Backyard patio drains are clogged

[Jerry Bransford]

I'm a pretty fair shadetree plumber and have been doing my own plumbing and snaking my own clogged drains for years. However, my backyard patio and pool drains that are scattered around have clogged up with dirt from a sloped area behind the pool. Obviously, neither of my snakes are nearly long enough to take care of that.

I'm guessing my only hope is to hire a pro plumber or drain specialist with a snake on a trailer that can run the 75' from my back yard drains to the curbside drain. I probably have 4-5 drains that apparently feed into a main drain tube that leads out to the curb drain. Does anyone have an estimated charge a plumber or drain specialist might charge?

[Coonash]

You should be able to rent a machine to do that.

[havasu]

I had the same problem, and called a company to snake out the entire backyard drains. When he gave me the bill, he commented that for the same price, I could have gone to Harbor Freight and bought a 100' power snake, and could do it for free in the years to come. I decided to bite the bullet and purchase one once they go on sale again!

[Jerry Bransford]

Good idea, I have a Harbor Freight store near by. How much was that bill for havasu?

Thanks to both of you guys!

[havasu]

I was charged $200 to clean out my drains, but he also included my main line. I've seen the Harbor Freight electric snakes for ~$125 - $175. I also found out that most of my problems were due to the concrete spilling into the backyard drains because the idiots didn't seal the caps tight enough while pouring the concrete. With lots of snaking and flushing with water, they are clean as a whistle!

[Nailer341]

you can also rent the machine at home depot.

[pipingplunder]

I think a rental charge is like 30 bucks for the power snake. Might be a better option if you don't have the room to store the snake you'll use every other year. You also might want to consider getting or renting a pipe inspection system to see if there's any damage to those pipes.

[majakdragon]

I agree with renting the drain auger. Why need to make a storage spot for something that will be rarely used? Even though I do buy things from Harbor Freight, I stay away from any power tools. replacing a bad motor or needing to have a broken cable removed from the drainpipe would cost more than the original price.

[Kilroy]

Hi Jerry,
You may or may not remember me. I'm the plumber who was talking to you in the parking lot in Kearny Mesa about jeeps and Detroit lockers.
If the drains are full of dirt sometimes a snake won't clear it.
May require a high pressure jetter to clean it out.
Area drains can often be a real b*tch to clean. They are often neglected for so long and roots can severly impact them.
Many a time I've had to dig up the drains to remove roots.
We use Rigid Equipment K1500-Sectional-Machinewith 1-1/4" cables and even these bad boys won't grind through pipe full of mud.
PM here or JF. I'll give you some referals to a good drain service

AKA Krazedav @ JF