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Tree Roots in Drains? How to Save Thousands on Costly Pipe Repairs with Vaporooter

Hi, David Conroy, here from Vaporooter Australia.

I’ve been in the blocked drain industry for nearly 50 years, and in that time, we’ve cleared many blocked drains, most of which are caused by tree roots. In fact, 85% of blockages are caused by tree roots.

Over the years, I’ve had the unfortunate situation of having to go to homeowners in houses on streets like this and tell them it could cost 10 or 20 or even $30,000 to renew the sewer pipes around their homes because they’re badly affected by the roots of trees like this growing into their pipes.

Now, I want you to know that there are several different ways to stop those trees from growing in your pipes.

The first thing to do is to cut the tree roots out.

Plumbers sometimes use high-pressure water or an electric eel to cut tree roots from your sewer pipes.

The modern way in 2025 is to look for other ways to keep the tree roots out. I think you may have heard of pipe relining.

The cost of pipe relining in today’s money is about $1000 per metre, so if you have 30 metres of affected pipes that would cost you about $30,000.

If you were to treat the sewer pipes with a product that I know quite a bit about, Vaporooter, it would cost you about $900 to do the same pipe.

So there’s a choice for spending $30,000 or $900 on Vaporooter.

Vaporooter Stops Tree Roots in drains!

If you’re interested in finding out more about how to keep Tree roots out of the drains and pipes serving your home, Then contact me on 1800 637 600 Or go to www.VaporooterAustralia.com.au.

Stop Tree Roots in Drains. Home Buyers Guide.

Vaporooter is the best way to Stop Tree Roots in Pipes.

If you’re a potential Home Buyer who wants to buy a house in a Tree Lined Street, and you want to know how you’ll keep the tree roots from those trees out of your brand-new home, then call me.

I can send you a copy of my little book, The Home Buyers Guide to Tree Root Control.

Everything you need to know about keeping tree roots out of your sewer pipes.

Wherever you are in Australia… Call me on 1800 637 600. I’ll be happy to guide you through it.

Or go to www.VaporooterAustralia.com.au

Do summer rains make stronger tree root growth?

 

Summer rain can encourage stronger tree root growth. Trees need water to survive, and during the summer months, when the weather is hot and dry, adequate water is essential for the tree’s survival. Rainfall during the summer can provide the necessary water for the tree’s roots to absorb and grow.

Additionally, summer rain can also help to loosen compacted soil, allowing the roots to penetrate deeper and spread out more easily. This can lead to stronger, healthier root systems that are better able to support the tree.

However, it’s worth noting that heavy rainfall can also cause soil erosion and can lead to waterlogged soil, which can suffocate tree roots and inhibit their growth. It’s also good to note that, while water is important for tree growth, too much water can also be harmful.

It’s important to note that while water is important, it’s not the only factor that affects tree growth. Other factors like temperature, sunlight, soil nutrients, and pests also play a significant role. A well-balanced environment with adequate water and other factors is essential for a tree’s healthy growth.

Whether we have wet or dry summers, the nutrients or natural fertiliser available in sewer pipes makes them a magnet for the searching tree roots of many species. Our experience has seen that if trees can “drink” the abundant water available during summer rains, the tree roots will swell and cause more blocked drains.

Blocked Drain Solutions

STOP TREE ROOTS IN PIPES

  1. Substantial damage can be caused to your sewer system by the invasion of tree roots into the drain pipes which have been cracked as a result of natural settling, age or wear.  Trees are good at finding water and their roots can travel a hundred feet to get to the nourishment they need.
  2. Tree roots in your sewer line can be a constant problem that you can do without.  Blocked drains can be one of the most frustrating and inconvenient, not to mention one of the most costly problems you can have at your home.  So it is important to remove tree roots from sewer lines to ensure the free flow of liquids through your sewer system.
  3. You have to understand the tree’s root system, how it grows, before you start cutting tree roots.  That way you can significantly reduce the harm to the tree, and possibly to you and your property.
  4. Be aware that by cutting the roots the tree will react by producing a large number of smaller roots. This means the tree roots grow back and may cause future issues.
  5. Drains when clogged, tend to be the most difficult problem of all the household emergencies.  There is often no warning before a blocked drain occurs and you are faced with a stinky home, flooded floors and power knocked out as a result.
  6. No matter how stressed you are or how chaotic things have become, a blocked pipe isn’t a disaster; it’s simply just another problem that needs fixing!  The first thing is try to locate the problem and then you can decide whether it’s fixable or whether you’ll need to call in a professional.
  7. Underground sewer pipes are prone to attack by tree roots.  The small roots work their way through the pipe connections and, if given sufficient time, they will effectively clog the system.  Cleaning a sewer pipe is an unpleasant task at best, and if you continue to experience a clogged sewer pipe you need to take the necessary steps to have the problem dealt with.
  8. Proper drain cleaning for sewer pipes that have tree root problems is not, luckily, a very difficult job using today’s plumbing technology to remove roots in pipe.  You can call in a professional to handle the situation for you.
  9. The main cause of sewer backups is the invasive nature of tree roots.  Seen as ‘An Unseen Predator’ these tree roots will penetrate not only soil, but sewer pipes as well. You therefore have to look into methods of safe tree root removal that will stop roots re-entering your pipes and will save yourself the expense of having to keep clearing and maintaining them.
  10. There are some products that you can use which claim to kill tree roots in sewage lines, but they quite often don’t take care of the problem adequately and you wind up with worse problems that before.  Therefore you will need to seek professional guidance for finding an environmentally safe process for removal that will do the job for you.

