Drain Cleaning in Strasburg, CO

Strasburg homes and their sewer lines

The old town has small homes from the early 1900s through the 1970s, with cast iron drains and clay laterals. Newer homes have gone up on acreage around town since the 1990s.

The Strasburg Water and Sanitation District serves the town core. Most acreage homes outside it rely on private wells and septic systems.

Manufactured homes are common on rural lots, and many newer homes have full basements.

Strasburg drain problems

On acreage, septic backups and long lines to the tank are the usual calls. In the old core, roots from Siberian elms and windbreak trees get into clay laterals. Prairie wind drives frost into crawlspaces and under manufactured homes, and well water leaves mineral scale in older drains.

What drain work usually costs in Strasburg

Comanche Crossing and the old town

On August 15, 1870, crews building the Kansas Pacific Railway from east and west met at a spot just east of present-day Strasburg, completing the first continuous rail line across the country. A small museum and marker remember Comanche Crossing today. The town that grew up along the tracks is still small, with older homes on a few blocks near the railroad and I-70. Those homes drain through cast iron and clay lines that have been in the ground for decades.

Acreage homes spreading out

Since the 1990s, more and more people have moved to acreage around Strasburg for space and a quieter life within reach of Denver. Homes on five, ten or thirty-five acres have their own wells and septic systems, and the line from house to tank can run a long way. When one of these homes backs up, the tank's pumping date is the first question. If the tank is current, the problem is likely in the line, and a plumber can clear it and look at it with a camera.

The district in town

The Strasburg Water and Sanitation District provides water and sewer service in the town core. The district maintains its mains; owners maintain the lateral from the house to the main. If sewage shows up in the street or at a manhole, call the district. If it's only in your house, the problem is on the private side.

Wind across the plains

Strasburg sits on open, rolling plains with little to block the wind. On cold nights that wind pulls heat out of crawlspaces, under manufactured homes and through gaps in older walls. Drain lines in those spaces freeze. A drain that stops during a cold snap and starts again on a warmer afternoon is likely freezing in a cold spot, and insulating that spot fixes it for good.

Well water and scale

Acreage homes around Strasburg draw from deep wells into the Denver Basin aquifers, and that water often carries a lot of dissolved minerals. Over time, scale builds inside fixtures, trap arms and older drain lines. A softener helps protect pipes, though its backwash adds salty water to the septic system. Knowing where the softener drains helps if a laundry or floor drain starts to slow.

If your Strasburg home backs up

1. 01

   Stop water use

   Hold off on laundry, showers and dishes.

2. 02

   Sewer or septic?

   In town, check the cleanout; on acreage, check the tank's pumping date.

3. 03

   Find the cleanout

   Strasburg homes usually have it outside by the foundation or down in the basement.

4. 04

   Ask for a camera

   Especially on a long line to the tank.

Strasburg drain warning signs

• Every drain slowing at once
• Gurgling from the basement toilet
• A drain that freezes on windy nights
• Wet ground over the septic field
• Scale around fixture drains

Basements on the prairie

Many newer homes around Strasburg have full basements, often finished. The basement bathroom or floor drain is the lowest point in the plumbing, so it shows main line problems first. If you're finishing a basement, keep the cleanout accessible and consider a backwater valve if the home has ever backed up.

What affects the cost in Strasburg

Simple clogs in an old-town home are quick. Long lines to a septic tank, frozen pipe and rural travel take more time. Tell the plumber whether you're in town or on acreage, and give clear directions to your property.

Commuting to Denver and the airport

Strasburg is close enough to Denver International Airport and the eastern suburbs that many residents commute, and the town has grown as a result. New homes on acreage are larger than the old houses in town, with more bathrooms and bigger families. A septic system designed for one size of household can be overloaded if the house is later expanded or the family grows. If you've added bedrooms or bathrooms, ask whether the septic system was sized to match.

Shops, horses and outbuildings

Acreage homes around Strasburg often have horse barns, shops and outbuildings with sinks or wash bays. Those drains need to go to the right place, and they shouldn't carry manure, oil or solvents into a household septic system. A plumber can trace where an outbuilding drain goes and clear it if it's clogged.

Fire and water pressure

When large grass fires burn on the plains near Strasburg and Byers, fire crews draw heavily on local water systems, and in at least one case that led to a precautionary boil water advisory in Strasburg. It's a reminder that rural water and sewer systems are small and stretched. Conserving water during emergencies, and fixing leaks year-round, helps the whole community's system.

New subdivisions near the interstate

Newer subdivisions near Strasburg along I-70 have homes on smaller lots than the surrounding acreage, some connected to district service and some with their own septic. Their drains are modern PVC. Clogs there are usually wipes and grease, and basement bathrooms show them first.

Old school and community buildings

Strasburg's schools and community buildings host events that bring the town together. Homes nearby see visitors on event days, so keep drains clear going in.