24/7 Drain Cleaning & Sewer Service in Des Moines, IA

Sherman Hill, Drake, Owl's Head and the neighborhoods around downtown have homes from the 1870s through the 1920s, with basements and clay laterals.

Beaverdale, known for its brick Beaverdale bungalows, and Waterbury, Linden Heights and the south side were built from the 1910s through the 1940s.

Postwar neighborhoods on the northeast and south sides filled in from the 1950s through the 1970s with ranches.

Suburbs like West Des Moines, Urbandale, Ankeny and Johnston have grown rapidly since the 1980s.

The 1993 and 2008 floods inundated parts of the city near the rivers, and the city has invested heavily in levees and sewer upgrades.

Des Moines Public Works maintains local sewers, and the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority treats wastewater for the metro. Des Moines homeowners are responsible for the sewer service line from the house to the main.

Spring snowmelt, river rises and summer thunderstorms load sewers and flood basements, and roots grow fastest in summer.

Winters bring weeks below freezing and subzero cold snaps that freeze pipes and shallow service lines.

Beaverdale, on the northwest side, is famous for the Beaverdale brick, a sturdy two-story brick home built by the hundreds in the 1920s and 1930s. These homes have full basements and clay laterals under tree-lined streets. Roots are the most common cause of backups, and many owners line their laterals to stop the yearly root cutting.

Sherman Hill, just west of downtown, has Victorian homes from the late 1800s, many restored. The Drake neighborhood, around Drake University, has older homes, many rented to students. Old clay laterals, heavy use and big trees mean frequent clogs.

In 1993, the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers flooded, knocking out the city's water treatment plant for nearly two weeks. In 2008, the rivers flooded again. Levees and floodwalls have been raised since, but neighborhoods near the rivers still have high groundwater after heavy rain, and cracked laterals take in water.

Des Moines winters bring weeks below freezing and occasional subzero cold. Under a plowed Des Moines driveway, frost can reach the service line itself, and long before that the garage laundry and porch plumbing will ice up. A warm basement and insulated pipes help, and a frozen service line needs steam or warm water jetting.

In June, after a week of thunderstorms, a family in a 1928 Beaverdale brick finds water spreading from the basement floor drain. The plumber opens the cleanout and cuts roots from a big maple about thirty-five feet out. Two cracked clay joints show up on the camera, and the family books a liner for July.

Parts of Des Moines's older core had combined sewers that overflowed into the rivers during storms. The city has spent years separating sewers and upgrading capacity. Many older homes also have downspouts or footing drains tied into the service line, which add water during storms. Disconnecting them helps.

The northeast and south sides filled in from the 1950s through the 1970s with ranches for families working at the insurance companies, John Deere and the meatpacking plants. Seventy years on, the cast iron in those houses is crusted with scale and the clay outside has picked up roots.

Downtown's East Village, Court Avenue, Ingersoll Avenue and the busy restaurant corridors serve insurance workers, students and families. During the Drake Relays and the Iowa State Fair, restaurants run at capacity, and pumping interceptors before those events prevents backups.

When a winter's snowpack melts in March, groundwater rises and seeps into basements and cracked laterals. Sump pumps run constantly in lower neighborhoods. Moving snow piles away from foundations before the thaw helps.

In years with a deep snowpack and a fast warm-up, the rivers rise at the same time, and low neighborhoods see the most basement water.

West Des Moines, Urbandale, Ankeny and Johnston have grown rapidly with newer homes, finished basements and sump pumps. Newer PVC lines resist roots, and kitchen grease, wipes and pump failures cause most problems there.

Many Des Moines homes, old and new, have finished basements. A backup can ruin carpet, drywall and belongings. A backwater valve and a regular camera check on older lines are the best protection.

Waterbury, on the west side near Waterworks Park, and Linden Heights have Tudors, Colonial Revivals and Prairie-style homes from the 1910s through the 1930s on hilly, wooded lots. Long laterals run from deep setbacks to the street under oaks and maples. Roots and the occasional sag where a hillside lot has settled are common findings. Owners there often choose lining to protect landscaping and old stone walls.

Highland Park and Oak Park, on the north side, were streetcar suburbs in the early 1900s with bungalows and foursquares on tree-lined streets. Many are now home to young families and immigrant households from Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. Old clay laterals, big trees and busy kitchens make roots and grease the most common culprits.

Share the neighborhood, the home's age, whether the basement is finished and whether you're near the river. Mention whether it's been very cold or whether storms came first.