Drain Cleaning
A slow kitchen sink in a newer West Des Moines home is usually grease, not bad pipe. We clear it with a cable or water and tell you what keeps causing it.
Learn moreKNOW YOUR CITY'S PIPES
How a Fast-Growing City
Shapes West Des Moines Plumbing
West Des Moines had an estimated 74,224 residents in July 2025, up from 56,609 at the 2010 census, according to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts. Its land area grew from 38.59 to 47.22 square miles between the 2010 and 2020 counts. That growth puts plumbing from very different decades on one map.
The oldest blocks trace back to Valley Junction, a rail town of about 500 people that renamed itself West Des Moines in 1938, as the city history page records. Houses near that original core are the likeliest to still drain through cast iron and clay. When the lateral starts to close, water tends to rise first at the basement floor drain, since nothing on the line sits lower. The 1993 floods reached that part of town too, damaging the old city offices on 5th Street. If your basement sits low, ask us whether a backwater valve is worth considering on your building drain.
Newer subdivisions bring a different list. Plastic drain pipe does not rust through, so trouble there is more often grease in kitchen lines, wipes in toilets and water heaters reaching the end of their life.
Rentals, apartments and restaurants
Roughly four in ten West Des Moines homes are rented: the Census puts the owner-occupied rate at 57.4 percent for 2020 to 2024. That puts many plumbing decisions here in the hands of landlords and property managers. In a multi-unit building one blocked stack can back up several units at once, so we locate the stoppage, clear it and send the owner what the camera showed. For restaurant kitchens we jet grease out of the drain lines.
Winter in West Des Moines
The city’s community profile lists an average winter temperature of 23 degrees and 31 inches of snow a year. Supply pipes in outside walls, attached garages and crawlspaces freeze first. If one splits, shut the main valve and call us.
Since March 26, 2025, Iowa has used the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code, and our repairs are done to it. Jarod Smith, the owner, founded Clog Busters in 2020. Besides West Des Moines, the branch at 3950 Vandalia Rd in Des Moines handles Ankeny, Altoona, Clive, Johnston, Pleasant Hill, Urbandale and Waukee. Read about sewer services in West Des Moines and emergency plumbing in West Des Moines, or schedule service in West Des Moines.
