A Pipe That Froze Overnight
The City of Grand Rapids tells residents to assume a frozen line is broken or split. Find the main shutoff before the pipe thaws, because the leak appears when the ice lets go.
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OUR SERVICES
Clog Busters answers emergency plumbing calls around the clock from our Grand Rapids branch at 584 44th Street SE: frozen and burst pipes, basement sewer backups, collapsed Orangeburg laterals, and failed water heaters.
OVERVIEW
Emergency plumbing in Grand Rapids covers any failure that is damaging a building right now or has shut it down: a supply line that split in a cold snap, sewage rising through a basement floor drain, a sewer lateral that has stopped carrying waste, or a water heater emptying onto the floor. We at Clog Busters run our Grand Rapids branch from 584 44th Street SE, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the city and nearby communities including Wyoming, Kentwood, and Walker. See our emergency plumbing services and Grand Rapids drain and sewer services.
Two local conditions drive most of our after-hours calls. Winter air off Lake Michigan brings long runs of deep cold: during the January 12 to 15, 2024 storm, the National Weather Service recorded a wind chill of minus 24 degrees at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. And many Grand Rapids neighborhoods built from the 1940s through the early 1970s still drain through Orangeburg pipe, a tar-saturated fiber pipe that softens, flattens, and eventually collapses, which usually ends in sewer line replacement.
A basement sewer backup in Grand Rapids starts a legal clock. Under Michigan Public Act 222 of 2001, a backup claim must reach the city in writing within 45 days of discovery, as the City of Grand Rapids claims policy explains, and a blockage in your own service lead does not qualify. So we camera the line before quoting a repair and show you where the stoppage sat.
All work is performed to the 2021 Michigan Plumbing Code and, in one and two family homes, the plumbing provisions of the 2015 Michigan Residential Code, as adopted by the State of Michigan.

WHEN IT CANNOT WAIT
A dripping faucet can wait until morning. These six cannot, because the damage grows by the hour.
The City of Grand Rapids tells residents to assume a frozen line is broken or split. Find the main shutoff before the pipe thaws, because the leak appears when the ice lets go.
The floor drain is usually the lowest opening on the system, so a blocked lateral surfaces there first. Stop running water anywhere in the house until the line is open.
The city notes that stormwater and groundwater entering the sanitary sewer through connected footing drains can overload it and push sewage into basements.
In a house built from the 1940s through the early 1970s, a whole-house slowdown often means an Orangeburg lateral has flattened or caved in. A cable cannot restore a pipe that has lost its shape.
Water pooling at the base or a relief valve that keeps discharging will not stop on its own. Close the cold inlet and shut off the gas or power before it reaches finished space.
Get everyone outside and call your gas utility from there. The plumbing repair comes after the utility has made the home safe.
EMERGENCY SERVICES
Homes, rentals, and businesses across the Grand Rapids area, at any hour of any day.
We thaw lines with controlled heat, then find and repair the split. An open flame can turn a hairline crack into a burst fitting or a fire.
We open the main, restore flow, then camera the lateral so you know whether the cause was a stoppage, roots, or a failing pipe.
When the camera shows fiber pipe that has blistered or caved in, we lay out repair and replacement options, including trenchless methods where the pipe allows.
We isolate leaks inside walls and ceilings first, then use leak detection to pinpoint the source before any drywall comes down.
Leaking tanks, discharging relief valves, and units that quit in the middle of a Michigan winter, repaired or replaced.
A restaurant, clinic, or apartment building with a backed-up main loses money by the hour, and we schedule those calls accordingly.
WHY CLOG BUSTERS
Stop the water, find the cause, approve the price, then repair.
We tell you what to shut off and which fixtures to stop using while a technician heads your way from 44th Street SE.
Grand Rapids Water System rules let only authorized city personnel operate the curb stop, and owners must keep a valve on each side of the meter. We use those valves to isolate the house.
We stop the leak or open the blocked line first, so the building stops taking on water or sewage.
Once flow is back, we camera the sewer line or trace the supply leak and show you what we found before recommending anything.
You approve the price before repair work starts. Where a job needs a plumbing inspection, Grand Rapids schedules it through the city Development Center.
FAQ
Still stuck? Call the Grand Rapids shop at (616) 360-2564.
Close the main shutoff, which the City of Grand Rapids locates near the water meter where the line enters the house. City rules require owners to keep a valve on each side of the meter for this purpose, and the curb stop outside is reserved for Water System crews. Cut power to any area where water is pooling, then call us.
The City of Grand Rapids Water System fixes the main and the line up to the curb stop, and runs a 24-hour emergency repair line. Everything from the curb stop through the yard and into the house belongs to the property owner. Water surfacing in the street is a city call; water in your yard or walls is a plumbing call.
Possibly, but only with a written claim filed with the City of Grand Rapids within 45 days of discovery, as Michigan Public Act 222 of 2001 requires. A backup caused by a blockage in your own service lead, or by a sump pump, downspout, or drain tied into the sewer, does not qualify. Photograph the damage before cleanup and keep any camera footage of the line.
Warm the space around the pipe, never the pipe itself with an open flame. The City of Grand Rapids suggests opening a furnace vent or an inside basement door to move heat toward the frozen section. Keep electrical appliances away from standing water, and be ready to shut off the main, because splits show up as the ice melts.
Orangeburg is a sewer pipe made of wood fiber bonded with coal tar pitch. It absorbs moisture, softens, and gradually loses its round shape until soil weight or roots collapse it. Many Grand Rapids neighborhoods built from the 1940s through the early 1970s still drain through it. A camera inspection is the only way to see its condition before it fails.
The basement floor drain is usually the lowest opening on a home's drain system, so a blocked main or lateral backs up there before anywhere else. Stop using every sink, toilet, and appliance upstairs until the line is cleared, because each one adds to what comes up.
Yes. Our Grand Rapids branch takes calls from restaurants, offices, clinics, and multi-unit buildings 24 hours a day. A business shut down by a backed-up main or a burst line is treated as urgent at any hour.
Insulate or drain pipes along outside walls and in garages, which the City of Grand Rapids identifies as the most likely to freeze. Keep the space around the water meter heated, since the city charges the property to replace a frozen meter. If you will be away more than a day, shut off the water and keep the thermostat at 55 degrees or higher.
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