Arizona’s monsoon season officially starts June 15 and runs through September 30. In those three and a half months, the state can receive more than half its annual rainfall, sometimes in a single afternoon. If you have lived here through even one bad monsoon, you know exactly what that looks like: streets that turn into rivers, yards that fill like bathtubs, and drains that were quietly clogged for months suddenly becoming a very expensive problem.
The good news is that a few hours of preparation in May or June can prevent most of it. Here is what to do before the season starts.
Need help clearing your drains before monsoon? Call Arizona Drain Cleaning at (602) 835-1451. Same-day service available.
Why Arizona drains clog differently from other states’ drains
Most of the year, Arizona drains sit completely dry. Unlike humid states where water regularly flushes debris through pipes and gutters, our drains spend the dry season collecting dust, caliche powder, palm frond debris, and blowing sand, and nothing moves any of it until the first big storm hits. When two inches of rain fall in 90 minutes, which is not unusual in the Phoenix metro or Tucson basin, that accumulated debris becomes a plug. Water backs up on roofs, in yards, and eventually inside homes.
This is why pre-monsoon drain cleaning is not just routine maintenance in Arizona. It is preparation for a predictable annual event that will happen whether you are ready for it or not.
Step 1: Inspect and clear your roof drains and scuppers
Flat roofs are everywhere in Arizona because of our normally low rainfall, but they become a liability during monsoon season. Scuppers, the openings cut into parapet walls that let water drain off flat roofs, are the first thing to check every year. A clogged scupper during a heavy storm can allow water to pool faster than the roof structure is rated to hold.
Walk your roof if you can do so safely and look for debris packed into scupper openings, especially bird nests, palm matter, and dust buildup from the dry season. Run a garden hose into each drain and watch how quickly it clears. If the drain is slow or backs up, it needs professional cleaning before the monsoon arrives. Do not wait for the first storm to find out.
You can learn more about our roof and storm drain cleaning services here.
Step 2: Clear your yard drains and catch basins
Yard drains the small grated drains set into your patio, driveway, or landscaping, collect the runoff that cannot absorb into the ground. In Arizona, the caliche layer beneath most desert soil prevents deep absorption, so surface water has nowhere to go except through your drainage system.
Before monsoon season, pull the grate off every yard drain on your property and remove any packed debris by hand. Flush each one with a hose and watch for slow drainage or backflow. Then check the outlet point where each drain exits your property those outlets frequently get buried or blocked by landscaping.
For HOA communities and larger properties, catch basins need attention, too. A catch basin that is half full of packed sand from last monsoon has half the capacity it needs this year. Our yard drain cleaning service handles catch basins for both residential and commercial properties across Arizona.
Step 3: Check your downspouts and gutter outlets
Even homes with sloped roofs have drainage points that need attention. Downspouts clog most often at the elbow joint near the base of the wall, and during a monsoon storm, a blocked downspout becomes a waterfall that saturates the soil right next to your foundation. Run a hose from the top of each downspout and watch the flow at the outlet. Clear any debris from gutter sections that connect to downspouts, and if any outlet drains close to the foundation, add an extension to direct water at least four feet away from the house.
Step 4: Test your indoor drains before storm season starts
This is the step most homeowners skip, and it is one of the most important ones. If your kitchen or bathroom drains are already slow in dry conditions, they will back up completely when storm activity adds extra load to the system. May and early June are the ideal times to get a professional drain cleaning done on your kitchen drain, bathroom drains, and main sewer line.
You want everything moving freely before it has to handle monsoon demand. If it has been more than a year since your drains were professionally cleaned, schedule it now. Call us at (602) 835-1451 to book a pre-monsoon cleaning appointment.
Step 5: Know what to do if flooding starts mid-storm
Even with solid preparation, a severe monsoon can overwhelm a drainage system. If you see water backing up into your home during a storm, stop using all water in the house immediately. Every flush and every faucet adds volume to an already-stressed system. Turn off the dishwasher and washing machine. Do not use a plunger on floor drains or toilets if multiple drains are backed up, because in a main-line situation, plunging forces sewage into the lowest drain in the house. Call a drain professional as soon as possible. Our emergency drain cleaning team is available 24/7 at (602) 835-1451.
Step 6: Do a post-monsoon inspection after the first big storm
Monsoon is not a single event; it is a three-month window with multiple storm cycles. After the first significant storm of the season, walk your property and check yard drain grates for sediment accumulation, look at scuppers for debris washed in by wind, and run water in each indoor sink and shower to feel for any new slowness. Catching a partially blocked drain after storm one prevents a complete backup by storm three.
When to call a professional before July
If your home has a flat roof with drains that have not been cleared since last season, if your yard pooled water during the last monsoon and took more than 24 hours to drain, if any indoor drain is currently slow, if you have large desert trees within 20 feet of your sewer line, or if you manage a rental property where drain maintenance is your responsibility, call before the season starts.
Arizona Drain Cleaning serves the Phoenix metro, Tucson, and surrounding areas. Call (602) 835-1451 or visit arizonadraincleaning.com to schedule your pre-monsoon drain inspection today.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I get my drains cleaned before monsoon season? The best time is May or early June, before the June 15 official monsoon start. That gives any slow drains time to be diagnosed and cleared before the first storm. Do not wait until July, by then, technicians are already busy with emergency calls.
What is a scupper and does my home have one? A scupper is an opening in the parapet wall of a flat roof that allows water to drain off the roof surface. If your home has a flat roof, it almost certainly has scuppers. They look like rectangular openings along the base of the wall surrounding your roofline, and they need to be cleared of debris every year before the monsoon.
Does the caliche layer under my yard really affect drainage? Yes, significantly. Caliche is a hard calcium carbonate layer found a few inches to a few feet below the surface of most Arizona desert soil. Water cannot penetrate it, which is why surface water has to move through yard drains rather than simply soaking into the ground. If your yard drains are blocked, water from a monsoon storm has nowhere to go.
Can a blocked storm drain cause sewage to back up inside my home? In severe cases, yes. When outdoor drainage systems are overwhelmed, the water pressure can push into connected systems, including the main sewer line, which can cause sewage to back up through the lowest indoor drains, typically a laundry room floor drain or first-floor shower.
How much does pre-monsoon drain cleaning cost in Arizona? A standard pre-monsoon drain cleaning for kitchen and bathroom drains runs $100 to $250. Storm drain and yard drain cleaning is typically $150 to $300, depending on the number of drains and the amount of debris. Call us at (602) 835-1451 for a free estimate specific to your property.
Do you offer same-day pre-monsoon drain inspections? Yes. Arizona Drain Cleaning offers same-day service across the Phoenix metro and Tucson areas. Call (602) 835-1451 to check availability. We recommend booking in May if possible, since June slots fill quickly as the monsoon season approaches.
