Roots in 6"pipe....options to clean from 4" basement drain access?

[David Newton]

We had our main drain back up in our basement earlier this week, complete with raw sewage starting to float around a section of the basement floor. Gross! Before it got much worse we had a national chain drain service come out and snake the drains for us.

They told us the roots were in the 6" pipe outside the house, and that their cutter punched a smaller hole through the root ball. They said this was all they could do, and that it was temporary before the roots grew back and we have another blockage. It got the blockage cleared, so major panic over for the time being. They then told us that we should have an outside access point installed so that they could snake the 6" pipe properly, either with a bigger cutter or using the hydro jet method. The cost for the outside access point was eye-popping to say the least, so it got me to take to the internet for research before dropping $$$$.

How well do the expanding root cutter heads work? It seems to me they could have used a 4" head that expanded to 6" when the pipe opened up. Would this work well? Do we need the outside access point, or is that overkill?

The reason they suggested the access point is because the main drain is located beneath our driveway, which would entail even more mess and expense to replace the pipe entirely.

 

[Geofd]

i have seen those heads but never used them....roots are tough....they will keep coming back there is a product out there its called rootx one you have you roots completely cleared you pour it down the toilet when it foams you flush it.....you can find reviews on amazon.....I have never used it..there are also pipe lining companies out there you could contact them.....we have used that method....not because of roots but because the pipe deteriorated...they maybe able to help also after the pipe is lined it looks just like pvc….and there is a 50 year warranty.....I know 50 yrs????? but that's what they say

 

[kappitts]

Rootx is pretty good, they have a 1 year warranty if you have it applied by a wastewater tech. I have used it on a lot of customers and had really good success. Most people dont have the money sitting around to re-line so this is a good and effective method. The fact it gets the whole interior of the pipe is awesome.

 

[hawkerpilot05]

I second Root X. I bought a house where the drain field is the back yard. The previous owner had planted 4 clump birch trees in the drsining field. I was concerned about the roots and dumped Root X in the drain field. Killed everyone of the birch trees. Because my property is surrounded by trees, I dump root x once a year in my drain field. It is a little pricey but it works.