Sewage at a Basement Floor Drain
The lowest drain in the house is where a main line blockage shows up first. If the city main is flowing, the blockage is in your private line.
OUR SERVICES
Emergency Plumbing in West Des Moines, IA
Emergency plumbing in West Des Moines, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Floor drain backups, split and frozen supply lines, and leaking water heaters, in houses built before 1940 and houses finished last year.
- 4.9-star Google rating
- Same day & emergency service
- Licensed in Iowa, Michigan & Missouri
- Fully stocked local trucks
OVERVIEW
Emergency Plumbing in West Des Moines
An emergency plumbing call in West Des Moines is any problem that is damaging the building right now or has made it unusable: sewage rising from a basement floor drain, a supply line spraying behind a wall, a water heater pouring onto the floor, or no water at all on a January morning. Clog Busters answers those calls in West Des Moines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from our Des Moines branch on Vandalia Road.
West Des Moines housing covers almost every era, and the age of the house shapes what fails. The U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2019 to 2023) counts about 33,600 housing units in the city: roughly 12,400 built since 2000 and about 3,900 built before 1960. The town began as Valley Junction, which voted in 1899 to form its first water utility on Railroad Avenue, according to West Des Moines Water Works.
Older houses tend to fail at aging cast iron drains and vents; newer ones at water heaters and lines frozen in unheated spaces. We stop the water first and find the cause second. When the camera shows a failing lateral, our sewer line services in West Des Moines take it from there.
All work is performed to the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code, adopted by the State of Iowa effective March 26, 2025.
WHAT COUNTS AS AN EMERGENCY
Plumbing Problems in West Des Moines That Cannot Wait
A dripping faucet can wait for business hours. If any of these is happening, stop using water and call.
Backups That Arrive With Heavy Rain
Storm water that gets into the sanitary sewer overloads the mains, which is why the city prohibits tying a sump pump into it. A drain that backs up only in storms deserves a camera inspection.
No Water on a Cold Morning
A trickle from one faucet and nothing from the rest usually means a frozen line. West Des Moines Water Works advises closing the main valve before thawing, since the pipe may already be split.
Water Coming From the Meter
Water Works notes that a meter can freeze, and it replaces the meter only after every pipe in the house has thawed. We handle the frozen piping on your side.
A Water Heater Leaking or Discharging
A tank leaking from the bottom, or a relief valve that keeps discharging, needs attention now. Never cap a discharging relief valve: it is the safety device doing its job.
A Gas Smell Near an Appliance
Get everyone outside and call the gas utility from there before you call us. Plumbing repairs wait until the utility has cleared the gas line.
EMERGENCY SERVICES
Emergency Plumbing Work We Handle in West Des Moines
Homes, rentals, and businesses, day or night.
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01
Main Line and Lateral Backups
We clear the blockage with a cable machine or a hydro jetter, then camera the line before quoting any repair, so the fix matches what is actually inside the pipe.
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02
Burst and Split Supply Lines
We isolate the leak, restore water to the rest of the house where we can, and repair the damaged section. Under Water Works policy the service line from the main, curb valve included, belongs to the homeowner.
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03
Frozen Pipe Thawing
Controlled heat and no open flame. Water Works warns that a torch on a frozen pipe risks fire and carbon monoxide and can rupture the line.
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04
Water Heater Failures
Leaking tanks, relief valves that will not stop, and units that quit with a house full of guests. We stop the water, make the unit safe, then repair or replace it.
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05
Restaurant Grease Line Backups
The city warns that fats, oils, and grease poured down drains cause sewage backups. We jet kitchen lines and service grease traps.
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06
Sewer Gas in the House
A strong sewer smell can be a dry trap, a cracked drain line, or an old cast iron vent clogged with rust scale. We find which one first.
WHY CLOG BUSTERS
Why West Des Moines Calls Clog Busters for Emergencies
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Open 24 Hours, Every Day Our Des Moines branch runs around the clock, 7 days a week, nights and holidays included.
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Drain and Sewer Specialists Backups are our core work. Emergency calls get cable machines, jetters, and sewer cameras, not a plunger and a shop vacuum.
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Camera Before Any Repair Quote Once the emergency is under control, we inspect the line on camera before quoting a repair. You see the footage and decide based on evidence.
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Price Approved Before Work You approve the price before work begins, at any hour.
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Licensed and Code Compliant Licensed in Iowa and working to the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code the state has adopted.
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Trenchless Where the Pipe Allows If the camera shows a failed lateral, we tell you whether a trenchless repair will work, so the yard is dug up only when it has to be.
What Happens When You Call Us in West Des Moines
Stop the damage first, find the cause second, and approve the price before any repair.
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Tell Us What You See
We ask where the water is coming from and what it is reaching, then walk you through closing the main valve. Water Works notes it is often in the basement, before or after the meter.
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Get an Arrival Window
You get a realistic window from our Des Moines dispatch. During a backup, we tell you which fixtures to stop using.
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Stop the Damage
On arrival we isolate the supply, open the blocked drain, or make the water heater safe.
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Find the Cause
Drain and sewer calls get a camera inspection before any repair quote. Supply leaks get traced back to the fitting, the freeze point, or the pipe itself.
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Approve, Repair, and Test
You approve the price, we make the repair, and we run water through the system to confirm it holds.
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FAQ
Emergency Plumbing FAQs for West Des Moines
Still stuck? Call the Des Moines shop at (515) 259-1991.
Stop running water anywhere in the house, because every flush and shower adds to the backup. The City of West Des Moines asks residents to report floor drain backups to Public Services, which sends a crew to check whether the city main is flowing. If the main is clear, the blockage is in your private plumbing and a plumber has to clear it.
The homeowner is. West Des Moines Water Works policy makes customers responsible for the service line starting at the water main, including the curb valve and the valves before and after the meter. A break anywhere on that line, in the yard or in the basement, is the owner's repair. Water Works replaces the meter itself if it freezes.
Close the main water valve first, because the pipe may already be cracked and will leak once the ice lets go. West Des Moines Water Works suggests hot wet towels, a hair dryer, or a space heater, and warns against any open flame such as a torch or propane heater. If you cannot find the frozen section, or the pipe has split, call us.
No. The City of West Des Moines prohibits connecting a sump pump to the sanitary sewer, because the added storm water overloads the mains and causes backups. The city encourages a connection to the storm sewer instead, and Engineering Services can tell you whether one is available on your street.
Usually not, unless it comes with a backup or a visible leak. The city notes that most sewer odor comes from a fixture trap that has dried out, which a little water fixes, or from a cracked drain or vent pipe. If refilling the traps does not clear the smell within a day, schedule an inspection.
Yes. We respond to restaurants, offices, and multi-unit buildings around the clock. The city requires food businesses to follow the Wastewater Reclamation Authority grease management program. We clear commercial kitchen lines and service grease traps.
It can. The U.S. Geological Survey's atlas of the summer 1993 flood shows Raccoon River peaks in the Des Moines area above FEMA's 500-year flood profile. Saturated ground pushes water into sewer pipes through cracked joints and adds to the load. West Des Moines takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program, and FEMA flood maps show whether your property sits in a mapped flood zone.
Our crews dispatch from the Des Moines branch at 3950 Vandalia Road, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Active backups and running water move to the front of the schedule. When you call, we give you an arrival window based on where our crews are at that moment.
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