Had a 20-year-old underground conduit completely collapse on me yesterday.

Joel Adams · 2026-03-28T09:20:06.641937+00:00

It was packed with clay and roots, so I had to run a whole new line. Anyone else run into this lately, or is it just my bad luck?

hugo6457mo ago

That pressure washer trick can work for a partial clog, but a fully collapsed conduit is a different story. The pipe walls have physically given way, so clearing the blockage doesn't fix the structure. You'd just be washing debris into the surrounding soil. Once it's pancaked, there's no real path for the new line to follow, which is why a fresh trench is usually the only permanent fix.

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calebh907mo ago

Ugh, that's the worst. I had the same thing happen last month. Ended up just trenching a whole new line next to the old one.

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barbara3857mo ago

Ever try using a pressure washer to clear out the worst of it first? I blasted out a ton of clay and small roots that way, saved me a ton of digging. Might buy you some time before a full replacement.

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