Yard drains, also called area drains or landscape drains, are becoming more and more common especially around nicely landscaped yards or yard with a swimming pool. With a yard drain you can divert water from a particular area, say from the back yard to the street where it goes into storm drains, so you do not get unwanted flooding. Yard drain maintenance is easy to overlook year after year until they start to back up.


These drains need to be cleaned out as much as possible in the fall to keep extra leaves and debris from clogging the line. Gutters often drain into yard drains, so cleaning out gutters is also an important step to keeping water flowing to the right places. Fortunately yard drain maintenance is easy.

1. Open the grate of each area drain and clean out any debris that may be in there. A shop vacuum can help because it can reach further than your hands to remove more debris. Sometimes the area drains are multi-directional so make sure to clean out each direction of the pipe and the catch basin. Clean out anything that does not belong, rock, dirt, leaves, and trash all of which can collect inside the pipes and cause them to back up when you need them working the most.
2. Check the termination area. This can be in the street coming through at the curb or somewhere else in your yard where the water is diverted to. Find this termination point and clean it out.
3. Flush the lines with water after everything is clean. Run water down each area drain to make sure it is working properly. Sometime you can even push the hose down a ways to help push out anything that may be in the drains. Another good idea is to use multiple hoses running water at the same time thus getting even more water into the drain to help flush it out even better.

Dealing with tough yard drain clogs:

• Rubber Drain Bladder: A rubber drain bladder is a rubber bag that fits tightly into the drain and once the water is on forces the water to go down a certain direction. This can be helpful if the water is stopped up or moving really slowly in the area drain.
• Drain machine:Drain machines can work well if you have a tough blockage in the area drain. Often it is not just debris causing the stoppage but roots that have grown into the area drains. Drain machines with the right cutters can cut the root from the inside of the pipe and get everything running freely again. Most area drains are 3” or larger so the drain machine you get will have to be big enough for that size drain line. Renting a drain machine for this project can be an option (see sewer drain snake rental tips). Often tool rental places will have large drain machines that can handle this type of project. Another option would be to call a local plumber and have them snake out the area drain. Running the snake from multiple areas including the termination point is often a good idea.
• Jetting: Hydro or water jetting is the use of really high pressure water to clean out a drain line. This works really well when there is a large buildup of dirt, grease, or sludge. Where the drain snake will just go right through the stoppage the jetter actually disperses and cleans out the area with the high pressure water. To have your line jetted you will have to call a local plumber.