How To Remove Tree Roots from Drains
>Sanafoam Vaporooter was created in the late 1960′s and has been a major contributor in big cities and small across North America to maintain their sewer systems.
In 2010, whilst attending the Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Louisville Kentecky, I worked and trained with Hunter Dance one of the key Vaporooter personnel.
Watch this short youtube video and listen as Hunter tells some of the history of Vaporooter.
Many of our clients say that local council street trees are the cause of their blocked sewer pipes.
Beautiful specimens like the London plane tree, Hills weeping fig (ficus microcarpa. var.) and Paperbark (melaluca) all have extensive tree root systems that thrive on the moisture and nutrients flowing through our household sewer pipes out to the sewer mains in the street.
The roots from the council trees are growing in through the pipe joints.
Some councils offer their ratepayers a drain cleaning service for “no cost” as an acceptance of responsibility for the damage caused by the council trees.
We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch………………….. or drain clean.
Ratepayers are obviously “paying” for this service through their quarterly levies and at some point these local councils will put rates up or put the responsibility of drain maintenance back on the ratepayers.
Many homeowners, upon finding out council trees are blocking their pipes, insist they will lobby the council to cut down these beautiful trees to stop their invasive roots from blocking the sewer pipes. I have seen council street trees cut down because they continue to block the sewer pipes of the nearby homes.
So who wins here? Beautiful tree lined streets are raped by a chainsaw gang.
Not to mention the dramatic de-valuation of the homes that have had the street trees removed.
In one comical instance, the beautiful (but invasive) tree that was removed by the chainsaws and 4 weeks after the stump grinder churned through was replaced by a junior version the same species. Now call me crazy……
So, I’ve got another idea!
If you’re one of these ratepayers with drains affected by council trees, next time you get a blockage and the council plumber clears your blockage for free, look for your local Vaporooter applicator to do a Drainoscopy of your sewer pipes.
If it’s suitable, have him apply Vaporooter to your pipeline.
You will be amazed with the results.
Vaporooter Stops Tree Roots in Drains!
All ratepayers keep their council trees, the council saves your money, you maintain the value of your home and still have a free flowing pipe system!
Win Win Win Win
This is a shocking headline!
Tree roots in your sewer pipes are just like a tree root cancer.
It will sneak up on you and block your drains if you leave it unchecked.
Sure, you can have some emergency plumbing surgery, removing the affected section and rejoin your pipes.
By now you know, if left unchecked, the tree root cancer will find another place to invade your drainage and in its own time will do just what it has always done.
Block your pipes again!
Eventually, the tree roots will break your pipes and you will need major emergency plumbing surgery.
The only way to really stop tree roots in drains, is to have Vaporooter applied to your sewer pipes now and have it re-applied annually.
Here’s the thing – you have the choice…to stop tree roots in drains or continue to suffer with that silent tree root cancer threat.
Given the choice, which one would you prefer?
Deciding or NOT deciding are both decisions.
One will give you peace of mind knowing that if you get a blocked drain caused by tree roots, you will have it cleared free of charge,
the other well…keep your emergency plumber and bank manager on speed dial.
If you’re a regular visitor to this blog, you’ve heard of a Drainoscopy!
So what is a drainoscopy?
A drainoscopy is when our technicians survey the inside of your drains with our high-tech specialised camera equipment.
The drainoscopy equipment is inserted into your drains through a suitable opening. Having a drainage diagram on hand will help us find that suitable opening.
Via the connected cable, the camera sends pictures from the camera head to a screen set-up near our technicians chosen site.
Most property owners can’t believe what they see in their pipes and sewer. We encourage them to look over our technicians shoulder whilst he carries out their drainoscopy.
If you can’t be on-site when we are doing your drainoscopy, dont worry.
We can record your drainoscopy and send you a link via email so you can see it anyway!
Click here to see a “typical” drainoscopy!
That is a great question!
This 1.4 min video simply explains cost saving reasons to stay on Vaporooter!
It just makes sense. No matter where you are in Australia, if you have doubts about staying on Vaporooter, just ask us.
Freecall 1800 637 600
Todays post is very simple!
In 98% of blocked drains caused by tree roots, the roots grow through the pipe joints to get into your sewer line.
The rarely enter the pipeline through the pipes themselves.
Older sewers made of terracotta or earthenware pipes usually 600-900mm (2-3foot) long, have sand cement joints and it’s through these joints that the roots grow.
Imagine this, a 40 metre or 120 foot sewer line, with bends, junctions and fittings will have at least 40 joints.
Each pipe joint is a potential point of entry for tree roots.
Once they grow into the pipeline seeking moisture and all those nutrients, they just keep growing!
During repairs or renovations to sewers, where new PVC pipeline sections have been inserted into the old earthenware lines and joined by sand cement or rubber adaptors, its only a matter of time before the tree roots grow into these pipe joints and cause a new tree root blockage.
Quite often a sewer blockage can be caused by the roots from trees that are not even on your property.
