An emergency plumber in Skokie is a licensed plumber you can phone about a burst pipe, a backed-up sewer or a dead water heater after the business day ends. Skokie, IL borders Morton Grove on the east, and the phones are staffed all night, every night. Call now if water is rising or a line has stopped. The warning card below lists what to do until the plumber gets to you.
Skokie is large, at 10.07 square miles, so it helps to think about it in corridors. The sections below follow the main roads and rail stops, then the problems that turn up along them.
The Edens side of Skokie
The Edens Expressway crosses the west side of Skokie, and that edge of the village is the part closest to Morton Grove. Give the nearest cross street and which side of the expressway you are on when you call. That tells dispatch which way to approach, since the Edens is a hard line on the map.
A main sewer line carries every drain in the house to the street connection. Sewer line cleaning clears that pipe with a heavy cable or a high-pressure water jet, and it is the usual fix when several fixtures slow down together. If cleaning keeps failing, a camera inspection shows whether roots or a collapsed section are the real cause.
Dempster Street and Oakton Street
Dempster Street and Oakton Street are the main east and west roads through the village, and both lead back toward Morton Grove. Any building on these roads with more than one unit, such as a storefront with apartments above, usually shares a drain stack. One tenant's clog can then show up in another unit's floor drain.
If that happens, tell the property owner at once. A stack clog cannot be cleared from a single sink, and plunging only pushes water toward the lowest unit. A plumber can open the stack at a cleanout and run a cable from there.
Signs the main line is the problem
- Gurgling in a tub or toilet when the washing machine drains
- Slow drains in more than one room at once
- A floor drain that bubbles or smells
- Water backing up into the lowest fixture in the home
- Repeat clogs that return within weeks of cabling
Around Westfield Old Orchard and Old Orchard Road
Westfield Old Orchard and Old Orchard Road mark the retail side of the village, and Skokie Boulevard and Golf Road both lead toward it. Tell dispatch the nearest of these roads when you call, so the plumber knows which direction to come from.
A supply pipe inside a wall can leak for weeks before a stain shows. Leak detection pairs sound-based listening gear with a pressure test to pin down the exact spot. Thermal imaging can also reveal a warm hot-water line running under a floor. That means a smaller hole in the wall than guessing would cause.
Near the Yellow Line and Oakton Street station
The CTA Yellow Line ends at Dempster Street, and the Oakton Street station opened in 2012. If you live in a multi-unit building near either stop, a leak in one unit can drip into the ceiling of the one below. The first call goes to the building manager, then to a plumber.
When water seeps through your ceiling, close the supply to your own unit and stay away from any light fixture it reaches. A ceiling holding water can drop without warning, so stay out from under a bulging spot.
| Part of Skokie | Common call | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| West side, near the Edens | Main line slowdown | Sewer line cleaning |
| Dempster and Oakton storefronts | Shared stack clog | Cleanout access, cable |
| Near Old Orchard | Hidden supply leak | Leak detection |
| Near the Yellow Line | Ceiling leak from a neighbor | Notify manager, shut your unit water |
| East side, toward Evanston | Wet basement after heavy rain | Sump pump check, then call |
Skokie line backing up?
Plumbers are on call through the night, so ring before the water spreads across the floor.
When pipes burst in a Skokie winter
Skokie winters can freeze unheated pipes in garages, crawl spaces and exterior walls. A frozen pipe often shows as a trickle or no water from one tap. Leave the tap open, keep the room warm, and shut the main valve if you see a crack, because ice that melts can turn a small split into a spray. For splits that have already opened, see burst pipe repair.
Homeownership in Skokie is about 74.7 percent, so a large share of calls come from tenants in rented units. If you rent, photograph the damage before you move anything and send those pictures to your landlord with the time you called.
Skokie note
Skokie was incorporated in 1888 as Niles Centre and renamed Skokie by referendum in 1940.
It buys its water wholesale from the City of Evanston, so it receives the same Lake Michigan source as Morton Grove. Evanston's plant has a capacity of 108 million gallons per day and no sewage plant. Wastewater goes to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's North Side plant, so a blocked line on your property is your plumber's job, while a problem in the street main starts with the village.
Source type: City of Evanston water utility page and Skokie village history
Before we arrive in Skokie
Quick moves that limit damage until a plumber is at the door:
- Find the main shutoff and close it if water is running freely.
- Stop all water use if sewage is rising in a drain, and keep children and pets away.
- Kill the breaker for a soaked room only if you can get to the panel without stepping in water.
- A gas odor means everyone goes outside. Dial 911 and the gas company from the yard or the street.
- Photograph the damage before cleanup, since your insurer or landlord will want it.
Both Skokie ZIP codes
Skokie has two ZIP codes. 60076 is the larger, with 34,295 residents, and 60077 follows with 28,856. We answer calls in both, and a drain call in 60077 gets the same drain cleaning crews as one in 60076.
Skokie touches Evanston, Chicago, Lincolnwood, Niles, Morton Grove, Glenview and Wilmette. If you live near a border, you can still reach us, and you can read more about covering Niles and Lincolnwood on their own pages.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. A basement flooding on a Saturday night or a main line that quits on a holiday gets answered by a live dispatcher for Skokie addresses. We book the earliest visit the schedule permits and will not guess an arrival time for you. While you hold, we explain which valve or breaker to deal with first.
Yes. We cover 60076, the larger Skokie ZIP with 34,295 residents, and 60077, with 28,856. Together they take in the village from the Edens Expressway on the west to the North Shore Channel along the Evanston border.
Skokie is the next village east along Dempster Street. The trip depends on traffic, and the Old Orchard shopping area is a common slow spot, so we do not promise an arrival time. Call, and the dispatcher will tell you what to do first.
Skokie buys water wholesale from the City of Evanston, the same Lake Michigan source that supplies Morton Grove. A water quality question goes to the village or to Evanston's utility.
It becomes one when sewage reaches a floor drain or several fixtures stop at once. Until then, a same-day cleaning visit can usually prevent an overflow.
Call your building manager first, since shutoffs and shared pipes may be theirs to control. Then call us if the manager asks for a plumber or the water cannot be stopped.
Permit rules in Skokie differ from Morton Grove's, and we do not quote them here. Ask the Village of Skokie before any work that opens a sewer line.
Map of Skokie, IL and the surrounding streets we dispatch to.