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Tree roots in your sewer pipes are like tree root cancer.
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 rejoining 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 is the decision you have to make. 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.
Tree roots will travel to find your pipes
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 up to 3 times the height of that same tree. So a 15 metre high tree will spread its roots up to 45 metres from the base of the tree.
Check out this Youtube video to see how far tree roots travel to find sewers and pipes just like yours!
Symptoms of a blocked drain
As our summer rolls on and the Easter break approaches and we get together with our family and friends, keep an eye out for some of those vital symptoms that indicate you have a slow or blocked drain.
Make it a holiday break to remember for the right reasons, rather than needing to call an emergency plumber to rescue you and your family from a sewer blockage.
Keep an eye out for:
- The excessive rise or fall of the water level in your toilet. We call it syphoning, and it comes with a Glug Glug Glug sound.
- Slow draining water or ankle deep water in the shower or bath.
- Swarms of small flies or sewer flies around smelly drains.
- Your kitchen sink, waste disposal unit or dishwasher are slow to drain.
- Toilet paper or dirty water around your sewer surcharge gully in the garden or yard.
- Dirty water leaking from a retaining wall or garden bed that conceals sewer pipes.
These are signs of a blockage, and your pipes are trying to tell you that all isn’t well.
When the extra guests arrive you will know because the additional load on your sewer pipes will bring any blockage to a head.
So have a look around you home for the symptoms of a blocked drain and please don’t ignore them.
If you are unsure, contact your friendly plumber for help and some drain maintenance advice.
What is a blocked drain?
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 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!
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.
Tree Root Inhibiting Chemical Foam – Vaporooter
If you have roots blocking your pipes, it’s likely that your plumber will recommend a substance called tree root foam to clear your pipes. If the root obstruction is too dense, your plumber may recommend mechanical removal of some roots before the foam is applied.
The thought of adding chemicals to plumbing that carries your water is a scary one. Home and business owners anxious about the effect on their foliage and soil may also be concerned about chemical side effects.
Vaporooter
This type of root foam is made up of a combination of herbicide and root growth inhibitors. The herbicide causes the roots to decay and eventually die, while the growth inhibitor attaches to organic material in the pipe and keeps it from growing. The growth inhibitor lasts for about three years, but annual application is required for the guarantee to be valid and prevent the start of re-growth.
Vaporooter also includes a surfactant blend that removes slime and grease from pipes and roots. The slime is nutritious to the tree which encourages tree root growth if left in pipes. Finally, Vaporooter includes a foaming agent that carries the chemical to where it’s needed in the plumbing system.
Vaporooter causes minimal damage to trees and surrounding foliage; it only affects the tree roots directly surrounding the pipes. However, if used in large amounts, Vaporooter can be detrimental to nearby aquatic plants. Also, methylisothiocyanate (MITC) may be created when some of the chemicals in Vaporooter encounter water. MITC has been reported to cause mild health issues such as skin irritation and respiratory issues. That’s why it is important to request a plumber who is a certified Vaporooter applicator.
Chemically Treating Roots in Pipes
Tree roots love pipes. Why? Because of the environment. The moisture and rich soil are like mood lighting and jazz music to tree roots. That’s why pipe replacement and other mechanical root intrusion solutions aren’t completely effective. They replace the pipes and kill some roots, but they do nothing about the environment.
Chemical pipe treatments kill tree roots and make the area around plumbing inhospitable to the tree roots. Often, non-chemical pipe treatments kill tree roots in and surrounding the pipes, and eventually the dead roots around the pipe decay. That decay is rich food for living tree roots and it attracts them right back to the pipes.
Chemical pipe treatments solve the problem by destroying and inhibiting the growth of plant life, slime and fungus. Unfortunately, many chemicals will also kill the trees connected to the roots.
If you want to save your trees, it’s important to choose your pipe treatment chemicals carefully. Various chemicals have different effect on trees. Some chemicals only inhibit and kill the roots directly around the pipes, while others may attack the tree itself. Even treating pipes that aren’t near root systems could have consequences for you trees, because the roots will inevitably grow towards the pipes.
Copper sulphate, for one, is great at blocking root growth but it travels far up the root system and threatens the tree. Copper sulfate cannot be used on plumbing that contains lead, terra cotta or porcelain because the chemical is corrosive to those substances.
A 1962 test by the Engineering and Water Supply Department of South Australia[i] tested the long-term effect of different chemicals. The test showed that the best tree root inhibitors were sand set into cement, copper sulfate and a PVC chemical. However effected, copper sulfate is currently considered fairly unusable because of it’s negative effects on plant life.
For safe, reliable and guaranteed protection of your beautiful trees, choose Vaporooter to manage tree root growth in your pipes.
Remove Tree Roots with Vaporooter
In order to ensure the free flow of fluids throughout the sewer system, it is important to remove tree roots from sewer pipes. Unfortunately, sewer pipes are a draw for tree roots as they tend to grow toward moisture through a continuous process that occurs at the end of the root.
