Deck O Drain Cleaning and Lessons Learned - Use a Shop Vac, too

[Hoster]

Before I begin, I will certain use a snake, a power washer, etc. if / as needed in the future. Also, as a last resort, will consider installing a deck drain janitor (How To Clean Pool Deck Drains | Pool Deck Drain Janitor). Meanwhile, I simply used this method -

- using a nozzle / hose. One thing I wanted to share is the usage of a shop vac. As you can see in the YouTube video, the dirt / silt / mud do come back into the drain, and you can use a shop vac to vacuum what's pushed out from the drain simultaneously (obviously easier if you have another person). Since my drain does not decline significantly and the drain end is on a slight incline (and last 10 ft or so is buried under the lawn), even if I push the water / silt / debris as far as I can using the nozzle / hose, the debris may get "stuck" somewhere. Consequently, using a shop vac to vacuum what I pushed out (e.g., the debris / silt) really helped. The only downside is emptying the vacuum multiple times - and obviously you want to discard the water / silt "somewhere else." My picture only shows some "minor" amounts of silt / mud as I could only take a picture of what's remaining on the concrete deck.

As discussed many times, our deck-o-drain is "permanent," we gotta figure out the best way to clean them out

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I take the top of the channel drain off(they are installed in various length pieces) with a wide blade screwdriver and go from one end to the other using the screwdriver blade to cut into the mud and push it out. Then with high pressure move it all off the deck and out clear out the channel. Works a charm and the top presses right back in. I had weeds growing out of the drain cover at points!

Maddie

 

[markayash]

I had those and every time I had a hard rain they would clog and back up water against the house which lead to water in the basement! Mine was a 2" channel
Spent many days out in a heavy rain storm with my shop vac saying not so nice words wondering if I would get struck by lightning or electrocuted first due to running a shop vac in 1" of standing water

 

[RMcGirr83]

Cleaned ours out last year. Covers to the channels do pop up (just be careful and take your time) and then you can get into the channel they sit in. used a screw driver to loosen up the gunk in the bottom of the channel and a shop vac with attachment to suck the gunk out.

 

[Hoster]

I take the top of the channel drain off(they are installed in various length pieces) with a wide blade screwdriver and go from one end to the other using the screwdriver blade to cut into the mud and push it out. Then with high pressure move it all off the deck and out clear out the channel. Works a charm and the top presses right back in. I had weeds growing out of the drain cover at points!

Maddie

You are lucky to have a removal cover as I don't have one...(inherited an old one from the previous owner). Thanks for the info!

 

[Hoster]

I had those and every time I had a hard rain they would clog and back up water against the house which lead to water in the basement! Mine was a 2" channel
Spent many days out in a heavy rain storm with my shop vac saying not so nice words wondering if I would get struck by lightning or electrocuted first due to running a shop vac in 1" of standing water

I hear you as ours did not drain quickly during a storm. Luckily, we didn't have an issue on the deck and my basement did flood a bit (not due to deck-o-drain though).

 

[markayash]

We had our driveway replaced and a 10’ wide section up against the house ( started dropping and cracking ) several years ago. The concrete guy built in a low area and sloped it so all the water runs down and out the driveway. Really don’t notice the slope until it rains.
Our pool deck is our backyard so a lot of water comes off the roofs and in a heavy rain gets crazy if the gutters can’t keep up