I hear you on the “band-aid” thing. I’ve had tenants try to clear drains themselves and end up making a mess—or worse, damaging the cover. It’s frustrating when the city’s response is slow, but honestly, sometimes waiting is just safer for everyone involved.
I totally get the urge to just grab a broom and poke at the drain cover when the street starts looking like Venice. I mean, how hard can it be, right? But then I remember my neighbor’s “helpful” attempt last year—he ended up dropping his screwdriver down there and we had a mini fishing expedition in the rain. Not ideal.
I do wonder, though, is there some middle ground? Like, is it okay to just clear leaves off the top without actually messing with the cover? Or is that still risky? I’m always worried I’ll make things worse or somehow break something expensive. The city’s response time is... let’s just say not speedy. But yeah, sometimes waiting (and maybe investing in some waterproof boots) seems like the safest bet. Anyone else ever feel weirdly guilty just watching the water rise and doing nothing?
Clearing leaves off the top is usually fine, at least in my experience. I get the hesitation, though—nobody wants to be the person who accidentally makes things worse or damages city property. I’ve always figured as long as you’re not prying up the cover or sticking tools down there, just sweeping away debris is pretty harmless. The real risk seems to come when people start poking around with random objects or trying to “fix” something they can’t see.
I do feel a bit guilty sometimes just watching water pool up, but honestly, it’s not really on us to maintain city infrastructure. If you’re worried about liability or breaking something expensive, just stick to clearing what’s visible and leave the rest for the professionals (even if they’re slow). I’ve seen neighbors go overboard and end up making a mess—one guy tried to “help” and ended up clogging it worse with a wad of wet newspaper.
Waterproof boots are a solid investment, though. At least you can wade out and check things without soaking your socks...
- Clearing leaves off the grate is about as far as I’ll go.
-
Seen this happen—someone jammed a stick down there and the whole block was flooded for hours.“one guy tried to ‘help’ and ended up clogging it worse with a wad of wet newspaper.”
- City maintenance is slow, but breaking something is a bigger headache.
- Waterproof boots are clutch, but I keep a snow shovel in the garage just for pushing debris off the drains.
- If it’s more than leaves, I just call it in and let the city handle the rest. Not worth the risk.
“one guy tried to ‘help’ and ended up clogging it worse with a wad of wet newspaper.”
Yeah, I’ve seen that kind of “help” too. People mean well, but shoving random stuff down the drain usually just makes it worse. I’ll clear off the leaves and sticks if I see them, but I’m not messing with anything below the grate. Once you start poking around in there, you can break something or jam it up, and then it’s a whole city problem instead of just a puddle.
I’m with you on the snow shovel—works way better than trying to use your hands or a broom, especially after a storm. One time I tried to clear out some mud with a rake and ended up splattering myself and making an even bigger mess.
If it’s more than just surface gunk, I just report it too. City might be slow, but at least they (usually) have the right tools. Not worth risking flooding your own house or dealing with angry neighbors because you tried to MacGyver it.
