Before You Buy
A standard home inspection does not put a camera in the sewer lateral. That line is among the most expensive things on a property and the least visible.
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OUR SERVICES
Sewer camera and whole-property plumbing inspections in West Des Moines. Recorded footage, a written summary, and no pressure to buy anything afterward.
OVERVIEW
A plumbing inspection tells you what condition a property is genuinely in, before it becomes an emergency or a negotiation. For buyers in West Des Moines that means knowing whether the sewer lateral has years left or months. For owners it means catching a failing line while it is still a repair rather than a replacement.
West Des Moines Water Works runs its own supply and treatment rather than simply buying it, drawing about half from Raccoon River alluvial wells and roughly thirty percent from Jordan aquifer wells 2,500 feet down, treated at the A.C. Ward plant.
All work is performed in compliance with the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code as adopted by the State of Iowa.

WHEN AN INSPECTION IS WORTH IT
An inspection is cheapest at the moment it is easiest to act on what it finds.
A standard home inspection does not put a camera in the sewer lateral. That line is among the most expensive things on a property and the least visible.
Two or three calls on the same line is the point to stop clearing it and start finding out why it keeps happening.
Opening walls and floors is the cheapest opportunity you will ever get to see and fix what is behind them.
Plenty of properties have never had a camera in the lateral. Age alone justifies one look, and it costs far less than a surprise.
Hard water leaves a mineral layer on any heated surface, which is why sediment problems show up sooner here than elsewhere.
Established West Des Moines neighbourhoods have thirty years of tree growth over their laterals, and roots find any opening.
INSPECTION SERVICES
For buyers, owners, landlords, and anyone about to open a wall.
The most valuable inspection on an older property, and the one a general home inspection leaves out entirely.
Fixtures, supply, drainage, water heater, and shutoffs, documented so you have a baseline rather than an opinion.
Recorded footage of the full run, with the position and depth of any fault marked from the surface.
For a line that keeps failing, an inspection that answers why instead of simply clearing it one more time.
Knowing what is behind the wall before the wall opens, so the budget does not move halfway through the project.
Landlords and buyers documenting condition across units before it turns into a dispute.
WHY CLOG BUSTERS
Look at everything, record it, and hand you the evidence.
Every fixture run and checked for flow, drainage, leaks, and shutoff function, including the ones nobody in the house ever uses.
The full run from building to connection, recorded, with any fault located and marked from the surface.
West Des Moines issues plumbing permits through its City Access Portal at Development Services on Mills Civic Parkway, and the city works to the same 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code we do.
Pressure, visible supply lines, shutoffs, the water heater and its venting, the relief valve, and expansion control.
You get the recording and a plain summary of what is fine, what to watch, and what needs doing, with no obligation to have us do any of it.
FAQ
Still stuck? Call the Des Moines shop at (515) 259-1991.
Almost never. A standard home inspection is visual and does not put a camera in the lateral, which is exactly where the most expensive surprises are. It is a separate service.
A sewer camera inspection on its own is usually under an hour. A full property inspection takes longer, depending on the number of fixtures and how accessible the water heater and shutoffs are.
Yes, a written summary plus the recorded camera footage. Both are yours to keep and to share with whoever you like.
That is one of the main reasons people book one. Recorded footage of a failing lateral is a great deal more persuasive than a verbal opinion.
Then that is what the report says. A clean result on an older property is genuinely useful information, and it is a common outcome.
Roughly a four and a half mile run for us and we operate 24 hours, so same-day service is standard and an active leak or backup is prioritized.
West Des Moines Water Works publishes an average around 154 mg/L, roughly 9 grains per gallon, the highest published figure among the metro cities we serve. It builds scale in older lines and inside heated equipment faster than elsewhere.
For installation and repair, yes, through the City Access Portal at the Development Services Building Division on Mills Civic Parkway. Routine drain cleaning is maintenance and does not require one.
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