Vaporooter Helps Strata Prevent $40,000 Sewer Replacement

Tree Root Photo-1
Location: Clovelly, Sydney
Occupants: Mostly women over 40. 2 with teenage children.
Home: Block of four 2 bedroom flats 2 up, 2 down circa 1920
Trees in Vicinity: Tree lined Street, many large Hills Weeping Fig (Ficus Microcarpa Var.)

In total we have billed this client $9,772.00 for tree root cutting and repairs.

In March 2010, they finally indicated their interest in applying Vaporooter to control the tree roots in and around their sewer pipes.

The quote to apply Vaporooter is $1,586.00. This comes with a 12-month Guarantee.

The estimated cost to renew this sewer around both sides of the building and out to the sewer main in the street is estimated to be an astonishing $40,000.00.

The roots from the trees in this street are widespread and we have attended to blocked drains in houses and unit blocks up and down the street. The roots are getting stronger and without Vaporooter, a full sewer replacement will be the only (costly) alternative.

Some of the residents have indicated that instead of applying Vaporooter, they will lobby the Council to cut down the trees. That would change the entire streetscape and severely diminish their property value above the $40,000 sewer replacement and well beyond the preventative Vaporooter solution that is guaranteed to solve the problem.

This beautiful period block of flats, a 5 minutes walk from the beach is on a street lined with Hills weeping fig trees.
You know the kind; they produce the most beautiful summer shade with birds attracted to the fruit. The branch canopy stretches right across the street. But, so does the root system of these magnificent specimens.

We were first called to this property to attend a blocked drain in May 2005. The problem was tree roots from the specimens on the public footpath at the front of the property. The ground floor flats were the worst affected. Not only did their toilets back up when they flushed them, but when the flats upstairs flushed their toilet, that also came up and sometimes overflowed in the ground floor toilets.

That’s called The U-Tube (poo-tube) effect!

We recommended to the owner occupiers that Vaporooter would control the tree roots in their sewer. They declined to take up the offer.

In the 5 years since, we have attended to this sewer blocked by tree roots 7 times. We have carried out excavations to repair sections of drainage damaged by this aggressive tree root system. This unfortunately includes costly and inconvenient weekend and after hours callouts.

3 Reasons to use Vaporooter

Hunter Dance, Business development manager at Douglas Chemicals, the manufacturer of Sanafoam Vaporooter II, gives 3 reasons why you should use Vaporooter.

Great advice Hunter!

If you want to find out if Vaporooter will help you Stop tree roots in Drains, Call 1800 637 600.

Did You Know this about tree roots in sewer pipes?

Did you know that a domestic sewer pipeline is likely to have more tree root blockages than a Council sewer main.
It’s true!

In domestic sewer lines we use our plumbing intermittently throughout the day, this allows the tree roots to drink their “fill” in the water flow and then be able to dry out when the flow is nonexistent. These are ideal conditions for tree roots to thrive!

However, in a sewer main the flow is constant; the sewer mains are like our freeways, there is always some form of traffic using them at any hour of the day.

Although there are exceptions, most trees and their root systems don’t like to have “wet feet” all the time.
#12

Did You Know Blocked sewer pipes blow the Council budget?

Did you know many blocked sewers are caused by the tree roots from Council street trees?

This is becoming a very big issue for many local councils. The council owned trees that make some of our more sought after suburban streets very special, are creating havoc underground by repeatedly blocking the sewer pipelines from many of the homes in those streets.

Councils are fighting a losing battle trying to bring the tree roots under control. The budgets of many local councils are strained as they just can’t keep up with the demand of their ratepayers to attend to their sewer blockages, caused by these street trees.

Vaporooter Kills Roots. Period!
#14

Council Tree Roots in Drains?

Did you know most local Councils don’t have the financial resources $$$ to keep clearing tree roots from their ratepayers drains, without a rate increase?

That’s a fact!

The cost of having Council staff or plumbing contractors to keep cutting the tree roots from blocked drains is growing, along with the tree roots.

The only cost effective way to maintain sewer pipes and stop tree roots in drains is with Vaporooter.

Vaporooter Kills Roots. Period!

Vaporooter stops tree roots in Council drains

Tree lined streets in big cities and country towns across Australia have many benefits, but there are also negatives.

Tree roots from street trees invade the council and water authorities mains, reducing the flow and block the sewer mains.

When it comes to blocked drains, Council manpower and budgets are stretched by tree root affected drain maintenance.

There is a safe alternative! Vaporooter Stops Tree Roots. Period!

Tree roots in sewer mains? Vaporooter kills roots. Period!