A sewer camera inspection shows the inside of the pipe that carries waste from your College Park home out to the WSSC Water main, so roots, breaks and buildup can be seen and located before anyone digs. Many neighborhoods here date to the early twentieth century, and older lines are where cameras earn their keep. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in College Park.
College Park at a glance
College Park sits about eight miles from downtown Washington, home to the University of Maryland, with early-1900s neighborhoods such as Calvert Hills and Old Town next to newer apartments and mixed-use buildings. The median home was built around 1979, but the oldest streets have laterals far older than that, and student rentals tend to put extra strain on a line. The city straddles Paint Branch and Indian Creek, and the Lakeland area has long been low-lying and flood-prone. In homes with basements, a line that leaks or restricts flow usually announces itself first at the basement floor drain.
What to do now
- Stop running water if a drain is backing up, and hold off on laundry and dishwashers.
- If sewage is spilling into the street or out of a manhole, call WSSC Water's Emergency Services Center at 301-206-4002.
- Find your cleanout if you can; it is often a capped pipe near the foundation or in the basement.
- Note which fixtures are affected and whether the problem gets worse during storms.
- Arrange for the line to be cleared if needed, then filmed, so the cause is on record.
Symptoms and likely causes
| Symptom | Likely cause the camera can confirm |
|---|---|
| Backup in the basement floor drain after heavy rain | Cracked or open joints letting in groundwater, or a partial blockage |
| Clogs that return every few months | Roots at a joint or a sag holding debris |
| Gurgling toilets while the tub drains | A restriction partway down the main line |
| Slow drains in a home with many occupants | Grease and wipes building up on a rough pipe wall |
| Sewer smell in the yard | A broken or separated section of pipe |
Cost factors
Price depends on access (cleanout, toilet or roof vent), whether the line has to be cleared before filming, how far the run goes and whether you want defects located from the surface and a recording saved. Older College Park homes sometimes lack an outdoor cleanout, which adds time, and a rental with several tenants may need a longer look at the kitchen branch where grease collects. If footage leads to a repair, WSSC Water permits and inspects plumbing in Prince George's County, and sewer service line repairs must be done by a plumber holding a WSSC license.
Sewer Camera Inspection questions in College Park
Can heavy rain make a damaged sewer line act up?
Will the camera show what kind of pipe I have?
Is it worth filming the sewer line before buying a house here?
What if my house has no outdoor cleanout?
More plumbing services in College Park
Sewer Camera Inspection nearby
Helpful guides
Sources
Last updated: