With a median build year of 1959 and a Victorian-era core, Kensington has plenty of older cast iron and clay drain pipe, where scale and roots add to the usual grease and hair. A plumber clears the line and tells you whether the pipe needs more than a cleaning. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Kensington.
What makes drains in Kensington homes clog?
Kensington grew from a summer retreat into a commuter suburb about 9 miles from downtown Washington, and its southern core keeps a largely intact Victorian-era street plan as the Kensington Historic District. The median home in the town was built in 1959. Homes from that period often have cast iron drain stacks and clay or cast iron building sewers. Over decades, cast iron scales and roughens inside, catching grease and paper, while clay joints let roots in. Newer and remodeled homes see the everyday causes: wipes, grease, hair and food.
Which part of the sewer is mine?
WSSC Water handles the public sewer in Kensington. The drains in your house and the building sewer out to the main are yours. If one fixture is slow, the clog is in your plumbing. If the whole house backs up, the plumber starts at the cleanout; if your line is open and the main seems blocked, or sewage is coming from a manhole, call WSSC Water at 301-206-4002. The Kensington mailing area is much larger than the town itself, so if you live outside the town limits, your water and sewer bill confirms which utility to call.
Do I need a permit if the sewer pipe has to be fixed?
Not to clear a clog. If a camera inspection shows broken or collapsed pipe, the repair is permit work through WSSC Water Permit Services and must be done by a plumber holding a WSSC license. Inside the town limits, the Town of Kensington also has its own forms for home construction projects, so call Town Hall at 301-949-2424 if the work involves digging up the yard or changes outside the house. Addresses outside the town limits deal with Montgomery County for building approvals.
A local note
Older homes in the historic district often have basements with a floor drain near the laundry. When that drain is the first to rise, treat it as a main line warning and stop running water until the line is cleared. Keep stored boxes and rugs away from it so the plumber can reach both the drain and the cleanout quickly.
Drain Cleaning questions in Kensington
Are cast iron and clay drains in older houses harder to clean?
Can tree roots work their way into an older sewer line?
Why does a drain we seldom use smell like sewer gas?
Does clearing a drain need a permit?
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