Stern drainage rails

[blackrose]

On the right angled bends in your drainage downpipes you may well find that the leaves and other debris have solidified and formed a major blockage. Mine have curved bends and I managed to get clothes hanger wire through but I was surprised how solid the blockage had become.

[Opener]

18 hours ago, WotEver said:

Run the drill in the correct direction so that the wire tightens the twist and doesn’t try to undo itself. 

Hmm!,. Good point which I hadn't considered. However, there will be two schools of thought. A  - your point. B - opposite so that the open end will try to screw itself through or round any blockage, hopefully before it undoes the twist. I think I did vB but was more interested in the threshing around action rather than the screwing bit.

[Iain_S]

Screw and pull usually works better than threshing around. (At least, it does in larger sizes! )

[Capnbob]

For anyone looking who stumbles over this, I solved the problem by cutting 40cm off the pound shop spring (also available in Toolstation), connecting it to a drill (on screwdriver setting), and using it to bore into and through the (very solid) blockage. Worked a charm, even round the bend.