Autumn, Drainage, and Falling Leaves

From season to season, the challenges you are going to face when it comes to drainage systems. Autumn is not exempt from its own unique challenges, and with the Summer coming to a close it is time for us to prepare for the coming months.

As nights get darker and colder, trees will begin to shed their leaves for the coming months. Although this might look striking and beautiful, it can create an absolute nightmare for your drains.

In this blog we will help you to prepare for your Autumn season, to make sure that your pipes run smoothly the entire time.

If you do end up facing a problem, or would like to schedule some drainage maintenance, give us a call now on 0808 164 0776.

Falling Leaves in Your Drainage System

Falling leaves are particularly troublesome when it comes to blocking your drains. This is because your control over them is somewhat limited; it is not like greases and fats, where you are responsible for putting them down there in the first place!

As leaves begin to fall from the trees in and around your garden, they will eventually find openings to guide them into your pipes. All going well, the leaves will simply wash away and out of your property. However, with the sheer amount of plant matter assaulting your system, it is not unusual for some to start to collect in the form of a clog.

These clogs can eventually cause critical blockages, which can lead to burst pipes and widespread plumbing. The question remains, then, what can you do about it?

Rake, Rake, and Rake Some More

Since you can’t stop the leaves from falling, your only option is to deal with them after they land on the ground. While you will never catch each and every leaf, you can significantly reduce the number blowing around your property.

Throughout Autumn it is vital that you rake your garden frequently. Even if you only get 80% of the leaves that have actually fallen, that is a significant reduction in terms of potential problems.

Every leaf that you gather up and stick on the compost bin is one that cannot clog your pipes. It might not be the most fun job in the world, but raking is your first line of drain defence during the Autumn months!

Guard Your Openings

Once you have raked up your leaves and reduced the number of leaves blowing around, the next step is to guard your drain openings. There could be any number of drain openings around your property, and it is important to shield them all.

Your first option is to buy dedicated drain guards. These allow water to flow through, but larger objects like leaves will become caught up in them. These are quite easy to install and generally inexpensive.

Your second option is to merely use some mesh. This might be a little harder to install as it is not a dedicated product, but it will be even cheaper, and you might have something suitable on-hand already. Just use the mesh to cover the entrance, and make sure the holes are large enough so that it does not disrupt water flow.

Control What You Can

Since you can’t control nature, you should make sure to manage what you can. It is essential that while your pipes are dealing with an influx of problematic leaves that you do not add fuel to the fire from within your home.

Some of the things you should be focusing on are:

Fats and Greases: As always, fat and grease are the most significant problems when it comes to creating blockages and the issues that follow. Don’t let these combine with the leaves to form a clog; make sure all fat and grease go in the bin, not down the sink.

Hair: Hair is always an issue, and you should always be vigilant. However, it is even more critical when the hair has the opportunity to combine with leaves to form a tough, stubborn clog. The simplest way to deal with this is to buy a small drain guard, and just grab any hair from it at the end.

Drain Jetting

No matter how careful and attentive you are, there is still a real chance that a clog will arise anyway. By employing Clark Drainage to carry out professional drain jetting, you can guarantee that any blocks which are gathering will be forced on through the pipes and away from your property.

The entire process only takes an hour or two, is inexpensive, and will make sure that your drains consistently flow at maximum capacity.

It is also worth noting that high-pressure water jetting is not only the best option for clearing your drains, but it is also entirely harmless to your pipes.

To arrange your Autumn drain jetting session, just give us a call.

Get in Touch

If you spot that there are problems with your water flow, it is incredibly important you seek professional support as soon as possible. Although it might just seem like an inconvenience, as the clog builds you can find yourself facing an incredibly dangerous blockage.

This can cause your pipe to burst, which will lead to widespread flooding and water damage throughout your property. The cost of having this repaired will dwarf anything you will pay for professional drain cleaning, so it is up to you to decide on the risk compared to the award!

To speak to one of our operators about what services we can offer you, give us a call now on 0808 164 0776.