A blocked downpipe announces itself in heavy rain: water sheets over the gutter, runs down the wall, or pours out of a joint halfway up. Left alone, that water soaks brickwork, ruins pointing and can end up inside the house. We clear blocked downpipes and rainwater pipes with the same kit we use for blocked outside drains, and we check where the water goes once it leaves the pipe. Call 07427 195142.
Signs of a blocked downpipe
- Water overflowing the gutter during rain, even though the gutter looks clear
- A waterfall from a downpipe joint or the shoe at the bottom
- Damp or green staining on the wall behind the pipe
- A gully at the base that fills and overflows when it rains
- No water reaching the drain at the bottom during heavy rain
What blocks a rainwater pipe
Almost everything in a downpipe arrives from the gutter: leaves, moss, silt, broken tile grit and the occasional tennis ball or bird's nest. The blockage usually sits at a bend or at the swan neck at the top, where the pipe changes direction and debris snags. Over time, silt settles at the bottom bend and the shoe, and the pipe slowly chokes from below.
Sometimes the pipe is clear and the real blockage is underground, in the gully or the surface water drain the downpipe discharges into — the water backs up the pipe and spills from the lowest joint.
How we clear it
Where access allows, the pipe is rodded from the top or from the bottom, breaking the blockage and flushing it through. Sections can be taken apart at the joints where needed. If the blockage turns out to be in the gully or the underground run, we clear that with rods or high pressure water jetting, exactly as we would any other outside drain.
Once clear, we run water from the top and watch it leave at the bottom, so we know the whole route — gutter outlet, pipe, shoe, gully and drain — is flowing.
When the problem is at the bottom
If the downpipe is clear but the water has nowhere to go, the fault is in what it drains to. A blocked gully can usually be cleared on the spot. A soakaway that has silted up or failed is a different job — see soakaway repair. And if the surface water drain itself is damaged or root-bound, a CCTV drain survey will show it.
Keeping downpipes clear
Gutters that are cleared regularly send far less debris down the pipe. Gutter guards and downpipe leaf traps help where trees overhang the roof. If the same pipe blocks repeatedly, it is worth having the underground run checked — a partial blockage below ground will keep catching what the pipe delivers.
Questions
Can a blocked downpipe cause damp inside the house?
Yes. Overflowing water runs down the wall and soaks the brickwork, and over time that moisture can show up inside. Clearing the pipe early is far cheaper than dealing with the damp.
How do you clear a downpipe you cannot reach from the ground?
Where safe access allows we rod from the top; otherwise we work from the bottom and the joints. If the blockage is actually in the gully or underground drain, we clear it from ground level.
What affects the cost of clearing a blocked downpipe?
Mainly access and where the blockage sits — a simple rod-through is a small job, while a blocked underground run or a failed soakaway is more involved. We price it once we know which it is.
The downpipe is clear but water still backs up — why?
The blockage is then below ground: the gully, the surface water drain or the soakaway. We check each in turn until the water flows away properly.