in the down pipe. If the blockages is extremely compacted with all sorts of debris, then it might be easier to remove the blocked down pipe and clear it out that way. However you can still unblock it if you keep the down pipe installed in its original position.

Step 3: Connect the garden hose and put the other end into the down pipe entrance at the top in the guttering. Turn on the water until you have loads of water pressure and push the hose down into the blocked guttering down pipe. Vigorously move the hosing in and out with the water tap still on. This method will unblock minor to medium down pipe blockages.

Step 4: Severe blockages may require further equipment such as chemicals, steel rods and a high pressure washer. Use the steel rod to ram the blocked down pipe as hard as you can and attempt to loosen the blockages. You should work from the top and the bottom of the heavily blocked up down pipe, this will help to loosen the blockage from both sides.

Step 5: Pour in chemicals that will eat up and dissolve the materials that are blocking up the down pipe. This should be done with extreme care and safety equipment to be worn when working with dangerous chemicals. Let the chemical sit in the blocked down pipe for 20-30 minutes. Then try ramming the blocked down pipe with the steel rod. If the chemicals are doing the job, then you will feel the blockage getting softer.

Step 6: At this stage the high pressure washer should be used to blast out the blockage in conjunction with the steel rod and chemicals all working together to finally unblock heavily blocked up commercial down pipes

Clearing A Blocked Downpipe?

Are you planning on following this how to unblock downpipe’s guide? The most common question we get asked in regards to our gutter cleaning and blocked downpipe guide, is how to use the garden hose and make it fit into the down-pipe entrance. The garden hose attachments will need to be removed if you want to use the garden hose to unblock your down pipes. Some hoses have the attachments plastic welded on and you may need to cut the garden hose. Most older and high quality garden hoses allow the plastic or metal attachments to be removed.

When it comes to preventative roof maintenance and gutter cleaning then Gutter Guys Adelaide has a gutter cleaning website that has a wide range of DIY tips, home maintenance and guttering ideas for your home if you search through our websites DIY guttering tips and information. We also provide other detailed guides on how to restore your guttering and roofing. When we clean your guttering and your gutters are looking tired and a bit old, then ask us how to get a free gutter and roof restoration service.