# Drain Services in Denver

Denver Sewer and Water handles the buried drain lines: the main line out to the sewer, area and yard drains, commercial waste lines, and storm connections. We clear them, jet them, camera them, and locate them, and when the camera shows a defect rather than a clog we repair the pipe instead of selling another cleaning. Interior fixture plumbing is a different trade, and we route that to our sister company.

- Main line and underground drain cleaning.
- Hydro jetting for grease, scale, and roots.
- Camera inspection and line locating.
- Commercial and emergency drain service.
- Repair when the camera shows a defect, not a clog.

## Which Drain Problems Do We Handle?

We handle drains that are buried. That means the building's main drain and sewer lateral, floor and area drains that tie into it, commercial kitchen waste lines, yard and storm drains, and anything where the problem sits in the ground rather than in the fixture. If more than one fixture is slow at the same time, the problem is almost always in the main line, and that is our work.

If a single sink, tub, or toilet is slow while everything else drains normally, the blockage is usually in the fixture branch inside the building. That is interior plumbing, and Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing, our sister company, is the right call for it. Sending an excavation crew to a fixture trap is a waste of your money.

- Multiple fixtures backing up at once: main line, our work.
- Sewage at a floor drain or in the basement: main line, our work.
- Grease and repeat blockages in a commercial waste line: our work.
- Yard, area, or storm drains that will not carry water: our work.
- One slow sink or one clogged toilet: interior plumbing, our sister company.

## Is It a Clog or a Broken Pipe?

A clog comes back on a schedule. A defect comes back on the same schedule and gets worse. That is why we camera the line after clearing it rather than leaving at the moment the water moves. If the footage shows grease, scale, or a root mass at an otherwise sound joint, cleaning and a maintenance interval is the honest answer. If it shows a separation, an offset, a belly, or a collapse, cleaning is a temporary purchase.

Repeated snaking without a camera is the most common way people spend real money and still end up replacing the line. We would rather show you the footage and let the pipe make the argument.

## How We Work a Drain Call

1. **Confirm the Symptom** Which fixtures are affected, in what order, and how often it has happened. That pattern alone usually separates a fixture branch fault from a main line fault.
2. **Access and Clear** We work through the cleanout where one exists. Mechanical clearing or jetting depends on what is in the line: roots, grease, scale, or a solid obstruction.
3. **Camera the Clean Line** A camera run on a cleaned line shows the real condition. On a full line it just shows water, which is why sequence matters.
4. **Locate the Defect** If there is a defect, we locate it in plan and depth and mark it on the surface, so any repair quote is about a specific spot instead of a guess.
5. **Recommend Honestly** Cleaning with a maintenance interval, a spot repair, a liner, or a replacement. We say which one the footage supports and why the others do not.

## What Affects a Drain Job

Drain work varies by access, by what is in the line, and by how long the problem has been running. A line with a cleanout at grade and a soft blockage is a different job from a line with no cleanout, roots at multiple joints, and a basement that is already flooded.

We are not going to post a flat number here, because the flat number is how people end up paying for a cleaning that was never going to fix the line. We scope, then we quote.

- Whether an accessible cleanout exists or one has to be installed.
- What the blockage actually is: grease, roots, scale, or debris.
- Line length, diameter, and depth.
- Whether the line needs jetting or mechanical clearing.
- Whether the camera finds a defect that changes the scope entirely.

## Frequently asked questions

**Do you do interior plumbing and fixture drains?**

No. We handle buried and main line drain work. Interior fixtures, branch lines, water heaters, and in-house plumbing go to Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing, our sister company. Same family, different trade, and it saves you from paying an excavation crew to work under a sink.

**What tells me the fault is in the main line rather than one fixture?**

The tell is multiple fixtures failing together, especially the lowest ones. If a basement floor drain, a first floor toilet, and a tub all slow down or back up at the same time, the restriction is downstream of all of them, which means the main line or the lateral.

**Is hydro jetting safe for older pipe?**

In a sound line, yes, and it is the only method that actually removes grease and scale from the pipe wall rather than punching a hole through it. In a line that is already cracked or separated, jetting pressure can make an existing failure worse, which is exactly why we camera before we choose the method.

**How often should a commercial kitchen line be jetted?**

It depends on volume and on how well the grease interceptor is maintained. Rather than guess an interval on a web page, we set one from the first camera run and the condition we find at the next service, so the schedule matches your actual line.

**Do you offer emergency drain service?**

Yes. Sewage backing into a building is an emergency and we treat it as one. Call (720) 935-6221 and you will reach us directly rather than a call center.

**Why do you camera after cleaning instead of before?**

Because a blocked line is full of water and debris, and the camera cannot show you the pipe wall through it. Clearing first and then running the camera is what turns the visit into a real diagnosis instead of a repeat appointment.

## Every Drain Service We Handle

- [Drain Inspection and Cleaning](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/drain-inspection-and-cleaning) Clearing the line and grading it on camera in the same visit.
- [Commercial Drain Cleaning](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/commercial-drain-cleaning) Restaurant, retail, and facility waste lines on your schedule.
- [Drain Hydro Jetting](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/drain-hydro-jetting) High pressure removal of grease, scale, and root mass.
- [Emergency Drain Cleaning](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/emergency-drain-cleaning) Active backups and sewage in the building, handled now.
- [Drain Scope and Video Inspection](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/drain-scope-and-video-inspection) Camera footage and a graded report on the line's real condition.
- [Drain Locating and Troubleshooting](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/drain-locating-and-troubleshooting) Fixing the path, the burial depth, and the defect location before any ground opens.
- [Sewer Lines in Denver](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/sewer-lines/denver-co) When the drain problem turns out to be a failing lateral.
- [Storm Drains in Denver](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/storm-drains/denver-co) Storm and surface drainage that is not sanitary sewer.
- [Excavation in Denver](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/excavation/denver-co) What happens when the camera finds a defect the cleaning cannot fix.

---

Denver Sewer and Water is a privately owned, licensed and insured plumbing contractor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Denver Water, the municipal water utility, or any government entity. To pay a municipal water bill or reach the public utility, visit denverwater.org.

Source: https://www.denversewerandwater.com/drains/denver-co