Drain Cleaning in Aurora, CO: What Clears a Slow Sink, a Backed-Up Tub or the Main Line

One fixture or the whole house? How far the clog runs

Water backs up where the blockage is, so the pattern tells the story. A single slow sink or tub points to the branch line serving that fixture. Two or three fixtures on the same floor slowing together point to a shared branch or the stack. Every drain slowing, a toilet that bubbles when the washer drains, or water appearing in a basement floor drain points to the main line.

Snaking or hydro jetting: which clears it?

A cable, also called a snake or auger, bores through a blockage or hooks it. A rooter service uses a rotating cable with cutting heads, which is the usual tool for tree roots and thick buildup. It restores flow, but it leaves the pipe wall as it was.

Hydro jetting (also written hydrojetting) pushes water at high pressure through a hose with a nozzle and scours the wall. It suits grease coatings and scale, where a cable would punch a hole through the middle and leave the rest behind. It is not a cure for a pipe that has collapsed or cracked, which is why a plumber often cameras the line before or after.

Ask which tool the plumber recommends and why. A clog that returns within weeks after cabling usually means something other than the clog: a coating the cable left, roots coming back or a damaged section.

Old cast iron and clay: when the pipe, not the clog, is the problem

Older homes often have cast iron drain stacks and, farther out, clay or similar lines. Cast iron develops a rough, scaled interior that catches grease and paper. A plumber can clear it, but repeated clogs in the same line, a gurgle that never quite goes away or a sewer smell near a floor drain are reasons to ask for a camera inspection.

A camera shows cracks, offsets, sagging sections and roots. It also shows a leak in a drain line, which a clog alone would not reveal. That turns a repeating clog into a decision: keep clearing it, repair a section or replace the line. Aurora Water advises a plumber’s camera inspection for the sewer line (service line protection plan page).

When a clog is really a sewer problem

Aurora puts the pipe between the house and the city main on the owner, tap connection included, while the utility handles the main itself (Aurora Water, Wastewater). When water backs up in the lowest drain, a plumber is the first call. A blockage that turns out to sit in the main becomes the utility’s to clear.

Before a plumber rods a sewer line, the Call Before You Clear campaign, which Xcel Energy supports asks customers and plumbers to call the gas utility before clearing a sewer or septic line, because a gas line can, rarely, be bored through a sewer pipe. Ask the plumber whether a check is advisable for your property. The longer treatment of lateral repair is on the sewer backup page.

Sump and ejector pumps: the drain pump in a basement

A basement bathroom or laundry that sits below the sewer line often drains through an ejector pump, a pit with a pump that lifts waste up to the main drain. When that pump fails, the fixtures downstairs back up, which looks like a clog but is not one. A sump pump is a separate pump that moves groundwater, and it can fail for the same reasons: a stuck float, a clogged pit or a worn motor.

Tell the dispatcher which kind of pit you have and what happens when the fixtures run. The plumber checks the float, the check valve and the discharge line. Ask whether the repair is a replacement of the pump and what the discharge connection requires.

What not to pour, flush or try first

Aurora Water names wipes and fats, oils and grease as the common causes of backups, and it notes that wipes marked flushable do not break down in the sewer (Aurora Water on caring for your sewer line). Keep grease out of kitchen drains, wipe pans before washing and put only toilet paper in the toilet.

• Plunge a toilet or sink first; a plunger is safe and often enough.
• Use a drain tool or a hand auger on a bathroom sink or tub, and stop if it meets hard resistance.
• Skip chemical drain openers. They can sit in a standing line and splash on whoever opens the trap later.
• If water rises in a floor drain or the lowest tub, stop running water and call.

Other drains the same call covers

The same call covers kitchen and bath sinks, tub and shower drains, floor drains, tree-root clogs, yard and French drains and drain odors, and restaurant or commercial kitchen drains are routed to the business plumbing page.

Drain terms and what each one covers

Residential drain cleaning clears sinks, tubs, toilets and the main line, and drain cleaning and unclogging is the same service under two names. Drain cleaning and maintenance means scheduled cleaning of lines that clog often. Persistent drain odors despite cleaning point to a dry trap, a vent problem or a cracked line, so ask for a camera look. Storm drain cleaning in the street is the city’s job, not a household plumbing call. Drainage system installation covers new lines in a remodel or addition, and sump pumps and leaks in a basement are handled under the sump section above.

Drain cleaning questions