Des Plaines plumbing at a glance
Two ZIPs, one line
Both 60016 and 60018 are in our zone, from the Miner Street civic area to the O'Hare side of town.
Nights and weekends
Emergency dispatch runs around the clock, so a backup on a Sunday night reaches the same line as a Tuesday morning call.
Sewer and flood focus
The city counts combined sewers in its system, and its hazard plan names the river and Weller Creek as flood areas.
Who owns the pipe
Des Plaines says the private sewer lateral belongs to the owner, including the stretch under the street.
Water backing up a floor drain in Des Plaines
A gurgling toilet, a washer that spits water into the basement drain, or gray water around the floor drain all say the same thing: the line leaving the house cannot carry what you send it. The plug may sit in your own pipe or in the public sewer in the street.
A simple test sorts it out. If one sink is slow, the clog is near that sink. If the lowest drain in the house backs up while the upstairs fixtures still work, the trouble is on the main line or beyond it, and the longer water stands there, the more floor it reaches.
What usually causes a sewer backup here
Roots and grease
Roots slip into joints that have already opened, and kitchen grease cools into a plug.
Combined sewer load
The city's Public Works page counts its sanitary and combined sewers together, 169 miles in all. Where a sewer is combined, a hard rain shares the pipe with household waste.
Flat, slow ground
The city's hazard plan describes the original land as flat, wet prairie that had to be ditched to drain. Water still moves slowly through the low spots.
Sags and breaks
A sunken stretch of pipe holds waste in a pool, and a cracked one lets soil wash in. Only a camera tells you which.
Cable, jet or dig: matching the fix to the pipe
A clog in a sound pipe can be cleared with a cable or a high-pressure water jet. Sewer line cleaning fits that case, and we run a camera afterward so you know the pipe is open and not just briefly clear. If the picture shows a break, a sagging section or roots through a joint, sewer line repair is the lasting answer.
Cleaning a line versus repairing it
Cleaning
- Quickest way to get drains working again.
- Right for grease, paper and soft roots.
- Does not fix a cracked or sunken pipe.
Repair
- Fixes the break, sag or bad joint itself.
- Can mean digging or lining, depending on the pipe.
- Ends repeat backups caused by damage.
Drain backing up right now?
Tell dispatch which fixtures are slow and where water is showing. That decides whether we start with a cable, a jet or a camera.
What decides the price of a sewer job
The price follows the pipe, not the puddle. For your real number, call our 24/7 line.
Des Plaines' Public Works page says typical homeowners policies do not cover lateral costs and suggests asking your agent about a sewer backup endorsement. Read your policy before storm season, not after.
Low ground along the river and the creeks
The 2019 Des Plaines annex to the Cook County hazard plan names the Des Plaines River, Weller Creek, Big Bend and the River and Oakton area as places that have flooded. It also lists 245 FEMA repetitive-loss properties, 225 of them residential.
If your home sits near one of those low areas, a working sump pump matters more than it does uphill. Sump pump repair is the usual first call when the pit is full and the pump is silent.
Before we arrive: if you have a burst pipe or active leak
If water is coming from a pipe, find the main shutoff valve and turn it clockwise until it stops. A break in the street is a call to Public Works, whose main break line is open evenings, weekends and holidays.
If water is coming up a drain instead, stop using every fixture. Each flush or load of laundry adds to what is already rising.
- Turn off the main water valve if a pipe is leaking.
- Switch off power to wet areas only if you can reach the panel without standing in water.
- Stop flushing and stop running the washer or sinks if a drain is backing up.
- Move people and pets out of a wet basement.
- Lift small valuables off the floor and open a window if there is a sewer smell.
- Call our 24/7 line and tell dispatch what you shut off.
Des Plaines note: who owns the pipe and who to call first
Des Plaines is a city in Cook County with a 2020 Census count of 60,675, and the Census Bureau puts owner occupancy at 78.3 percent. The city says it buys drinking water from Chicago and the Northwest Water Commission, while Illinois American Water serves some areas. Your bill shows which applies.
On the sewer side, the city says the private lateral belongs to the property owner, including the part under the street. For a backup, call Public Works first so the city can check the main. If a plumber then finds a blockage in the right-of-way, the city Plumbing Inspector verifies it.
Reaching Des Plaines from nearby ZIPs
We also dispatch for sewer line cleaning and sewer line repair in the neighboring ZIPs 60056 (Mount Prospect), 60025 (Glenview) and 60714 (Niles). See our pages for Mount Prospect and Niles if your trouble sits on the other side of the line.
Landlords with a building here and another in Norridge can use one dispatch line for both.
State rules that follow us to Des Plaines
Licensing is set by the state, not the town. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, plumbers are licensed under the Illinois Plumbing License Law, 225 ILCS 320, and work follows the Illinois Plumbing Code, 77 Ill. Adm. Code 890. Ask the dispatcher which Des Plaines office handles permits for your job.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, both of them. 60016 takes in the civic area around City Hall on Miner Street and Public Works on Joseph J. Schwab Road, plus Oakton College on East Golf Road. 60018 runs south toward O'Hare and the Rosemont line, including East Touhy Avenue and the Mannheim Road stretch, and some 60018 addresses carry a Rosemont mailing name.
Yes. The dispatch line runs 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays. Call, say what is happening, and you get shutoff steps right away while a plumber is assigned. Same-day appointments are available for non-emergencies.
Start with Public Works so the city can check the main in the street. If the main is clear, call us to find the blockage in your own line. If we find it in the public right-of-way, we will tell you to contact the city Plumbing Inspector for verification.
Often not by default. The city's Public Works page says typical homeowners policies do not cover lateral costs and suggests asking about a sewer backup endorsement. Read your policy or call your agent before the next storm.
Permit rules vary by job, so we confirm with the city before work starts. The city has a Plumbing Inspector, and repairs in the public right-of-way involve that office. Clearing a clog involves no digging, but ask when you call.
Yes. Tenants or managers can call the 24/7 line, and the plumber explains the problem and the price to whoever authorizes the work. Tell dispatch who the owner or manager is when you call.