How to Clean Drain for Roof Downspouts

New outside drains were installed to carry the rain water from the downspouts away from the foundation. Roof gutters were cleared of debris last week. One of the downspouts is not taking the water this week. I need to open the white PVC cover on the access drain next to one of the down spouts in order to insert a water hose to determine if there is a clog in the drain going away from the house. Each downspout goes into newly installed drains which then go out into the yard to connect with the main drain going away from the house. All drains are underground.

How do I open the cover of the access drain? It has about a 2 3/4 ” slot across the top that is about 1/2″ wide and about 3/8″ deep. I have put in a call for someone to come to see what need to be done with the roof gutter, but is is raining each day here in Pittsburgh PA and the water is leaking into the basement.

Your help would be greatly appreciated. (ASAP, Please!)

Our Answer

PVC drains are usually glued in place but from your description it sounds much more likely that the gutters are simply clogged. Focus on getting those cleaned. If the underground drains are clogged, abandon them temporaily by re-routing downspouts away from the home by about 6 feet. That should eliminate the drainage back into your basement. Then contact a drain cleaning company who will be able to use a pipe camera to find out exactly where the clog is in the underground pipes, if it exists.