Clogged drain (video) Tree root?

[myuserid519]

Hi folks,

I've got a problem that might end up being costly, so I'd greatly appreciate any advice.

We recently bought a 50 year old house (plumbers tell me it's got 4” clay pipe). Last week the sewer backed up in the laundry room. We called a plumber and he ran a 1/2 snake through with an approximately 1” triangular head. Watching the clean out, the snake pushed out some grey sludge. He went back and forth a few times, and some thick grey greasy sludge went through. I asked him about roots, and he said he didn't think there were any, as the snake went through cleanly.

A couple of days later, another small backup. Made arrangements for another plumber and a camera. Plumber put through a big headed snake (looked to me like 2.25 or 2.5 inches in diameter). Went through cleanly, with some grey sludge. Water flowed well again. This plumber said he thought it was “grease”, but we'd throw a camera down and have a look. They couldn't do it that day, so I had to wait until today.

Before the plumber got here today, I ran a bunch of water through and when there was a big flow I heard some glugging. With all the previous info, it seemed to me that there was a big organic mass in the pipe still, and the snake broke through the bottom. Camera seemed to confirm this:

drain dec 2011 - YouTube

drain dec 2011 - YouTube

The plumber thought it was tree roots, with the big junk near the top of the pipe representing the "root ball". My main question is: Is what's on the video evidence of tree roots? To my untrained eye it looks like a big organic mass, but I don't really see evidence of tree roots. Is there any chance that it's a long-term buildup of greasy sludge that can be cleaned out?

Plumber recommended inserting a liner for 3k. Are there other reasonable options? Can I try to snake it some more and add some Bio-clean?

Thanks for any info.

[myuserid519]

Hi,

A second video from a different pipe that is shorter and clearer:

Drain with buildup (and tree root?) - YouTube

Drain with buildup (and tree root?) - YouTube

The plumber seems confident that these are tree roots. To my untrained eye, it looks like buildup that has nothing to do with tree roots. Does anybody have any thoughts on this?

Thanks for any replies and opinions.

[johnjh2o]

It's hard to tell if it's roots or not. Before spending 3k I would have the line jetted, if it is grease jetting will remove it.

John

[YosemiteJack]

I had some tree root in kitchen/garage drain pipe before joining the main line.

The plumber ran a snake and only get a little root out. The drain was quite good now.

I decided to wash my cloths with hot water every week so that tree root can not grow into the pipe.

[Caduceus]

I agree with john. Hard to tell from the video, but looks like a build-up that needs to be jetted.
Be sure to get a good reinspection after the jetter service to see if the build up is a result of a more serious problem down stream.

[Bulldog77]

Looks to me Like its Oranageburg pipe, Orangeburg pipe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Its pretty much tar paper, with a protective coating on the inside. once that coating disapears, your pipe starts to rot from the bottom up. To me it looks like your pipe is in an advanced state of decay and you need the line replaced immediately. There are three options out there for line replacement, Bursting, lining, and conventional dig, linining is already out of the question due to the condtion of your pipe, once your line completely collapses you are left with the conventional dig. where if you pipe runs under driveway, sidewalks, or into the street where you may have to catch the city stub will get quite expensive. Call around get a few quotes but rember cheaper isnt always better what shortcuts are the cheaper guy taking to get you that price. Check The BBB, Angies list or complaints boards to make a final decision. In my opinion you dont have much time. If you read this on 1/17/2012 wiki pedia is on 24 hour strike to protest the govements new regulation of the internet that says they can go in and Censor what ever they want to.