Hydro Jetting in Laurel, MD

Laurel's sewer lines

Laurel began as a Patuxent River mill town and built its first sewer system in 1912, about 12 miles of line that discharged to the river. Today the City of Laurel lists WSSC Water as the contact for water and sewer, and WSSC takes sewer emergencies at 301-206-4002. The city's median home dates to 1984, so many houses have plastic drain lines, while homes around the Main Street Historic District can still have cast iron or clay pipe that collects scale and roots.

The Laurel mailing address reaches beyond city limits into West Laurel and South Laurel, and across county lines into North Laurel in Howard County and Maryland City in Anne Arundel County. If your home is in one of those other counties, your sewer provider and permit office may be different, so check your bill.

Jetting, snaking or repair?

Signs it's time

• The lowest drains back up when upstairs fixtures run
• Toilets gurgle when the washer drains
• The same line has been cabled more than once a year
• A cleanout cap shows standing water

Timing and seasons

Heavy summer storms push extra water through the region's sewer systems, and that's when a partly blocked main line tends to show itself as a basement backup. Late fall is a sensible time to get a slow line cleaned, before holiday cooking sends more grease down the kitchen drain and before winter makes yard digging harder if a repair turns up. If roots were the problem, they grow fastest in the warm months, so a line jetted in spring may need another look by the following year.

The City of Laurel does not review or inspect plumbing work; plumbing permits in Laurel go directly to WSSC Water. Jetting an existing line is cleaning, but a repair the camera uncovers would follow WSSC's process.