Drain Cleaning in Montrose, CO

Montrose homes and their sewer lines

The neighborhoods around Main Street and Townsend Avenue have homes from the early 1900s through the 1950s, with clay laterals and cast iron that are now well past middle age. Ranch homes from the 1960s and 1970s fill much of the rest of the older city.

Since the 1990s, subdivisions have spread across former farm ground on every side of town, especially to the south and east. Those homes have PVC laterals and few root problems.

The City of Montrose operates the public sewer. Properties out in the county, on the mesas and along the farm roads, are often on septic.

Montrose drain problems

Montrose clay swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries, and irrigation water soaks it every summer. That movement can shift old clay joints apart and let roots in. Cottonwoods along the Uncompahgre and big shade trees in the older blocks supply the roots. Newer homes see grease, wipes and the odd settled lateral.

What drain work usually costs in Montrose

Gunnison Tunnel water and wet clay

Since 1909, the Gunnison Tunnel has carried water from the Black Canyon to the Uncompahgre Valley, and that water still irrigates farms, parks and yards around Montrose every summer. Irrigated ground stays wet, and wet clay swells. In fall, it dries and shrinks again. A clay sewer lateral buried in that soil gets pushed and pulled every year, and after enough seasons the joints open. Roots and soil get in through those gaps, and the lateral starts to clog.

Adobe ground and old cast iron

The gray clay around Montrose, weathered from Mancos shale, is salty and alkaline. Cast iron buried in it corrodes from the outside, and cast iron drains under older slab homes scale up inside as they age. When a Montrose ranch home from the 1960s has slow drains in several rooms, the cast iron under the floor is often part of the story. A camera run from a cleanout shows how much scale has built up and whether the pipe bottom is still intact.

Older blocks near Main Street

The neighborhoods near Main Street and Townsend Avenue have mature trees, alleys and homes that have been remodeled several times. Each remodel can leave a mix of pipe materials and connections, some better than others. Roots from the big shade trees and from cottonwoods closer to the Uncompahgre River find the weakest joint. Annual root cutting keeps many of these laterals running until the owner is ready to repair them.

Newer subdivisions and growing pains

Montrose has added a lot of homes since the 1990s, on what used to be farm fields around the edges of town. PVC laterals in those subdivisions rarely have roots, but settling backfill can leave a sag in the first years after construction, and a sag collects debris. Many newer homes also have more bathrooms on a single lateral than older homes ever did. Wipes, grease and hair are the usual culprits in those houses.

Before buying an older Montrose home

1. 01

   Ask for a sewer scope

   A camera from the cleanout to the main shows the lateral's condition.

2. 02

   Look for root mats

   Fine roots at joints mean ongoing maintenance or a repair.

3. 03

   Check for offsets

   Clay soil movement shows up as joints that don't line up.

4. 04

   Get a written report

   Keep it for negotiating and for the next plumber.

Montrose drain warning signs

• Gurgling toilets after laundry
• A main line that slows each summer
• Water at the lowest floor drain
• Sewer smell near the alley or cleanout
• Slow drains across a slab home

Montrose winters

At 5,800 feet, Montrose gets real winter cold, with nights well below zero in some years. Drain lines in crawlspaces, unheated garages and exterior walls can freeze, especially in older homes that were never insulated well. Keep crawlspace vents closed in winter, insulate exposed drain lines and don't leave a house unheated during a cold stretch.

What affects a Montrose bill

Clearing a single fixture is usually quick. Main lines with heavy roots, laterals under driveways or patios with no outside cleanout, cast iron under a slab and rural septic lines all take longer. Ask about a camera inspection on any main line call, because it shows whether you're dealing with a one-time clog or a lateral that needs work.

Retirees, second homes and quiet houses

Montrose draws a lot of retirees and people who split the year between here and somewhere else. A house that sits empty for weeks can develop dry traps that let sewer gas in, and a lateral that hasn't had water through it can show slow drains when everyone returns. Running water in every fixture after a long absence, and keeping the heat on in winter, avoids most of these problems.

Rural homes on the mesas

The mesas and farm roads around Montrose have homes on larger parcels with septic. When one of those homes backs up, the tank's pumping date is the first question. If the tank is current, the problem is likely in the line to the tank or in the house, and a drain plumber can clear it and run a camera to see why it happened.

Big trees on older lots

Montrose's older neighborhoods were planted with large shade trees decades ago, and those trees are now at full size. Their roots spread far beyond the canopy. Even a tree in a neighbor's yard can send roots into your lateral if the line passes nearby. Knowing where your lateral runs, which a camera with a locator can mark on the ground, helps you plan landscaping and decide which trees to watch.

Black Canyon visitors and guest rooms

Visitors heading to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Ouray and Telluride often stay in Montrose, and many local homes have a guest room or a rental unit that sees heavy use from May through October. A guest bathroom that sits unused all winter and then serves a string of visitors is a common source of summer clogs. Run its fixtures every few weeks in the off season and check the tub drain for hair between guests.