Hydro Jetting in Lanham, MD

Local conditions

Lanham is a fully built-out, unincorporated inner suburb along the Capital Beltway, next to the New Carrollton Metro and Amtrak station. The median home dates to 1969, which means many houses still have their original drain lines: cast iron under the floor and clay or iron out to the street. Those lines have had more than half a century to gather scale and take in roots. The Lanham mailing address also covers a wider area than the Lanham community itself, including Seabrook, but WSSC Water provides water and sewer across the area. WSSC takes sewer emergencies at 301-206-4002.

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Signs it's time

• The basement floor drain or lowest toilet backs up first
• Drains gurgle when the washer empties
• Roots or rust came back on the snake
• A sewage smell near the floor drain
• The line needs clearing more than once a year

Timing and seasonal notes

Older lines tend to fail in two seasons around here. Summer storms send extra water through the system and expose partly blocked mains as basement backups. Then late fall and the holidays add grease from heavy cooking. Having a sluggish line jetted and checked with a camera in early fall heads off both. If roots are the problem, a cleaning before spring growth gives the longest run between visits.

Should a repair be needed, Lanham's plumbing permits are issued and inspected by WSSC Water, not the county's DPIE, and WSSC requires a plumber holding its license for sewer service line repairs and replacements. Building permits for unincorporated Lanham come from Prince George's County. Commercial and office buildings along Annapolis Road and near the Beltway have their own larger lines, and the same jetting approach applies to them on a bigger scale.