Roots in the sewage line.

[tbart16]

Copper sulfate dissolves roots. If you get copper sulfate crystals flush them down your toilet and let them set over night. do this a few times a year or as required to keep your drain open it is good preventive maint.

[Conway]

How common are roots in the line?

[tbart16]

if there is a tree in your yard or your neighbors yard it could be very common. You can judge the size of the roots by the size of the tree the roots mirror the leaves (i think that makes sense) roots will not effect plastic drain lines only older cast iron, clay and similar pipe the roots seep into the joints and line inside of the pipe it is amazzing how far roots will travel inside a pipe hope this helps.

[Highpower]

I had to deal with roots in my line (soil pipe) every six months like clockwork. After spending several hundred dollars getting this done professionally on a regular basis, I had a local "one man shop" plumber come out to remove the roots. Instead of the usual large heavy sewer cleaning machine (like the rental places have) he showed up with an old car tire and a BIG electric hand drill. Inside the tire was a coiled up length of the sectional cable normally used on the large machines. He cut out a bucket full of roots from the line and all was good again.

I told him I wish I had his set-up, and I would just do the job myself! This guy was so nice, he actually told me of a local drain cleaning supply company where I could buy the sectional cable and a root cutting blade for it. He said they even have the adapter's to hook it up to your drill.

I went there the next day and bought 50 feet of the cable, the adapter, and a couple different root cutter and auger heads. I left there and went to Sears and bought the biggest industrial drill they had. For the cost of 3 service calls from the pros, I had everything I needed to do the job myself. And I did it - every six months as usual for several years.

I had a tree in my back yard near the house that was getting too big and troublesome, as it was overgrowing my house as well as the neighbors house. I decide it was time for the tree to go, so I had it cut down. I killed the stump to prevent it from starting to grow back and causing more problems. As time passed it hit me one day..... Hey! I haven't had to clean out the sewer line since!

[havasu]

At my old house, I seemed to have roots clog my main line about every 6 months. After the same plumber came over about 6 times, he recommended to call him back after digging out about 10 feet of my main line. He lined the clay pipe with about 250 pounds of rock salt. I re-buried the pipe and never had a problem afterwards. Has anyone ever heard of doing this before?

[majakdragon]

Tree roots seek water. This is why the drain pipe makes an ideal candidate. Kinda like "curb service" for the roots. If you think about it, the roots had to enter some how. If not at the joints, they grew through the pipe walls. Having the roots cut every so often is cheaper than renewing the line, but the access point will always be there. Cast iron pipe is not smooth and will allow the roots a place to concentrate their effort to grow into the line. PVC is slick, and roots grow around it instead of into it.

[Highpower]

That much I already knew, and it was good information to have. That is the other reason I had the tree removed. It was cheaper than digging up and replacing the lateral line.

[Nailer341]

Originally Posted by Highpower

That much I already knew, and it was good information to have. That is the other reason I had the tree removed. It was cheaper than digging up and replacing the lateral line.

Just because you took away the tree doesn't necessarily mean you solved the problem. The roots can continue to grow under ground.

[Reedwalker]

Here in Michigan the property owner is responsible for the pipe from the "tap" to the building. Meaning if the city main is on the other side of the street and it needs to be replaced, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for the entire project including replacing the road and sidewalk.

And renting a machine is not cheaper than hiring your local plumber. Here a rental costs $85. You need a vehicle that your willing to put such a machine into. You are going to make a mess. Generally you are going to rent a machine with a 5/8" cable and a 2" C-Cutter. You are poking a hole in it. That is all you are doing.

Hire me. I cost $125 to restore flow. For $40 extra I put a much larger hole in it. My cable is 1-1/4". I use a 3" triple spade bit. For an additional $65, after I have restored flow, I will send an expandable cutter through actually cleaning the drain. Add $50 for a treatment of Root-X and I can gaurantee the drain for a year.

Go ahead, rent the machine. You haven't done the job a plumber can do. You've likely spent 3+ hours doing it and still haven't cleaned up and returned the inferior snake.

Roots can be overcome, and with regular maintainence be kept under control. Digging can be expensive and is generally not necessary. Many times I have cleared drains that other plumbers gave up on and said needed to be replaced.

[dunriteplumbing]

well the price range should be around 175-275. im in ohio and that is the going rate. copper sulphate or root killer is sometimes used but dont really know how much it really does.