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.

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