Drain Cleaning in El Paso, TX

Central El Paso, including Sunset Heights, Kern Place, Manhattan Heights and the neighborhoods near downtown, has homes from the early 1900s through the 1940s. Many have clay or cast iron laterals, and some older homes have been patched in sections over the decades.

Postwar neighborhoods on the east and northeast sides were built from the 1950s through the 1970s, often on slabs with cast iron drains underneath.

From the 1980s onward, El Paso spread far east and west, with subdivisions along the Franklin Mountains on the west side and across the far east. Those homes have plastic drains and outside cleanouts.

El Paso's water is hard and mineral-heavy, and scale builds quickly in traps, shower drains and water heaters.

Desert wind carries fine sand that finds its way into open cleanouts, roof vents and outdoor drains. Winter nights regularly drop below freezing, and drains in exterior walls and garages can freeze.

El Paso Water provides wastewater service and treatment for the city. Homeowners maintain the private service line from the house to the El Paso Water main.

Spring wind season blows sand and dust into uncapped cleanouts and outdoor drains. Summer monsoon storms can overload streets and drains quickly.

Winter nights below freezing can stop drains in exterior walls, garages and crawlspaces. Holidays bring grease clogs.

Sunset Heights, Kern Place and Manhattan Heights have some of El Paso's oldest homes, many with clay or cast iron laterals. Mature trees in these neighborhoods send roots into old joints. A camera inspection after any backup shows whether roots, scale or a broken section is to blame.

Postwar neighborhoods on the east and northeast sides have slab homes with cast iron drains underneath. After fifty years, scale and corrosion narrow the pipes. Descaling or lining can restore flow.

Newer homes on the west side along the Franklin Mountains, and the huge subdivisions across the far east toward Horizon City and Socorro, have plastic drains and outside cleanouts. Pipe failure is rare. Calls there come from kitchen grease, wipes, laundry lint and sand that blew in through a damaged cleanout cap. West side homes on the mountain slopes can have longer, steeper laterals running down to the street, and a low spot from settled fill can catch debris repeatedly.

On a January morning after a night in the low twenties, a family on the east side finds the laundry drain won't take water. The plumber finds the line frozen where it runs through an uninsulated garage wall, thaws it and recommends insulation.

El Paso blends Rio Grande water with groundwater from the Hueco and Mesilla bolsons and desalinated brackish water from the Kay Bailey Hutchison plant, and much of it is heavy with minerals. Traps, shower drains and water heaters fill with crust quickly. Pulling and scrubbing bathroom traps every year or two, using hair catchers and flushing the water heater keep problems down, and a softener slows new buildup.

Spring windstorms carry sand across the city. An uncapped cleanout or broken vent cap lets it into the drain system, where it settles and catches debris. Keep caps tight and check them after big storms.

Fort Bliss is one of the largest Army posts in the country, and thousands of families rent off post on the northeast and east sides. They move every few years, and drain history rarely moves with the house. A note taped inside the water heater closet showing the cleanout location and the last service date makes life easier for the next family and the next plumber.

From July into September, monsoon storms can drop an inch of rain in under an hour. Arroyos run, streets flood and water can overload sewers. If sewage backs up during a storm, a backwater valve can help prevent repeats.

Many older El Paso homes still use evaporative coolers on the roof. Their bleed-off water carries minerals that crust inside the drain line, and a clogged cooler drain can spill onto the roof or down a wall. Flushing the cooler line each spring when you start it up, and checking that roof canales and downspouts are clear before monsoon season, prevents most of that water from going where it shouldn't.

The Lower Valley, along the river toward Ysleta and Socorro, has older adobe and frame homes on sandy soil, some on long laterals and a few on septic. Groundwater sits higher near the river and irrigation canals, and settling can leave bellies in old lines.

Give your neighborhood and the home's age, and say whether it's in central El Paso, the east side, the far east or the west side. Mention if the drain might be frozen, whether the cleanout cap is damaged and whether sand could have gotten into the line. If you've had scale problems or cast iron work before, say so.