We frequently hear from customers who use their sewer jetters to clean outdoor drains. Their projects include:
- Removing silt and debris from landscaping and agricultural drains.
- Clearing sediment from drain tile pipes surrounding a home.
- Cleaning the pipes that connect to septic systems.
While many customers tell us they had an easy time cleaning their outdoor drains with a pressure washer sewer jetter, we’ve also heard from users who said that their projects took patience to complete. The main factors that can help make your job easier include:
- Use of a gas-powered pressure washer with a flow rating of around 2.5 GPM or more, especially when removing dirt, silt, and other heavy debris from outdoor drains. The higher flows produced by gas-powered machines produce far more cleaning force and help to flush out these kinds of materials, for reasons we talk about in this article.
- Outdoor drains that are easily accessible, with a few or no sharp, 90-degree elbows between the drain opening and the problem areas you’re trying to reach.
One customer told us about an especially tough outdoor drain cleaning project: his rural home has over 100 ft. of flexible, corrugated 4″ drain pipe that leads from an area in his basement. Large sections of the line became packed with silt over time, and his only solution was to clear the line with a sewer jetter powered by a gas pressure washer.
Since he was jetting downhill into a completely clogged drain, it was necessary to pump out the dirty debris as it rose up from the drain. In his case he found it easiest to use a Shop Vac, and the project took some patience to complete.
