Drain Cleaning in Boone, CO

Boone homes and their sewer lines

Boone homes are mostly older houses and small farmhouses from the early and middle 1900s, with manufactured homes and a few newer houses on larger lots around town.

Ask the town whether your property drains to a public line or a private septic system; rural homes outside town use septic.

Older houses often have cast iron or clay lines, sometimes patched with plastic.

Boone drain problems

In Boone, drain calls usually involve old pipe, roots and the river valley's groundwater. Big cottonwoods and elms find clay joints, irrigation ditches and the Arkansas keep the water table high in summer, and older homes with basements or floor drains are where a blocked line shows up first.

What drain work usually costs in Boone

Booneville on the Arkansas

Boone began during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush as Booneville, founded by Albert Gallatin Boone, a grandson of Daniel Boone, who also served briefly as government agent to the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Its post office opened in January 1863, when Colorado was still a territory, and the name was shortened to Boone in 1891. The town incorporated in 1956.

Today about 300 people live in Boone, on the north side of the Arkansas River east of Pueblo and Avondale. The old Santa Fe depot, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has served as the town hall. The town's own elementary school closed in 1987, and children now attend schools in Pueblo County School District 70.

Older houses and older pipe

Most Boone homes are older houses and small farmhouses from the first half of the 1900s, along with manufactured homes and a few newer houses. Their drains were built with the materials of their day: cast iron inside, clay out to the yard. Cast iron rusts and scales from the inside, narrowing the pipe, while clay joints loosen and let roots in. When an older Boone house has slow drains or repeat clogs, a camera inspection shows which of those problems you have and how far along it is.

Cottonwoods along the river

The Arkansas River and the irrigation ditches near Boone are lined with big cottonwoods, and many yards in town have mature elms and other shade trees. Their roots are strongest in summer, when they reach for any leaking joint. A line that drains well all winter and slows in July is a classic sign of roots. Cutting clears them, but they return unless the joints are repaired.

A high water table in summer

Irrigation on the farmland around Boone and the river itself keep the water table high through the growing season. For homes on septic, saturated ground slows the field, and drains in the house slow with it. Groundwater can also seep into cracked lines. If your drains are worst in summer, mention it when you call; it helps the plumber decide whether to start at the line or the field.

Public line or septic

Wastewater arrangements in and around Boone vary. Before any digging or major repair, ask the town office whether your address drains to a public line or a private septic system. That decides where your responsibility ends and where the plumber should look for access.

When a Boone drain backs up

1. 01

   Stop using water

   Especially laundry, which sends a lot of water at once.

2. 02

   Check the lowest drain

   A floor drain or tub on the lowest level overflows first.

3. 03

   Find the cleanout

   Look along the foundation and in the yard between the house and the street or tank.

4. 04

   Note the season

   Summer slowdowns can be roots or groundwater.

Boone warning signs

• Fine roots on the cable after clearing
• Drains slowing every summer
• Rust flakes from old cast iron
• Water rising at a floor drain
• Wet ground near the tank

Manufactured homes in and around Boone

Boone has a number of manufactured homes, and their drains run under the floor before dropping into the ground. Flexible connections sag over time, and gaps in the skirting let cold air reach the pipes in winter. Check under the home each fall for drooping or disconnected pipe, close any gaps in the skirting and insulate the drop where the line enters the ground.

Habits that protect old pipe

Old cast iron and clay in Boone houses are less forgiving than new plastic. Keep wipes, paper towels and feminine products out of toilets; they catch on rough pipe walls and roots. Scrape plates into the trash, wipe greasy pans before washing and run plenty of water after using the disposal, if you have one. Spread laundry loads across the week instead of running several in a row, which can overwhelm an old line or a slow septic field.

Small-town distance

Boone has no plumbers of its own, so help comes from Pueblo. A slow drain is easier and cheaper to deal with in a scheduled visit than a full backup at night. If you notice drains getting slower, call before the line closes completely.

Basements and floor drains in older Boone homes

Some older Boone houses have basements or cellars with a floor drain, and that drain is often the lowest opening on the line. When the line to the street or tank blocks, waste comes up there first. If your floor drain has ever backed up, a backwater valve or a cleanout added near it can make the next problem easier to manage. Keep the floor drain trap filled with water so sewer gas stays out of the house.

What changes the price in Boone

A fixture clog is quick. Old pipe, roots and wet ground add time. Boone is about 20 miles east of Pueblo, so travel is modest. Describe the house's age and what you've noticed, and ask what a Boone visit is likely to run.