There’s nothing quite like a hot summer’s day in Sydney with a thunderstorm in the afternoon, especially if it’s followed by an almighty downpour of rain. What is even more satisfying is knowing your grass, gardens or even your rainwater tanks are getting their piece of the action. But on the other hand, there is nothing worse than your stormwater drainage system failing you, and leaving your house at risk of being under attack from flooding.
Often, people don’t pay a lot of attention to stormwater drainage until it’s too late. Blocked stormwater drains are a huge problem when left unattended.
Having a flowing stormwater system is extremely important, and you may be asking yourself; why? Well, flooding/pooling can cause serious damage inside and outside of your beloved home. Interior flooding is the obvious no-no: nobody wants to float into bed at night. The exterior of your home is also just as important, as stormwater can cause very expensive damage to your house’s foundations, which hold your house sturdy and upright. Also, pooling water near walls is just an open invitation to damaging walls and creating rising damp, which isn’t healthy at all.
Common signs of blocked stormwater drainage:
The stormwater pipe can be blocked by a number of intrusions. These include silt (from roofs), mud, tree roots and leaves.
If you feel you may have a blocked stormwater system, these signs will help in being certain that you actually do:
– Water overflowing out of gutters or roof during heavy rain.
– Water overflowing out of downpipes or connections to the ground drain.
– Pooling of water in and around your house.
– Piles of leaves visible in roof gutters.
– Stormwater drains installed in paver or concrete driveways covered in leaves and sticks or full of mud and silt.
How to prevent stormwater blockages:
Cleaning and maintaining your stormwater system is important, as this will help keep them clear and move water away from your house.
The steps below are an easy way to avoid blocked stormwater drains:
– Check your drains weekly for debris build up and clean when required.
– Once a month, check and clean your roof gutters to prevent any leaves and sticks (or any other debris from the roof e.g. tennis balls, toys, silt) going down the downpipes and into your drains.
– Once a year, have your drains inspected and cleaned by a plumber with a high pressure water jetter.
– Run the hose down the drains every couple of weeks (especially if no rain has occurred for a while) as this may help move on a potential blockage.
– Consider installing a gutter guard on gutters or silt filters on stormwater grates.
Also, if possible, check your drains during a heavy downpour to see if they are coping or backing up. This is the perfect test or reward for all your hard work on maintaining your stormwater system, and if they are not coping you will then know they need more attention.
How we can help:
Stubborn stormwater blockages are not a do-it-yourself with a garden hose type of job. Sometimes these jobs can require specialist equipment, e.g. high pressure water jetter, CCTV camera inspection and/or locating equipment. At FXD Plumbing Solutions, we carry all of that equipment on our specially equipped Utes to make our life easier and to get the job done quicker for our happy clients. You can be sure you’re receiving the best service and the latest technology when asking us to help you with your stormwater issues or any other related plumbing problems.
