Drain Cleaning in Florissant, CO

Florissant homes and their sewer lines

Florissant-area homes include old ranch and cabin buildings near the town site, 1970s and 1980s mountain homes, and newer houses in subdivisions on wooded hillsides and open meadows off US 24, County Road 1 and Teller County roads to the north.

There is no public sewer here. Homes rely on septic systems and private wells.

Lots range from rocky, timbered slopes with shallow soil to wet meadow ground near the creeks.

Florissant drain problems

Florissant drain calls usually involve septic lines and cold. At over 8,000 feet in an open valley, cold air pools on winter nights and frost goes deep, so shallow septic lines freeze. On rocky hillside lots lines stay shallow and run long, while meadow lots near the creeks have high groundwater that slows drain fields in spring.

What drain work usually costs in Florissant

A valley of fossils and meadows

Florissant sits in a broad mountain valley on US 24, west of Divide and Woodland Park. Thirty-four million years ago, eruptions buried an ancient lake and forest here in volcanic ash, preserving giant redwood stumps and some of the finest insect and leaf fossils in the world. Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument now protects that ground just south of the old town, which was settled around 1870 and named for Florissant, Missouri.

The old town is tiny, but the Florissant ZIP code takes in more than 5,000 people living in subdivisions spread across meadows and forested hills, many of them built from the 1970s onward.

Septic everywhere

There is no public sewer in the Florissant area, so every home has its own septic system, and nearly every home has a private well. That puts the whole drain system on your property, from the kitchen sink to the drain field. When a Florissant house backs up, the first question is when the tank was last pumped. If it has been years, start with the pumper. If it was pumped recently, the clog is in the building drain or the line to the tank, and a plumber can clear it and push a camera to the tank inlet.

Cold air in an open valley

On clear winter nights, cold air drains into the Florissant valley and pools there, so temperatures often drop far below those in nearby towns. Meadows with little snow cover let frost drive deep, and septic lines laid shallow across open ground freeze. A small, steady trickle from a leaking toilet or dripping faucet can also freeze inside the line and build up until it blocks. If a line freezes, a plumber can thaw it from the cleanout. Afterward, ask about insulating the line or adding mulch over it for winter.

Meadow lots and spring water

Homes on lower meadow ground near the creeks can sit over a high water table, especially during snowmelt and after wet summer storms. A drain field in saturated soil cannot absorb water, so the house drains slowly even though the pipe is clear. That pattern, slow in spring and fine by late summer, points to the field rather than the line. Pumping the tank can buy time, and spreading out laundry over the week helps the field cope.

Rocky hillside lots

On the timbered hills around Florissant, Pikes Peak granite weathers into coarse gravel with solid rock not far below. Septic lines on those lots are often shallow and run long distances to find suitable ground for the field. Long, shallow lines are prone to freezing and to sags where the backfill settled. A camera run shows standing water at a low spot and measures the distance from the cleanout so the right section can be dug up.

When a Florissant home backs up

1. 01

   Stop using water

   Every flush and load of laundry adds to the backup.

2. 02

   Check the date of the last pumping

   Overdue tanks are the most common cause of whole-house backups.

3. 03

   Look at the cleanout

   Remove the cap carefully; standing water there means the blockage is downstream.

4. 04

   Describe your lot

   Tell the plumber about steep driveways, gates or snow so they arrive ready.

Florissant warning signs

• Every drain slowing at the same time
• A frozen line after a still, clear, bitter night
• Slow drains through spring snowmelt
• Lush green grass over the field in a dry month
• Sewage odor near the tank lid

The Hayman Fire and new building

The 2002 Hayman Fire started just east of Florissant and burned northeast toward Deckers and Cheesman Reservoir, scarring a huge area of forest. Since then many Florissant-area homes have been rebuilt, expanded or built new with modern septic designs. If you bought an older house, ask for the septic permit records from Teller County and have the line scoped, since the actual layout doesn't always match the paperwork.

Before you buy in Florissant

Buyers in the Florissant area usually arrange a septic inspection before closing, but that inspection focuses on the tank and field. The pipe between the house and the tank, which can run a long way on a hillside or meadow lot off County Road 1, is easy to overlook. A sewer camera run from the house cleanout shows whether that line has sags, cracked joints, roots from nearby aspen or pine, or a section that was damaged when a driveway or addition went in. On an older cabin near the old town site, it also shows what the pipe is made of. Fixing a known problem before the first Teller County winter in the house is much easier than thawing or digging in January.

What changes the price in Florissant

Fixture clogs are quick. Long septic runs, thawing, steep or snowy access and rocky ground add time. Travel from Woodland Park or Divide is usually modest. Florissant callers who explain the driveway and the distance to the tank hear a range that fits the visit.