Plumbing Services in Winston-Salem, NC

A city built in layers

Winston-Salem counted 249,545 residents in the 2020 census, which makes it the fifth-largest city in North Carolina. It took its current form in 1913, when the Moravian town of Salem (founded in 1766) merged with Winston, the Forsyth County seat. Tobacco, textiles and banking built the city in the early twentieth century, and each boom left behind a band of housing with its own plumbing.

• Early streetcar and automobile suburbs such as the West End, Ardmore, Washington Park and Buena Vista have homes from the 1890s through the 1940s. Original galvanized supply lines, cast-iron drains and clay sewer laterals are common, along with additions and updates from every decade since.
• Post-war neighborhoods on the south, east and north sides brought brick ranches and split-levels with copper supply lines, cast-iron or early plastic drains, and water heaters in crawlspaces, carports or utility rooms.
• Late-twentieth-century subdivisions include many homes plumbed with polybutylene between the late 1970s and mid-1990s.
• Newer construction on the city's edges typically has PEX supply lines and PVC drains, with plumbing problems that are more often about fixtures, water heaters and builder shortcuts than worn-out pipe.

City water and sewer

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities treats water from the Yadkin River and Salem Lake at three plants with a combined capacity of 91 million gallons a day. The 2025 water quality report lists average hardness of about 17.5 ppm, very soft water, and the utility adds orthophosphate to control corrosion in pipes (Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities, 2025 Water Quality Report). Soft water means little scale on fixtures and water heaters. It also means pipe age, not mineral buildup, is the main reason older homes see leaks and discolored water.

The utility has also inventoried private service lines (the pipe from the meter to the house) and notified owners whose lines are listed as lead, galvanized requiring replacement, or unknown. If you got a letter, the self-report tool is at WSFC Utilities service line inventory (cityofws.org/pipes).

Sewer backups: who to call

When sewage backs up, call City Link at 311 or 336-727-8000 first. Utility staff clear blockages in the part of your service line inside the public right-of-way; if the problem is on the private side, the homeowner hires a plumber, and the utility asks that the line be cleared to the main and camera-inspected (WSFC Utilities, Sewer Backup Policy & Responsibilities). Older neighborhoods with mature street trees see more root-related backups, so a camera inspection is worth it if your main line clogs more than once.

Crawlspaces and cold snaps

Most older Winston-Salem houses sit over crawlspaces, and many have pipes running near foundation vents. Average January lows are in the upper 20s, but when an arctic air mass drops temperatures into the teens, those lines are the first to freeze. Insulating crawlspace pipes, closing vents during hard freezes and knowing where your main shut-off is (usually where the line enters the foundation) prevent most freeze damage.

Permits

Plumbing permits in Winston-Salem and unincorporated Forsyth County are handled through the city-county inspections office. Water heater replacements, repiping and sewer line replacement usually need a permit and inspection. Ask whether your quote includes it.

Tell us your address, what is going on and roughly how old the house is, and we'll call you back to talk it through.

Plumbing services in Winston-Salem

• Drain Cleaning
• Water Heater Repair & Replacement
• Leak Detection & Repair
• Sewer Line Repair
• Emergency Plumber
• Frozen & Burst Pipes
• Toilet & Faucet Repair
• Repiping
• Garbage Disposals

Sources for Winston-Salem facts: Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities, 2025 Water Quality Report; WSFC Utilities, Sewer Backup Policy & Responsibilities; WSFC Utilities service line inventory (cityofws.org/pipes).