Tree roots will travel great distances to seek moisture and nutrients readily found in sewer pipes, especially during periods of extended drought. Amazingly in some cases the roots will travel from the base of the tree upto 3 times the height of that same tree. So a 15 metre high tree will spread its roots upto 45 metres from the base of the tree.
Check this Youtube video to see how far tree roots travel to find sewers and pipes just like yours!
“Why didn’t I do this years ago!”
This exclamation was recently made by an old client who has an investment property with tree root blockages in the sewer 3-4 times a year.
The block of 6 flats in inner Sydney has been plagued by sewer blockages caused by tree roots. Every time the ground floor flats had a blockage, the tenants would advise their landlord who would then call an emergency plumber.
The plumber was not familiar with Vaporooter! Every time he visited the property for a blockage, he would remove the only toilet in the flat to get access to the sewer pipes to clear the tree root blockage. Mostly the toilet had to be removed with a hammer and chisel as it was cemented to the bathroom floor. The china toilet was often broken when it was taken out, needing renewal. An extra cost!
When the toilet was re-cemented back to the floor, it meant the tenants could not ”sit” on the toilet until the cement set, sometimes taking upto 24 hours. Very inconvenient for the tenant!
The owner, in his wisdom asked us to help him.
When we visited the site the first thing we asked for was a sewer diagram so we could see where all the sewer pipes ran according to the sewer authority. He had never been asked for the sewer diagram!
Once seeing the diagram, we suggested a simple excavation outside his bathroom toilet and provide a new access point to the sewer pipes. This meant anytime there is a blockage it could be accessed from outside, rather than taking out the toilet. Instant cost saving!
Our technician then suggested a “Drainoscopy” or sewer survey using a high tech drain camera to show the condition of the sewer pipes from the inside. This had never been done before.
Whilst we carried out the Drainoscopy, we found even though the pipes had been “cleared” just weeks before, they were still full of tree roots. So we cut out the roots with our high pressure water drain cleaner and re-surveyed the pipes until all the roots were gone.
The drainoscopy shows exactly where the roots are in the pipeline so they can be totally removed. It then shows the pipe condition.
Please remember, Vaporooter will NOT repair a broken pipe!
In this case the pipes were OK! The repeat blockage was caused by tree roots growing through the pipe joints. They had now been totally removed. This had never been done before.
This pipeline is now Ready to apply Vaporooter! We’ll be back in 6 weeks.
As our client observed all of these procedures, he was amazed at what he saw in his underground sewer pipes, it prompted him to exclaim, “Why didn’t I do this years ago!”
If you have a blocked drain it is very very unlikely that the blockage will simply go away.
Blockages caused by tree roots act like a strainer within your sewer pipes. Water and liquids will pass through the strainer but the poo and toilet paper and any other foreign material you flush down your sewer will get caught in the strainer.
Most busy family homes appear to have a blockage during morning or evening peak hour or during the weekend or holidays when there are extra visitors in the house.
That’s when there are multiple users of the shower, bath and the toilet, dishwasher and washing machine. It’s at this time that all that waste water can’t get through the “strainer” and the blockage appears.
Some home owners will see the blockage and promise to call an emergency plumber “in the morning”.
But, when morning comes and they use their toilet and it flushes normally, many people believe that the blockage has miraculously fixed itself and they either ring their emergency plumber to call him off visiting or they just don’t ring a plumber at all.
What has happened is this!
During the night, whilst everyone is sleeping, the dirty waste water has seeped through the tree root “strainer” in the blocked sewer pipes giving the appearance that the blocked drain has fixed itself. The new morning peak hour will bring the blocked drain back again only this time it will be even uglier.
So get on the phone and contact your emergency plumber to clear your blockage promptly. Ask your plumber to do a drainoscopy on your sewer pipes. Its actually quite an interesting process and if its during the holidays all the family can see what is really going on in your blocked drains.
If the drainoscopy shows tree roots in pipes, ask your plumber about a drain maintenance program at the same time.
Remember, if you have a blocked drain caused by tree roots, The tide will go out overnight……but it will come back in the morning!
Peak hour
A drain is an outlet where water can be piped away from a plumbing fixture like a toilet or WC, a basin, bath or shower, a kitchen sink, laundry tubs or an external drain, known as a gully.
Stormwater drains can take discharge from roofing guttering and pits and grates installed to take runoff water collected from hard surfaces.
A blocked drain is usually referred to when waste water accumulates around any of the drains indicated and can not be evacuated from this place.
Most drains run to either sewer or stormwater mains that are assets of Water authorities, municipal councils and the cities and towns across the country
Most blockages are generally caused by tree roots, grease, hair, sanitary products, dirt and debris or a multitude of foreign items, even broken pipes.
Blocked drains are the resposibility of the property owners.
This series of blog posts will be aimed at blocked drain basics.
We will discuss who owns the drains, how to maintain them, what you should and should not put in your drains and what to look out for if your drains are about to block up.
We will look inside pipes, show you a drainoscopy or pipe survey so you know what it’s like in the network of pipes under your homes and buildings.
I encourage your feedback, so please ask questions and we will answer them promptly!
