Tree roots can cause a lot of problems in your plumbing. At the very least they will cause your drains to clog or back up, and at their worst they can invade your main sewer line and cause it to collapse. In some cases, invasive roots can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to your home and sewer line. While you can avoid some plumbing problems by taking the proper precautions, avoiding issues caused by out-of-control tree roots is a little trickier. Fortunately, it’s not impossible, especially if you can contact a good sewer line repair service before things get too out of hand.
Why Tree Roots Cause Problems
The very end – or shoot – of a tree root naturally moves towards nutrients as roots grow. This of course includes sources of water such as your sewer line. As these roots grow and move closer to your sewer line, they can actually grow through your line to absorb the water inside. Before long, the line will collapse and cause water to back up into your drains instead of draining safely into the sewer like it’s supposed to do. Even if the line itself doesn’t collapse, the intrusive roots can form a blockage that prevents water and sewage from flowing through the pipe.
What You Can Do About Invasive Roots
At a glance, it may be difficult to see how you can avoid tree roots from growing into your sewer line, but trust us there is a way. First of all, you can avoid planting trees around your sewer line. This requires you to know where your home’s line is buried, but it will definitely eliminate some problems if you can do this.
Your next line of defense is knowing when you have a problem with tree roots. You may notice the drains in your home flowing much more slowly, if at all. If this is happening and you cannot locate any clogs or other reasons for your plumbing problems, contact a professional. A local plumber will be able to perform a plumbing camera inspection on your drains to determine if you have a root problem.
If it turns out that you have a problem with invasive roots, there are a few things you can do to fix the problem. If the roots haven’t done too much damage to your pipes, you can have the offending roots removed with a mechanical auger sent through your sewer line. This will destroy the roots that are causing the problem.
If you want to eliminate the problem completely, you can use a chemical to kill the invasive structure. Copper sulfate crystals work well for this purpose, especially since it creates a poison zone that kills the roots that are already in the pipeline and any that invade in the future.
If your sewer line has taken too much damage from tree roots, it will need to be repaired. In the past, this involved digging up and replacing the damage pipe, but these days many sewer line repair companies offer trenchless sewer pipe repair. With this service, a resin is sent through the damage pipe once the tree roots have been removed. The resin coats the inside of the pipes and essentially forms a new pipe without the damaged sections. This pipe can still be damaged by invasive roots in the future, so it is best to try to remove any plants that could invade this new pipe before they can cause other problems.
Invasive roots are among the most common causes of plumbing problems in homes across the country, but the problems they cause can most certainly be repaired. Be sure to contact a sewer line repair company if you suspect that you have any problems. It’s far easier to fix a root problem before it gets too big to handle.
Mister Sewer has yet to find a tree that is any match for our skilled experts. Our team of Pittsburgh plumbers is trained in seeking out root problems. That is why we offer fast, affordable and efficient solutions to realize and eliminate the problem. So whether you’re looking to exterminate a root problem or just in need of a proper checkup for your plumbing system, call the experts at Mister Sewer for all your residential plumbing service needs today.
Sources:
https://www.lowesforpros.com/articles/4-steps-to-dealing-with-invasive-tree-roots_a1495.html
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf86440506.tip.html
http://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/plumbing/repair-a-sewer-main/