Sewer Camera Inspection in Gaithersburg, MD

Local conditions in Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg went from farm town to a large I-270 suburb, and its housing is younger than the inner suburbs: the median home was built around 1989. Planned communities such as Kentlands sit alongside older streets near Old Town. In the newer neighborhoods most building sewers are plastic, which holds up well but can settle into a belly or crack under later construction. Houses near the older core are more likely to have cast iron or clay that roots and corrosion can get into. A camera removes the guesswork about which you have.

Repairs that come out of an inspection are plumbing work, permitted and inspected by WSSC Water rather than the City. The City of Gaithersburg's Planning and Code Administration handles building permits separately, and it requires a WSSC approval before it issues them, so a bigger project that disturbs the line may involve both offices.

Clearing alone vs. clearing with a camera

Signs worth a camera

• A toilet gurgles when the tub or washer drains
• The basement floor drain or lowest shower takes water when other fixtures run
• Drains throughout the house slow down at the same time
• A soft or sunken strip in the yard along the route of the pipe
• The line clogs again within weeks of being cleared

Timing notes

Film the line before patios, additions or major landscaping so you know where it runs and can fix it while the ground is open. Holiday cooking sends extra grease down the kitchen drain, and a line with a sag tends to show it soon after. Mature trees planted when a neighborhood was built keep growing toward old joints, so roots are a common find on older lots. If you're buying in Gaithersburg, a pre-closing inspection is a modest step that covers a pipe a standard home inspection skips.