Denver County · Denver Metro
Drain Cleaning in Denver, CO
Denver's older neighborhoods were built over a century of booms, and a lot of the sewer pipe under them dates from those years. Clay laterals, big street trees and basements that sit below the sewer main add up to more main line backups than almost anywhere else on the Front Range.
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Denver homes and their sewer lines
Neighborhoods like Washington Park, Highland, Park Hill, Capitol Hill, Baker and Berkeley are full of brick bungalows, foursquares and Victorians from roughly the 1890s to the 1940s. Many still have their original vitrified clay sewer laterals running under the front yard to the city main, sometimes patched in places with cast iron or PVC. Post-war neighborhoods like Harvey Park, Virginia Village and Montclair's later sections added ranch homes with basements in the 1950s and 1960s.
Denver property owners are generally responsible for their own sewer lateral, including the connection to the main. That makes a scope before buying, and the camera footage after a backup, especially useful here.
Why Denver drains back up
Large elms, maples, cottonwoods and ash trees line many older Denver streets, and their roots work into clay pipe joints. The typical result is a main line that backs up into the basement floor drain every year or two, often in spring. Basements in older homes also sit low relative to the main, so any blockage shows up downstairs first.
Grease in kitchen lines is the other big one, especially in older homes with galvanized steel kitchen drains. And during deep cold snaps, drains in additions and enclosed porches over crawlspaces can freeze. See main sewer line clogs in Denver and tree roots in Denver sewer lines.
Call if you notice
- Water rising from the basement floor drain when the washer empties
- Main line backups in spring, year after year
- Roots or clay fragments on the cable after a clearing
- Gurgling toilets in a bungalow with one bathroom
- A kitchen drain that clogs every few months
Denver drain questions
Who is responsible for the sewer line in Denver?+
Generally the property owner, for the lateral from the house to the city main. Denver's wastewater utility handles the main itself.
Why does my Denver basement floor drain back up?+
It's the lowest drain in the house, so a main line blockage, often roots in an old clay lateral, shows up there first.
Should I get a sewer scope before buying in Denver?+
For homes built before about 1980 it's widely recommended, and many Denver buyers order one during the inspection period.