Where Do All Those Leaves In My Gutters Actually Go?

Where Do All Those Leaves Actually Go?

Everybody in Central Ohio knows fall leaves clog gutters. That part is no secret. What most homeowners never think about is what happens to the leaves that don't stay in the gutter — the ones that wash down the downspout, into the drain line, and out of sight. Out of sight is where the expensive problems live.

THE TRIP A LEAF TAKES

A whole leaf usually gets caught in the gutter. But a leaf that's been rained on for a week breaks down into small, soggy pieces, and those pieces travel. They slip past the gutter, down the downspout, and into whatever comes next. On a lot of Columbus homes, what comes next is a buried pipe running out to the yard or the curb.

That pipe is where leaf debris settles. It doesn't flush all the way through like water does. It collects in the low spots, mixes with shingle grit and dirt, and turns into a sludge that narrows the pipe a little more every season. You won't see any of it happen. You'll just notice one day that the water isn't going where it used to.

THE GRATES NOBODY RAKES

If you have surface drains in your yard — those square or round grates set into a low spot, a window well, or the bottom of a driveway — October is rough on them. Leaves mat down over a grate like a lid. Once that mat is wet and packed, water flows right over the top and pools instead of draining.

Mulched leaves are sneakier. When leaves get chopped up by a mower, the pieces are small enough to wash straight through the grate and into the line below, where they settle. A grate that looks clear can still be feeding your drain line a steady diet of debris all month.

WHAT TO DO THIS MONTH

The good news is that most of this is simple, and October is the right time to handle it.

• Rake and blow leaves away from every grate and drain opening, not just off the lawn

• Find the end of your drain line, usually a pop-up emitter or a curb outlet, and clear the leaves and mulch piled around it

• Check the elbow at the bottom of each downspout for packed debris

• Don't blow leaves into the street gutter or storm drain in front of your house

• Run a hose down a downspout for a few minutes and watch the far end — you should get a steady flow, not a trickle

WHY IT CAN'T WAIT UNTIL SPRING

A drain line that's half full of leaf sludge still works in October. Water gets through slowly, so nothing seems wrong. Then the temperature drops, whatever is sitting in that line freezes, and a partial clog becomes a complete one you can't do anything about until the ground thaws. Every bit of roof runoff and snowmelt from then on goes straight down beside your foundation.

That's the February wet basement that seems to come out of nowhere.

WHEN TO CALL US

If water pools over a grate, your emitter never opens, or the hose test tells you something is blocked, the line needs more than raking. We inspect underground and surface drains for blockages and damage, flush them clear, and repair or replace pipe that's cracked, crushed, or separated at a joint. Roots and old, brittle pipe are common in the older Columbus neighborhoods. Where Do All Those Leaves In My Gutters Actually Go?

AllDone Gutters and Drains is a family-owned, licensed and insured company serving Columbus, Dublin, Westerville, Hilliard, and Grove City. Call 614-701-6567 to get your drains flushed before the freeze.

Done right, done once, All Done.