Backflow Testing in Germantown, MD

What happens when you call

Dialing the number on this page puts you through to an independent plumber who takes backflow work in Germantown. Plumber Washington DC Pros only makes the connection; the visit, the schedule and the price are settled between you and that plumber. Before the call, find out what the device serves (in most Germantown homes it protects an in-ground sprinkler system), where it sits, and whether a letter or an earlier failed report is involved. Ask the plumber to confirm they hold WSSC cross-connection technician certification, because a test by anyone else will not satisfy WSSC.

What moves the price

• Pass or fail. A clean first test is a short visit. A check that won't hold or a relief valve that spits means parts, labor and a retest.
• Type of assembly. A reduced pressure (RPZ) unit has more internal parts than a pressure vacuum breaker.
• Seasonal handling. Reinstalling an RPZ that spent the winter indoors adds time before the test can start.
• Access. A device tucked behind shrubs or low against the foundation takes longer to reach.
• Reporting. Ask whether filing the result with WSSC is part of the quoted job.

Backflow rules in Germantown

WSSC Water supplies water and sewer here, and its Plumbing and Fuel Gas Code requires a yearly test of every installed testable assembly. That includes irrigation pressure vacuum breakers and RPZs plus some fire sprinkler assemblies. WSSC does not send its own staff to test. The work goes to plumbers credentialed by WSSC who have also earned cross-connection technician certification. Questions about a device on record can go to the Montgomery County cross-connection line at 301-206-7932.

Most Germantown housing went up in the 1980s and 1990s, with the 1980s the single largest group. Where a sprinkler system dates back to the original build, its backflow device may have been through a great many freeze and thaw cycles, and worn springs and seals are a common reason it stops passing.

Winter matters too. WSSC says reduced pressure assemblies need to be taken off and stored somewhere warm for the cold months, then put back and tested when the irrigation comes on in spring.

Checklist before the plumber arrives

• Find the device and clear a path to it
• Locate the irrigation shutoff, usually in the basement or utility room
• Pull out any WSSC letter and the last test report
• Note whether the RPZ is still in storage from winter
• Write down any recent landscape or sprinkler changes