Drain Cleaning in Cimarron Hills, CO

Cimarron Hills homes and their sewer lines

Most homes here are bi-levels, tri-levels and two-story houses from the 1970s through the 1990s. Laterals are generally ABS or PVC, so true pipe failure is less common than in older parts of the region.

Water and sewer service in this area is provided by a metropolitan district rather than the city, so if the public main is the problem, that district is the one to call. The lateral from the house is still the owner's to maintain.

With few big trees on these lots, roots play a smaller role than in older neighborhoods. What builds up instead is grease in kitchen lines, hair in bathroom drains and the occasional belly where soil has settled under a long lateral.

Typical Cimarron Hills drain calls

Kitchen clogs, wipes in the main and laundry lint in floor drains make up most calls. On the open plain east of the mountains, bitter wind chills can freeze drain lines in garages and along exterior walls, especially in homes with a laundry or bathroom built over the garage.

What drain work usually costs in Cimarron Hills

Plastic pipe and what clogs it

Because most Cimarron Hills homes went up after 1970, their sewer laterals are typically ABS or PVC rather than clay. That's good news: plastic resists roots and rarely cracks. The tradeoff is that the problems are almost all about use. Kitchen grease cools and coats the inside of the line, wipes snag on that coating, and over a few years the opening narrows until one heavy load of laundry or a holiday dinner tips it into a backup.

When a plastic line clogs at the same distance down the run more than once, the usual explanation is a sag where the soil under the pipe settled. A camera with a locator can mark that spot on the surface.

Wind, cold and garage plumbing

Cimarron Hills sits on open ground east of the city, where winter wind has nothing to slow it down. Bathrooms and laundry rooms built over or beside an attached garage are the usual trouble spots. On the coldest nights the drain line in that garage wall can freeze, especially if the garage door has been open or the space isn't insulated well. Keeping the garage door closed, letting a faucet drip on those fixtures during deep cold and sealing gaps around pipe penetrations all help.

Who handles what

Sewer service here is run by a metropolitan district rather than the City of Colorado Springs. If the backup is caused by the public main in the street, the district handles it. Everything from the house to the connection is the owner's responsibility. If neighbors on the same street are backing up at the same time, mention that when you call, because it points toward the main rather than your lateral.

If your drain backs up tonight

1. 01

   Stop using water

   Hold off on laundry, showers and the dishwasher.

2. 02

   Check other fixtures

   One slow fixture is a branch clog. Several at once points to the main.

3. 03

   Find the cleanout

   Usually outside near the front of the house or in the lower level.

4. 04

   Call for service

   Mention whether the line has been scoped before and whether it's ever clogged in the same place.

Common Cimarron Hills drain trouble

• Disposal and kitchen clogs from grease and food scraps
• Hair in tub and shower drains
• Lint from washers draining to a laundry sink
• A recurring clog at a low spot in the lateral
• Frozen lines beside the garage in January

When a camera is worth it

For a single kitchen clog in a newer home, a camera is often unnecessary. It earns its cost when the main line has clogged twice in a year, when the same spot keeps failing, or when you're buying an older home in the area and want to know what's under the yard.

Costs in Cimarron Hills

Because the pipe is mostly plastic and the lots are flat and easy to reach, the majority of drain calls here finish near the bottom of the ranges above. The jobs that cost more are the ones with a reason: a frozen line inside a finished wall, a sag that needs jetting rather than a quick cable run, or a camera inspection to settle whether a repeat clog is buildup or a settled section of pipe.

Tri-levels and split entries

Cimarron Hills has plenty of tri-level homes, with a garage and family room on one level, the kitchen half a flight up, and bedrooms above that. The lowest finished level, often a family room with a bathroom and laundry, is the first place any main line trouble appears. If water shows up around that floor drain or the lower toilet bubbles when the upstairs tub drains, treat it as an early warning. A cleaning at that point is a routine call; waiting until the line fully stops means cleaning a finished room as well.

Buying in Cimarron Hills

Because the area was built mostly with plastic pipe, buyers sometimes skip the sewer scope. It's still worth considering for homes from the 1970s, which can have ABS lines with glued joints that have separated or sags where the backfill settled. A scope is quick, and if the line looks clean you've lost little. If it shows a belly or separated joint, you'll know before closing.

Keeping a kitchen line clear

Most kitchen clogs here start with cooking fat. It goes down the drain warm and liquid, cools a few feet in, and sticks to the pipe wall. Wiping greasy pans with a paper towel before washing, scraping plates into the trash rather than the disposal, and running plenty of water with the disposal all help. If the kitchen line clogs more than once a year, a jetting service clears the buildup more completely than a cable and usually buys several clog-free years.