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Why trees choose sewer over stormwater pipes

Trees are more likely to grow into sewer pipes than stormwater pipes.

Every day we use our plumbing sending that water and fertiliser combination along the pipeline for the trees and their root systems to drink their fill. BUT, stormwater pipes only carry water when it rains, which in this country is fairly unreliable.

If I was a tree and had a choice of putting my roots into a sewer pipe or a stormwater pipe, I would choose the sewer pipes because every day, as regular as clockwork, I will be fed and watered. If I chose the stormwater pipes, I may die of thirst!

How tree roots get into pipes #3


Tree roots grow into cracks in the joints of sewer pipes that may have been there even before the pipes were used.

Hard to believe but envisage this.

Your friendly plumber has dug a trench, laid the new earthenware pipes, cemented all the joints, then proceeded to back fill the trench.

The very process of backfilling the trench is enough to put pressure and fine cracks in the cement joints.

That is just enough to let the tree roots know that warm condensation is nearby.

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

What is a pipe drainoscopy?

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!

I should have used Vaporooter years ago!

“Why didn’t I do this years ago!”

This exclamation was recently made by an old client with an investment property where tree root blockages in the sewer occur 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 tenants of the ground floor flats experienced a blockage, they would advise their landlord who would then call an emergency plumber.

The plumber was not familiar with Vaporooter! Every time he was called to the property for a blockage, he would remove the only toilet in the flat to get access to the sewer pipes in order to clear the tree root blockage. Most of the time 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 to be replaced. 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 this took up to 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 to 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 either.

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!”

What is a blocked drain?

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 and can not be evacuated.

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 including broken pipes.

Blocked drains are the responsibility 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!

Sewer snake is an Anaconda

Last week we removed this large tree root from a drain in Kingsford Sydney.

In fact, it was a tree root anaconda, measuring 6.3 metres long and it had completely blocked the pipeline. After removing the tree root from the pipeline and carrying out a “Drainoscopy” to determine that there was nothing else wrong, our client elected to have Vaporooter sewer root control applied to his pipeline.

He understands the Vaporooter Guarantee:

” If you have a blocked drain caused by tree roots after an application of Vaporooter, we will clear your blocked drain for free”

Now, will someone call a reptile handler and have this beast removed!

Nightmare Christmas…will this happen to you?

Christmas is fast approaching…

…and I’ll let you in on a little “trade secret”…

…that I guarantee will make me very unpopular with a lot of emergency plumbers!

You see, Christmas tends to be a busy time for emergency plumbers getting called out to deal with blocked drains caused by tree roots!

Why?  Well when you think about it, blocked drains almost always happen at the WORST POSSIBLE TIME!

For example, at holiday times when the whole family is at home…

…and when you’re in the middle of a big get together, BBQ or party.

And when it’s an EMERGENCY or “after hours” you know that fixing the problem can be very costly.

Now, of course, at the “Lone Drainer And Pronto” we  provide emergency and after hours service and we know how to Stop tree roots in drains.

And our customers are very happy indeed with our service.  For example, here’s what Georgia Cleary in Sydney has to say…

“Thank you again for all your assistance (at all hours-weekends and whenever was required) over the past 10 years. You have dealt with some very difficult plumbing problems and always found a solution, without fuss and fanfare. This has been greatly appreciated.”

But my business philosophy is that we’re here to help you with the best and most cost effective solution for your plumbing and drain problems.

And in the case of tree root blockages in your pipes and drains…

…that means Vaporooter.

Vaporooter is the proven and effective solution that stops tree root damage…

…and continues to protect pipes and drains so you can sleep peacefully at night.

And it’s dead easy to make sure that you’re not at risk of having your Christmas ruined by tree roots causing blocked drains or (even worse) clogged sewers.

Get your pipes and drains checked out with our CCTV survey…

…the Vaporooter “Drainoscopy”.

It’s inexpensive and if you call now we can arrange to carry out the survey quickly.

Simply call me on 1 800 637 600.

If you have trees on or near your property, then you’re at risk of tree roots penetrating your drains and pipes and causing a blockage.

Why risk having Christmas ruined by an ugly drain overflow or similar problem?

Call me on 1 800 637 600.

Summer brings mysterious outbreak of blocked drains across Sydney suburbs…

…as well as NSW and the rest of Australia.

With summer now here and the weather getting warmer…

…there is one BIG PROBLEM that rears its ugly head at this time of the year.

Mysteriously, there is often a surge in the number of cases of blocked drains and clogged sewer pipes. Some years it’s so bad, you can rightly call it an epidemic (even a plague)!

And it has serious consequences for property owners and public authorities.

This epidemic is not often talked about. Most people are completely unaware of the problem until disaster strikes and they find themselves facing severe inconvenience and often costly repair bills.

And the cause of this huge headache for property owners and householders? It’s the penetration and invasion of sewer pipes and drains by tree roots.

That’s right. The roots of those lovely trees that grace many of our neighbourhoods and public places are silently causing havoc as they grow more rapidly in spring and summer. Blocked drains, backed up sewers and damaged foundations are just the most obvious consequences.

Now, of course, if you’re protected by Vaporooter, you can sleep soundly and not have to worry about the problem. That’s because Vaporooter is the proven treatment system that keeps tree roots away from drains and sewer pipes, without harming the tree itself. It was originally developed in California in 1967 to deal with a serious problem of tree roots blocking public sewer pipes.

Today, the patented Vaporooter system removes tree roots to protect the vital infrastructure of cities and towns, as well as residential homes and commercial property around the world.

Vaporooter…

• Is 100% safe; tried and tested around the world for over 40 years
• Deals with ONLY the tree roots in pipes and leaves the rest of the tree and surrounding plants healthy and intact
• CONTINUES to protect pipes and drains so property owners can sleep safe at night and not have to worry about waking up to crushed pipes and collapsed drains

Tree root damage is a growing problem. Here at Vaporooter Australia we’re having to deal with emergency calls pretty much every day (including the weekends).

The harsh truth is that if there are trees anywhere near your property, sooner or later the tree roots will be attacking the drains and sewers. Every single client we’ve had to rescue in an emergency wishes they had known about the potential problem and done something about it. Firstly, because of the huge cost to deal with the damage and secondly, because of the massive inconvenience of the mess and chaos that follows…often for days and sometimes weeks.

In one recent case, a property owner was faced with a potential bill of over $40,000 for sewer replacement. And it could all so easily have been avoided.

To find out if you have a problem with tree roots invading your pipes, give us a call on 1 800 637 600 to arrange a Vaporooter “Drainoscopy”.

A “Drainoscopy” is a CCTV survey that will quickly reveal if there are tree roots in your drains or sewer pipes. It’s not expensive. Better to be safe than sorry as every day you delay can make the problem worse.

Call us on 1 800 637 600.

A tale of two drains

These 2 sewer drain  pipes with their lids removed are taking the discharge from neighbouring properties. They are surrounded by different species of large trees. Tree roots are growing into the sewer pipe through the pipe joints

The drain on the left belongs to a client who, after many years of tree root blockages to her sewer pipes, grew tired of the sewer overflow running through her home.

The pipeline runs underneath her marble tiled entrance and the suggestion to renew the pipeline would mean excavating the black and white tiled floor. Matching the tiles would be difficult!

The drain on the right is as we found it. We told the owner about Vaporooter!

The images below show the inside of each pipe.

Guess which drain has had Vaporooter?