Drainage System Maintenance Tips

Attempting to fix your drainage system is the last thing you want to be doing in the middle of a downpour. A single puddle that refuses to drain can cause permanent damage to your landscape or garden. In order to prevent this, you need to properly maintain your garden drainage system. Maintaining your drainage system in addition to your garden may seem daunting, so here are some drainage system maintenance tips to make the process a little bit easier.

Unclog Your Drains Regularly

If puddles are starting to form in spots where they didn’t occur previously, your drains may need to be cleaned. After a period of time without maintenance, it’s common for drainage systems to get clogged up with leaves, grass, and other debris. If clogged drains are the reason for the puddles in your garden, here are some things you should do.

First, make sure you wear safety equipment. Removing the debris from your drains could result in some scrapes, so wearing gloves is advises. Safety glasses may be useful too.

Clean up all debris covering your drains – Any item that blocks the drainage holes in your grates will decrease the effectiveness of your drains. Remove anything that doesn’t belong there, the most common of which will be grass, rocks, and leaves.

Open your grates and remove the debris that fell through – The debris that was small enough to fall through your drainage holes is still big enough to stop a drain from working. Remove the grate and clean out as much as possible. A drain snake or an auger can be especially useful in breaking up any clogs that formed deep in the pipes.

Pour water down to see if the clog was removed – Use a hose and try to back up the pipes. If the water drains correctly, congratulations! You unclogged your pipes!

Additional Drainage System Maintenance Tips

Drainage clogs are the most common problem among garden drainage systems, but there are some things you can do to help prevent them.

Install a Downspout Screen
Downspout screens help prevent debris from passing through your drainage holes into your pipes, which prevents clogging. Downspout screens can help dramatically decrease the time it takes for drainage system maintenance by preventing the pipe from clogging in the first place.

Avoid Putting Rigid Objects Into Your Drains
Rigid items, although they may seem useful for unclogging pipes, can cause more harm than good by damaging the pipes. It’s much easier to properly unclog a drain than it is to install a new drainage pipe due to an old one being broken.

Follow these useful tips yo protect your landscape and garden drainage systems and reduce the need for maintenance. Pearson Sprinkler Co. specializes in drainage system installation and maintenance. If you are having issues with your drainage system, contact us today and schedule an appointment to have a specialist take care of it!