Drain Cleaning in Wetmore, CO

Wetmore homes and their sewer lines

Wetmore homes are ranch houses, older farmhouses, cabins and manufactured homes, plus newer homes on acreage in the foothills and along Hardscrabble Creek.

There is no public sewer in Wetmore. Homes use private septic systems and most rely on wells.

Older Wetmore houses often have cast iron inside and clay or early plastic out to the tank; newer homes have PVC throughout.

Wetmore drain problems

Wetmore drain calls are septic calls. Long lines to tanks on sloped lots, cottonwood and willow roots along Hardscrabble Creek, rocky foothill ground and cold nights shape how lines fail here.

What drain work usually costs in Wetmore

Hardscrabble country

Long before Wetmore had its name, traders and trappers built the Hardscrabble post below the fork of Hardscrabble and Adobe creeks in the 1840s, and Mathew Kinkead ran what is called the first American-owned cattle ranch in the Rocky Mountains near the creek forks in 1844. Prospectors worked the Hardscrabble mining district from 1863, and silver booms at Rosita and Querida followed in the 1870s. The valley was known as Greenwood Park or Hardscrabble Park, with a Greenwood post office from 1872. William H. Wetmore, who settled here around 1878, offered lots to anyone who would build and name the town for him, and the Wetmore post office has operated since 1881.

The New Hope Baptist Church, organized northeast of town in 1871, is the second oldest Baptist church in Colorado.

Septic and wells

There is no public sewer in Wetmore. Every home drains to its own septic system, and most rely on private wells. Lots in the foothills can be steep and rocky, so tanks and fields are often placed well below or away from the house, with long lines in between. Older ranch homes may have tanks that nobody has located in years. A camera inspection and locate show where the line runs and what is wrong before anyone starts digging.

Roots along Hardscrabble Creek

Cottonwoods and willows grow along Hardscrabble Creek and its tributaries, and their roots chase moisture into septic lines. A line running toward the creek or under a big tree is most at risk. Root cutting clears it; a camera shows whether a joint needs repair. Keep new trees well away from the tank and field.

Cold nights below the Wet Mountains

Wetmore sits in the foothills below the Wet Mountains, where clear winter nights get cold. Shallow lines over rock, drains in crawlspaces and lines in seasonal cabins are the most likely to freeze. If a drain stops on a cold morning, stop running water and call. A plumber can thaw the line through a cleanout without digging.

Ranch houses and newer homes

Older Wetmore farmhouses often have cast iron inside and clay or early plastic to the tank, sometimes with additions plumbed decades later. Newer homes on acreage have PVC throughout but can still have trouble with tanks that need pumping, fields overloaded by a full house, or lines that settled in fresh trenches.

When a Wetmore drain stops

1. 01

   Stop using water

   A septic system can only hold so much.

2. 02

   Check the tank area

   Look for wet ground, odor or standing water.

3. 03

   Find the cleanout

   It's usually where the line leaves the house.

4. 04

   Give clear directions

   Tell the plumber the road, any gates and whether a truck can reach the house.

Wetmore warning signs

• Slow drains throughout the house
• Gurgling when the washer drains
• Odor in the yard
• Roots on the cable
• Wet ground over the leach field

Keeping a Wetmore system healthy

Pump the tank every three to five years, fix running toilets fast, spread out laundry loads and keep vehicles and livestock off the field. These steps prevent most Wetmore septic calls.

What changes the price in Wetmore

The drive from Florence, Cañon City or Pueblo, plus septic work, root cutting and locating, add cost. Ask what a Wetmore visit should run before work starts.

Custer County septic rules

Septic systems in Wetmore fall under Custer County's onsite wastewater rules, administered with the state's standards. Replacing a tank or field, or expanding a house in a way that adds bedrooms, generally needs a permit and a properly designed system. Ask the plumber or installer whether your job needs one before work begins, so it passes inspection the first time.

Pumping and line cleaning don't usually need a permit, but keep receipts. They help when you sell the house or need repairs later.

Wells and septic on the same lot

Most Wetmore homes have both a private well and a septic system on the same property, sometimes on small or sloping lots. A healthy septic system keeps effluent where it belongs; a failing one, with surfacing water or a backed-up tank, can put a well at risk. If you notice a sewage smell, wet spots over the field or a change in your well water after a septic problem, call promptly and consider having the well tested.

Keep the tank lid accessible and mark where the field runs, so a pumper or plumber can get to it quickly.

Dry summers and monsoon storms

Summers in the Wetmore area are often dry, then July and August thunderstorms can drop heavy rain on the foothills in a short time. Runoff from a driveway or roof pointed at a septic field can flood it and slow every drain in the house. Direct downspouts and road runoff away from the tank and field.

After a big storm, give a soaked Wetmore field a day or two before running several loads of laundry. If drains stay slow once the ground dries, the problem is likely in the line or tank rather than the weather, and that is the time to call.