Where the water goes next
Downpipe Cleaning and Unblocking
Downpipe cleaning in Melbourne is the other half of a working gutter. A gutter can be empty and still overflow if the downpipe below it is choked, which is why one corner of a house so often spills in every storm while the rest behaves. We find where the blockage sits, clear the parts above ground, flush the pipe through and show you the water reaching the drain. If the problem is underground, we tell you exactly where, so a plumber isn't guessing. This service is part of our roof and gutter cleaning services and is included in every gutter clean we do.
- Blockage located, not guessed
- Flushed and flow tested
- Underground faults referred
Symptoms
What are the signs of a blocked downpipe?
The clearest sign is water pouring over the gutter at one spot, right above a downpipe, even though the gutter looks clean. Others are a gurgling or knocking sound during rain, water bubbling up at the base, damp brickwork beside the pipe, and a pipe that drips for hours after rain stops.
- One corner overflowsThe gutter spills near the same downpipe every storm, while other runs cope.
- Gurgling in rainAir and water fighting past a partial blockage inside the pipe.
- Water at the basePooling or bubbling around the bottom of the pipe instead of draining away.
- Damp wallsStains, moss or flaking paint on the brickwork next to the pipe.
A slow blockage is easy to miss because it only shows itself in heavy rain. Melbourne's wettest months are usually in spring, and a short thunderstorm can drop more water in half an hour than a partly choked downpipe can pass. That is when owners see a gutter overflowing for the first time, and assume the gutter is full when it isn't.
One more clue: a downpipe that feels heavy or sounds dull when you tap it low down often has a plug of wet leaves and silt sitting in the bottom bend.
Where to look
Where do downpipe blockages hide?
Most blockages sit in one of five places: the outlet where gutter meets pipe, the first bend under the eave, an offset bend where the pipe steps around the wall, the bottom bend or boot at ground level, and the underground stormwater line. The first four we can reach; the fifth needs a plumber.
- 1The outletWhere the gutter drops into the pipe. Leaves stack up over it and form a lid. The most common blockage by far.
- 2The top bendMost downpipes kink back towards the wall just below the eave. Bark strips and gum nuts jam here.
- 3An offsetWhere the pipe steps around a window, sill or power box. Each extra bend is another place to catch.
- 4The bottom bend or bootSilt settles where the pipe turns into the ground. It sets hard if left for years.
- 5UndergroundTree roots, broken joints and collapsed pipe in the stormwater line. Licensed plumbing work.
Methods
How do we clear each kind of blockage?
We work from the top down. The outlet is cleared by hand, bends are freed with vacuum and drain rods, and then water is run through at volume to prove the whole pipe is open. If water still backs up once everything above ground is clear, the problem is underground.
| Location | Usual cause | How we clear it |
|---|---|---|
| Outlet | Leaf mat over the opening | Cleared by hand, then vacuumed |
| Top bend | Bark, gum nuts, small nests | Vacuum from above, drain rod if needed |
| Offset bends | Leaves wedged in the angle | Drain rod and flushing from above |
| Bottom bend or boot | Compacted silt and grit | Flushing from above; rod from the base where accessible |
| Underground line | Roots, broken or sunken pipe | Located and photographed, referred to a plumber |
The flow test is the part that matters. Water goes in at the gutter and we watch it arrive at the grate, pit or kerb outlet. Until that happens, the job isn't finished. If your downpipe drains into a rainwater tank rather than the stormwater system, we check the tank inlet and leaf screen as well, since they block just as easily.
Knowing the limit
When do you need a plumber instead?
When the blockage is in the underground stormwater pipe. If the downpipe is clear above ground but water still backs up at the base, or a pit keeps overflowing, the fault is below ground. Tree roots, a cracked joint or a sagging pipe need a licensed plumber with a drain camera and jetter.
Melbourne Water describes the city's drainage system as running from roof gutters and downpipes, through property pipes, into council drains and then the larger regional network. The gutters, downpipes and pipes on your land are yours to maintain. Work on the buried pipes is licensed plumbing work in Victoria, so that's where our part stops.
What we can do is save the plumber time. We tell you which downpipe is affected, how far the water gets, whether the pit is dry or full, and whether roots are visible at the boot. Those notes and photos go in the report, so the plumber arrives knowing where to start rather than charging to find the problem.
Older homes in the inner north and east, with clay stormwater pipes and big street trees, are the most likely to have root problems underground. If your downpipes block again within weeks of a clean, that pattern points below ground.
Part of every clean
Are downpipes included in every gutter clean?
Yes. Every gutter clean we do includes clearing the outlets, checking each downpipe from the top and flushing it through. A gutter clean that stops at the gutter leaves half the job undone, because a blocked downpipe will overflow the freshly cleaned gutter at the first heavy rain.
On houses, that means every downpipe on the home, including the short ones off the porch, carport and pergola. Our house gutter cleaning service covers the full list. On commercial roofs, it means every sump, rainhead and overflow as well as the downpipes themselves, which the box gutter and commercial service explains in more detail.
A stand-alone downpipe job makes sense when the gutters were cleaned recently but one pipe keeps overflowing, or after a storm has washed a load of leaves and grit into the system. In that case we clear and test just the affected pipes, and check the gutter above for anything that fed the blockage.
Between cleans
How can you keep downpipes flowing between cleans?
Keep the gutter outlets clear, fit a leaf strainer or rainhead where leaves are heavy, trim branches that hang over the downpipe corners, and keep an eye on the grate at the bottom. Small habits like these stretch the time between blockages a long way.
Outlet strainers. A dome or basket strainer over the outlet stops leaves dropping into the pipe. It needs checking after heavy leaf fall, because a strainer covered in leaves blocks the outlet just as well as a leaf mat does.
Rainheads. A rainhead is a small box with a mesh screen, fitted partway down the pipe. Leaves wash off the screen and fall to the ground instead of travelling down. They suit homes under big trees and anyone feeding a tank.
Branches over the corners. Downpipes usually sit at the corners of a roof, where trees often overhang. Trimming back those limbs cuts the load going into the busiest outlets.
The grate at the bottom. Where the pipe discharges to a surface grate or pit, clear the leaves off the grate after storms. A covered grate backs water up the pipe and makes a clear downpipe look blocked.
Pricing
What does downpipe unblocking cost?
On a gutter clean, downpipes are part of the price. On their own, they are quoted by the number of pipes, their height and how hard they are to get to. If the fault turns out to be underground, you only pay for the work we did above ground, and the notes go to your plumber.
Most stand-alone jobs are one or two pipes on a single storey house and are straightforward to quote from a description and a photo. Second storey downpipes, pipes behind locked side gates and pipes over glass roofs take longer. Where the gutters above are also due, cleaning them in the same visit usually costs little more than the downpipes alone, since the ladder and vacuum are already set up. Our pricing page compares gutter, downpipe and roof cleaning costs if you're weighing up a full clean instead.
How do I get a blocked downpipe cleared quickly?
Send the address, which downpipe is playing up and a photo if you can. If water is already coming inside or pooling against the house, say so in the notes and we'll try to fit you in ahead of routine work. Until then, clearing the leaves from the gutter outlet by hand from a safe ladder can buy time.
For everything else we clean on roofs and gutters, start from the roof and gutter cleaning home page.
Downpipe questions
What do people ask about blocked downpipes?
People usually want to know whether we can reach blockages underground, why the same corner keeps spilling, and whether downpipes are checked as part of a normal gutter clean. Here are the answers.