Pressure Washing Guide

Mockingbird · Joined: 05 Jul 2009 Posts: 37

Help! It appears one of my downspouts is clogged. I tried to use a long piece of wire to dislodge the blockage and can't seem to get it. Is a powerwasher to powerful for this task? Is my only solution to replace the downspout?

Midwestpro · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:24 pm Post subject:

Try cramming a running garden house down the spout from the top, that will usually clear out any debris. A pressure washer can be used with care not to blow the joints apart if the garden hose does not work. Here are some more gutter cleaning tips you can follow.

tongyun · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 52

I'd be afraid to use a pressure washer because of the amount of force that used, and as Midwestpro said, it could damage the joints. Have you considered something like pressurized air? Not sure if there's a machine that will do that but maybe you can blow out the debri?

Mockingbird · Joined: 05 Jul 2009 Posts: 37

I tried the hose method, I think there is something like a branch or something jammed it there. Maybe the kids managed to get a ball or something stuck. I was hoping not to have to replace but I don't know. Can you use a snake like you do on a drain?

Midwestpro · Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 3:30 pm Post subject:

You can try the snake. If that doesn't work the worse case scenario is to disassemble the down spout so you can see what is in there. A downspout is usually held together with pop rivets. Just drill them out with a 5/16" drill bit and the spout will come apart easily. Clean it out and then rehang it using new rivets and a pop rivet gun using the same holes. Believe it or not I used to hang gutters for a living, there is nothing to it. If you don't have a pop rivet gun you can probably rent one if you don't want to spend the money on a new one.

tongyun · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 52