Roots in the sewage line.

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I have roots in my sewage line. My local plumber referred me to another plumbing service that could possibly help. What should it cost me to get the roots removed, and is there any way short of killing everything in my lawn that I can do to keep it from happening again>
 
I have roots in my sewage line. My local plumber referred me to another plumbing service that could possibly help. What should it cost me to get the roots removed, and is there any way short of killing everything in my lawn that I can do to keep it from happening again>

A roto rooter type company can come out and they have a tool that will cut them out of the existing line but the only way to gaurantee they wont ever come back is to install a new line.
 
How old is the property, how long have you been in it?

It could be as simple as routing out as Chris said or...

...worst case the drain pipe if clay could be compromised allowing roots to get in.

Most reputable roto-rooting type firms could video the drain line to see if the pipe is damaged.

Often in older installations of clay type pipe the pipe will separate or could be 'crushed' by compaction. Have you a low spot in the yard where the waste leaves the house and routes to the street/Main?
 
I rent a machine about once a year from a local hardware store to auger the roots out of my drain pipe. It's a lot cheaper than calling a plumber.
 
There is such a thing as a drain chemical that is designed to clear roots from the main line. Whether it works, I couldn't tell you. But it might be worth a try before hiring a plumber or renting power equipment.
 
The cost will depend on how long it takes to clear the line, and you cannot tell that ahead of time.
 
This can be a real pain in the ass and in most cases you will eventually do a repair or replace the line.

I rooted mine out twice a year for about 6 years until there was enough separation that it wasn't going to do any more.

At that point a camera went down the cleanout and pointed out exact locations of separations of the clay pipe.

Mine was in the city easement and under the street for which the city wouldnt pay a dime.

I had the repair done from the curb face to the cleanout with ABS. There are products available to sleeve the inside of the pipe after rooting it, but in my research I have found that it is a temporary band-aid.

The roots could be coming from a long distance away, and are hell to deal with unless you just get in there and replace the damaged pipe.
 
This can be a real pain in the ass and in most cases you will eventually do a repair or replace the line.

I rooted mine out twice a year for about 6 years until there was enough separation that it wasn't going to do any more.

At that point a camera went down the cleanout and pointed out exact locations of separations of the clay pipe.

Mine was in the city easement and under the street for which the city wouldnt pay a dime.

I had the repair done from the curb face to the cleanout with ABS. There are products available to sleeve the inside of the pipe after rooting it, but in my research I have found that it is a temporary band-aid.

The roots could be coming from a long distance away, and are hell to deal with unless you just get in there and replace the damaged pipe.

Are you in LA county? I did a job out there and couldn't believe they made the home owner responsible for their line. In most areas the district will take care of it up to the cleanout on the property line.
 
Are you in LA county? I did a job out there and couldn't believe they made the home owner responsible for their line. In most areas the district will take care of it up to the cleanout on the property line.

I am in LA county. (Lakewood) I was going to be held responsible for the street closure, repairs, and the whole mess. That is why I stopped at the curb face.

It is their damn tree in their damn easement doing the damage.
 
I am in LA county. (Lakewood) I was going to be held responsible for the street closure, repairs, and the whole mess. That is why I stopped at the curb face.

It is their damn tree in their damn easement doing the damage.

I ran into the exact same thing, this was for a buddies grandmother and the city tree was crushing the pipe and not only did they want us to do it we had to hire a contractor from there approved list. I am a Class A general Engineering contractor but I was not on there list and they said it would be months before I could get on that list. It's a scam if you ask me.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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. :cool:

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! :eek: :D
 
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?
 
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.
 
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. :p
 
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. :p

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

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