Roots in sewer pipes are the result of roots growing one cell at a time at the end of the root. This process allows the root to penetrate extremely small openings in the pursuit of nourishment, leading to roots in drains. Once a tree root problem occurs, it can divide hundreds of times to form an enormous mass of tender root ends.
Vaporooter emerged onto the scene more than 40 years ago as municipalities needed to address clogged drain issues and to develop a process to remove tree roots. Vaporooter is a chemical compound protected by the EPA, therefore it must be applied with the use of a Mini Foamer machine by a licensed applicator to ensure that it safely and truly penetrates the roots in sewer pipes.
The machine generates the foam and pumps it to deliver optimal sewer root control to remove roots in pipes. The applicator is trained to ensure this process to remove the roots delivers foam throughout the clogged drain to ensure proper contact with all tree roots. This helps to deliver safe and effective control of roots in sewer pipes without tree root damage.
Vaporooter should be used within six to eight weeks of a new sewer system installations to avoid a clogged drain later on. If you want to avoid roots in sewer pipes, learn how Vaporooter can be used to remove tree roots. If this process is done annually, it can prevent the cracking of pipes caused by live tree roots in sewer lines.
When the herbicides present in the Vaporooter penetrate the tree roots in drains, it bursts the root, causing it to die and decay. The herbicide combination enables grease and slime to be stripped away from tree roots in the sewer pipes to allow for deep penetration in the root mass to inhibit root cell division and growth for up to three years.
The Vaporooter is truly the most effective method to remove tree roots from sewer pipes. To avoid tree root damage, you must first remove the roots from a clogged drain with an auger to clean out the root mass. Sewer root control is inhibited if Vaporooter is immediately applied unless your Vaporooter applicator can overcome the obstacle of “bleeding sap”.
When a tree root is cut during the initial treatment to remove roots in pipes, the tree roots respond very quickly by “bleeding” a sap that assists healing and regrowth. Think of it as the tree’s survival method. The bleeding sap can block the absorption of the Vaporooter foam for a number of days. If application is done six to eight weeks after the roots are cut, the Vaporooter foam is efficiently maximized in the application.
Vaporooter should be applied to tree roots in sewer lines every year to to address your tree root problem. This process to remove tree roots in sewer lines should be ongoing maintenance as once tree roots have found a nutrient source, they will continue to seek that source and continue to grow. You cannot control the habits of the tree, but you can prevent tree roots in pipes with Vaporooter.
Remove Roots in Pipes with Vaporooter
While trees contribute to the value of property, the health of citizens and the basic aesthetics of the environment, their roots can be extremely intrusive. When this intrusion happens in sewer lines, the tree roots cause extensive damage to the pipes. Implementing a process to remove tree roots from a clogged drain is essential in order to ensure the free flow of the waste water collection system.
A tree root that continues to grow will cause problems as roots will grow toward moisture through a continuous process. Tree root damage to drains is the result of roots that grow one cell at a time, enabling the root to penetrate extremely small openings in the pursuit of nourishment.
Once the root has entered a pipe, tree root damage escalates. A clogged drain caused by roots in sewer pipes is a much more formidable adversary than a basic clog. Once the damage occurs and the pipe is penetrated, the root can divide hundreds of times to form an enormous mass of tender root ends.
It is important to remove roots in pipes before a devastating backup occurs. The mass of roots within a clogged drain usually collects a thick coating of grease, causing it to become heavy and hang in the water. This hanging creates grit settlement and shoaling. As debris and sewage solids continue to build in the clogged drain, it piles on the root mass until a blockage occurs.
A common solution is to use an auger on the roots in sewer pipes to remove them from the sewer lines. This process to address a tree root problem can actually allow the tree roots to grow back bigger and stronger than before, thereby exacerbating the problem. A better solution that is not only easier to apply, but also ensures roots in drains do not continue to be a problem, is the Vaporooter solution.
Vaporooter is the perfect solution to remove tree roots from sewer lines as it is safe to use and does not hurt trees or other plants above ground. The use of Vaporooter approaches the level of 100 percent effectiveness in the process to remove roots in pipes. In fact, when used in annual applications, Vaporooter has proven to be the safest and most effective process to remove tree roots from sewer lines.
Delivered in a foam application by a certified technician, Vaporooter ensures elimination of your tree root problem. The foam ensures that the combination of herbicides, Metham Sodium (herbicide), and Dichlobenil (growth inhibiting agent), reaches every root to address any ongoing tree root problem. The roots will no longer grow in the sewer pipes and this will allow for the free and clear flow of fluids.
The use of a foam application also controls the amount of time the herbicide combination is in contact with the tree root to remove the roots in pipes. No other method of removing tree roots has been able to deliver the same safe and effective process as Vaporooter.