Underground Gutter Drain Is Bad

A clogged downspout can cause numerous costly structural issues.

Underground gutter drain is bad.

A rain gutter drain pipe is usually installed to carry water away from your house. Sketch courtesy of carson dunlop associates. Why your underground downspout drain is clogged and what to do about it underground downspout drain. If your plumber s auger line is too short to reach to the end of the pipe go as far as you can from the front of the.

If downspouts drain too close to the home this can also result in pooling water around the home. Most homeowners know it s important to move water that is discharged by their downspouts away from their foundations if they want to avoid seepage in the basement. A potential hidden problem there are different ways that you can channel the water in your gutters away from your home. Gutters catch rainwater as it descends from your roof and direct its flow to your downspout to drain.

An underground drain pipe can become clogged in a variety of ways including leaf buildup or damage to the pipe itself. Bad downspout draining not only do your gutters need sloped at a precise angle but the downspouts need specific direction as well. Some homeowners choose to install above ground extensions from the big box store but many more have learned that underground downspout extensions do a better job of yard drainage. When the water from the downspout flows into the drain tile system it multiplies several times over the volume of water the drain tile was designed to handle.

Usually underground drains are piped anywhere between 5 100 feet depending on the. Many home improvement stores rent plumber s augers that are likely long enough to meet your needs. Some underground gutter drains terminate in the sewer system instead of at the. Underground downspouts divert this water away from your home which protects your foundation and keeps your basement dry.

This greater volume of water creates a huge load on the sump pump which will run almost continuously in heavy rains shortening its life and increasing the risk of failure. Downspouts are the part of the gutter system that works to get all the rain water off the. Others have vertical pipes that either connect to a drain or run directly into the ground itself. Debris flowing down a downspout drain that has been foolishly connected to the building foundation drain system can block that drain leading to basement flooding from either roof runoff or surface and subsurface runoff or both.