Buried Drain Inspection and Cleaning in Denver
An independent, licensed plumbing contractor. Not affiliated with Denver Water or the City and County of Denver.
Denver Sewer and Water inspects and cleans the buried drain line on residential and commercial property in Denver: the main building drain below the slab, the lateral out to the street, and yard or area drains. We camera the line before we recommend cleaning, because a slow buried drain can be a partial blockage, a bellied section, or root intrusion, and each of those calls for a different fix.
- Buried building drain and lateral inspection.
- Camera survey before any cleaning recommendation.
- Root, grease, and scale removal from the buried run.
- Cleanout access identified or installed where missing.
- Residential and commercial buried drain lines.
- Serving the Denver metro from southwest Denver.
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Why Does a Buried Drain Line Back Up?
The buried drain carries everything the building sends it, and in an older Denver property that run may be original clay, cast iron, or Orangeburg pipe laid decades before anyone thought to camera it. Roots find the joints, grease and scale narrow the bore, and settlement creates low spots called bellies where solids collect instead of moving through.
The pattern that tells us it is the buried line rather than a single fixture is simple: more than one drain acting up at the same time, or the lowest fixture in the building backing up first. A single slow sink is almost always a branch line issue inside the wall, and that is Afford-A-Rooter's lane, not ours.
(720) 935-6221Signs the buried drain needs attention
- The lowest fixture in the house or building backs up before anything else does.
- Multiple drains slow down or gurgle at the same time.
- A cleanout in the yard bubbles or overflows.
- Sewage odor near the foundation or in a crawlspace.
- A drain that clears with snaking but returns within weeks.
- Wet or soft ground tracking the known path of the buried line.
How We Diagnose It
How We Confirm It Is the Buried Line
We run a camera from the nearest cleanout, or from the building's main cleanout when one exists, out toward the connection point. What we are looking for is where the material sits, whether the pipe holds standing water at rest, and whether roots are entering at a joint or the pipe itself has separated.
If the camera shows the buried run is clean and the backup is isolated to one fixture or one branch, we tell you that directly and point you to Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing rather than clean a line that does not need it.
What the buried drain survey establishes
- Pipe material, diameter, and condition.
- Location and depth of blockages, roots, or bellied sections.
- Whether the cause is on our side of the wall or theirs.
- Cleanout access and whether one needs to be added.
How a Buried Drain Cleaning Call Runs
- 1
Camera the buried run
Full survey from the nearest cleanout out to the connection point, recording pipe material, condition, and blockage location.
- 2
Locate and mark depth
A sonde in the camera head lets us trace the line from the surface and mark its depth before any digging is considered.
- 3
Select the jetting nozzle
Root cutting, penetrating, or descaling heads chosen to match what the camera found rather than a default setting.
- 4
Clear and cut
Roots cut, grease and scale stripped, and material removed rather than pushed further down the line.
- 5
Post-clean verification scope
The camera runs the line again after cleaning to confirm it is actually clear, not just quieter.
What Denver Customers Say About Working With Us
“They cleared our drain where Roto Rooter couldn't and quoted us to replace the line under our concrete.”
“Prompt service and worked well into the night to restore service due to hard soil. And did their best to prevent large scars to the yard”
“Denver Water And Sewer did an excellent job replacing my sewer lines. Trevor and his crew are extremely competent, honest, professional and prompt.”
What Drives Buried Drain Cleaning Cost
Line length, depth, pipe material, and how much root or scale buildup is present all move the number. A single cleanout access point is a quicker visit than a line that requires locating and a new access to be cut in.
We camera first and price against what we find, not against a guess made over the phone.
Call (720) 935-6221 to get the buried line looked at properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buried Drain Services We Provide
Drain Scope and Video Inspection
Camera survey of the buried drain from the building foundation out to the main.
Explore Drain Scope and Video InspectionDrain Hydro Jetting
High pressure water jetting to strip roots, grease, and scale from a buried drain line.
Explore Drain Hydro JettingDrain Locating and Troubleshooting
Sonde locating and depth marking to find a buried drain line that has no record.
Explore Drain Locating and TroubleshootingCommercial Drain Cleaning
Buried drain line service for restaurants, retail, and multi-tenant commercial property.
Explore Commercial Drain CleaningEmergency Drain Cleaning
Fast response for a backed up or collapsed buried drain line.
Explore Emergency Drain CleaningSewer Camera Inspection
How we read a buried line before recommending anything.
Explore Sewer Camera InspectionOur Family of Companies
For related services, see our sister company partners in the same family of companies:
Related guides
Drain backing up at the lowest fixture in the building?
We camera the buried line before quoting a cleaning. Call (720) 935-6221.