Drain Cleaning in Aguilar, CO

Aguilar homes and their sewer lines

Aguilar homes are old: adobe and brick houses from the coal era, small frame homes, and manufactured homes on the town's lots and the ranch land around it.

The Town of Aguilar provides water and sewer in town. Its system has had well-reported problems going back to the early 2000s, so it is worth asking the town about any work on the main near your house. Ranches outside town use septic.

Many Aguilar houses still drain through clay or cast iron, often with repairs added over the decades.

Aguilar drain problems

Aguilar drain calls are about the age of the town. Clay laterals crack and take in roots from the trees along the Apishapa, cast iron rusts through, and older adobe homes may have drains that were added long after the house was built.

What drain work usually costs in Aguilar

A coal town at the foot of the Spanish Peaks

José Ramón Aguilar, a cattleman, bought the land around the old San Antonio plaza in 1879, and the town that took his name incorporated in 1894 as a Denver and Rio Grande coal stop. The Peerless mine opened nearby in 1888, and by 1911 Aguilar was the supply center for several large coal camps. During the 1914 coalfield war that followed the Ludlow Massacre, the town's mayor helped negotiate an end to the strikers' siege of the Empire Mine. Prohibition brought a reputation for bootlegging, and as the mines closed, ranching and farming took over.

The town calls itself the Gateway to the Spanish Peaks, and it sits about a mile west of I-25, with Bustang's Outrider bus connecting it to Trinidad and Pueblo.

A small system under strain

The Town of Aguilar runs water and sewer for residents. Reporting in 2026 described an infrastructure crisis going back to the early 2000s, financial troubles at town hall and residents worried about water quality. For a homeowner, that means two things: the town maintains the mains, but it is worth asking town hall about any known problems or work on the main near your house, and the service line from your house to the main is yours to maintain.

Old houses and old pipe

Most Aguilar homes date from the coal era or soon after. Adobe and brick houses often had plumbing added decades after they were built, and the drains may have poor slope or pass under floors where they are hard to reach. Clay laterals crack and take in roots. Cast iron rusts through at the bottom. When a line clogs more than once, a camera inspection is the fastest way to know whether the pipe can be cleaned or needs repair.

Trees along the Apishapa

The Apishapa River runs through town, and cottonwoods and other trees along it and in older yards spread roots far in search of water. A cracked clay lateral is an easy target. If an Aguilar line slows every summer, roots are the likely cause, and a yearly cutting may be needed until the worst joints are repaired.

Cold snaps in the foothills

Aguilar sits near 6,400 feet, and cold air can settle along the river on winter nights. Drains in crawlspaces and outside walls are the ones to watch. Keep heat in rooms with plumbing and close crawlspace vents in winter.

When an Aguilar drain backs up

1. 01

   Stop running water

   Give the line a chance to drain.

2. 02

   Check with neighbors

   If several houses are backing up, call town hall about the main.

3. 03

   Find the cleanout

   Older homes may not have one outside; look in a crawlspace.

4. 04

   Describe the house

   Tell the plumber how old it is and whether roots have been a problem.

Aguilar warning signs

• A slow drain every summer
• Several homes on the street backing up at once
• Rust flakes in a kitchen line
• Gurgling toilets
• Wet ground over a ranch septic field

Ranches around town

Homes on the ranches around Aguilar use septic systems. Long lines, older tanks and livestock near the field are common causes of trouble. Pump tanks on schedule and keep heavy equipment off the field.

What changes the price in Aguilar

Plumbers usually drive from Trinidad or Walsenburg. Root cutting, camera work and old cast iron add time. Ask what an Aguilar visit should run before work starts.

Adobe floors, slab floors and hard-to-reach pipe

Many of the oldest Aguilar homes are adobe, and some had plumbing added through slab floors or crawlspaces long after they were built. Drain lines under a slab are hard to see and harder to repair without breaking floor. A camera inspection maps where the line runs and where the trouble is, which lets a plumber open the smallest possible section of floor if a repair is needed. Ask for a locate along with the camera so the line's path is marked.

In a few older houses, a line may run out of a wall rather than under the floor, with a cleanout outside that has been buried or paved over. Finding it saves time on every future call.

Coal-camp houses near town

Some homes around Aguilar were moved in from closed coal camps or built from their materials, and the plumbing in them has been redone in pieces. Expect a mix of pipe types and connections. A camera shows what you have before anyone guesses. Old galvanized steel drains, common in houses replumbed in the middle of the last century, rust from the inside and narrow until a sink barely drains; in an Aguilar house of that age, replacing a short galvanized run is often cheaper than clearing it again and again.