For a slow outdoor drain, put down the bottle of lye and pick up a garden hose with a jetter nozzle, a drain auger, or the phone to call a plumber. Your yard, your pipes, and your local watershed will thank you.
However, using a standard drain cleaner outside is a fundamentally different proposition than using it indoors. This article provides a comprehensive examination of the types of outdoor clogs, the chemistry of drain cleaners, the specific risks of using them in an exterior environment, and the safer, more effective alternatives. Before selecting a tool, you must identify the enemy. Indoor clogs are typically composed of organic matter (hair, skin cells, food grease, soap scum). Outdoor clogs are a different beast entirely. drain cleaner outside
When a sink drains slowly in the kitchen, we reach for a bottle of gel clog remover. When a toilet backs up, we grab a plunger. But what happens when the problem is not inside the house, but buried in the yard? Clogged exterior drain lines, French drains, downspout extensions, and gutter downpipes are a common but often misunderstood problem. The instinct is often the same: reach for the heavy-duty chemical cleaner. For a slow outdoor drain, put down the
Do not use standard liquid or gel drain cleaners in exterior drains. The potential for groundwater poisoning, pipe damage, and personal injury far outweighs any minimal chance of success. This article provides a comprehensive examination of the