How to Clean a Landscape Drain

A landscape drain, also called an area drain or yard drain is a common hardscape feature commonly found in yards with a swimming pool, extensive landscaping, or significant contours. 

It is also used as a yard drainage system for channeling water from your gutters away from the foundation.

You can easily identify a landscape drain by the grate that’s installed at ground level, usually in a low-lying section of the yard. 

Like other types of drains, a landscape drain can back up thus causing flooding. 

Proper maintenance of your landscape drainage system is the best way to prevent the pooling of water in your yard.

How to Clean Your Yard’s Drainage System

The drainage system for your landscape should be properly cleaned and cared for to ensure that water doesn’t back up and cause flooding. 

The following is a detailed breakdown of the steps involved in cleaning your landscape drainage system.

 To ensure that everything is done correctly, it is best to use a trusted landscaping solutions provider such as Big Easy Landscaping.

Step 1: Remove the Drain Grate

The drain grate is usually a grid in the rim of the catch basin and is usually made of metal or plastic. 

It is usually located in the middle of the lower regions of the yard or the pool and patio decks. 

It can also be located close to the roof gutters where they downspout close to the foundation. 

Big Easy Landscaping technicians know how to detach and reattach the drain gates and catch basins. 

Step 2: Cleaning the Debris

Yard drain catch basins require regular unclogging due to the soils, dirt, and debris that may collect in them. 

Once the drain gates have been removed, Big Easy Landscaping technicians will start to clean out all the dirt and debris either by hand or using a hand cultivator. The technician may even use a vacuum to suck out all the dirt.

Step 3: Inspecting the Termination Area

The termination area is basically the point where drain pipes empty out in the basin. It is usually located close to slopes or curbs in your street or yard. The termination area is used for channeling water away from your yard and home.

The termination area should be inspected by hand by one of our technicians using safety material. You might even find a grate in some termination areas. The grates have to be lifted to clean out the debris and dirt that collects in the termination area.

Step 4: Flushing the Drain Pipes

Big Easy Landscaping technicians will then flush your landscape drain pipes. 

The technicians will use garden hoses and inserts into your drain pipes to flush your drain pipes. 

It is advisable not to attempt this on your own since you can easily damage your drain pipes if you ineffectively push in the hose.

Our technicians will flush out the debris using hoses and multiple pressure points, based on the assessment of the debris. 

Once they have completed this step, the termination point will be visible and debris will clear out thus making the water clear and clean again.

Step 5: Grate Reattachment

Once Big Easy Landscaping technicians have finished cleaning the drains and grates, they will reassemble and reattach them. 

They will attach grates over both the catch basins and termination area. The termination area will be in turn completely functional and will drain properly.

Maintaining Your Yard’s Drain

Maintaining your yard’s drain after Big Easy Landscaping technicians have finished cleaning them and reattached the grates is as simple as a few routine cleaning tasks, which are essentially as follows:

Clearing Obstructions: You need to clear away any vegetation or tree roots that grow too close to the yard drains and especially the grates. 

It is also important not to obstruct yard drainage routes with planters, raised play areas, raised gardens, planters, or berms.

Cleaning the Yard Drain Grate: You should routinely take out the yard drain grate and carefully clean out all the accumulated dirt and debris. Try reaching deep into the pipe using either a long brush or vacuum. The goal should always be to get rid of anything that may clog the system, such as leaves, rocks, or dirt.

Cleaning Out the Termination Area: You should find where your yard drain ends, which should be somewhere close to your yard and near the street. 

Clean thoroughly this section of your yard drain since it will probably be covered with debris of all kinds. You should also lift the grate in this area and clean it. 

Why You Need to Clean Your Drain Regularly

If you want your yard drain to serve you for the longest time possible, you need to take proper care of it. 

Regular cleaning is just one of the ways for you to care for your drain. Here are some of the reasons why you should clean your drain regularly:

Reduce Pipe Blockage: If you clean your drains regularly, you will see a reduction in the number of times your pipes become either blocked or clogged. 

Failure to clean your pipes can lead to the accumulation of solid matter in your pipes, which may cause a pipe burst or blocked drain line, which are both expensive to fix.

Avoid Disasters: Cleaning your drain regularly ensures that your home is never at risk of major flooding problems later on. 

Failure to clean the landscape drains can eventually lead to major flooding in sections of your yard, especially when it rains. 

Fortunately, you can avoid such a disaster by cleaning your landscape drains regularly. Keep in mind to check your landscape irrigation system for it can be the cause of such disasters. 

Save Money: Blocked or clogged pipes can lead to serious damage to the entire drainage system and fixes can be quite expensive. 

Instead of spending so much money on repairs, spend just a little on the necessary cleaning supplies to reduce clogs in your drains. It is much cheaper than paying a professional to restore your broken drains.

Need Help with Yard Drainage Problems in New Orleans?

No matter what your yard drainage issues may be, you should only trust professionals such as Big Easy Landscaping to ensure that they are properly handled. 

Issues such as the slope of the ground, soil conditions plumbing design, and calculating the volume of water are some of the issues involved in coming up with a solution to a drain problem. 

Contact us today to find out how we can help with your yard drainage problems.

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