Is pipe relining the only way to Stop Tree Roots in Drains?

No! Pipe relining is definitely NOT the only way to keep tree roots out of drains.

Some other methods include:

1. Chemical treatments: Chemical root killers can be put down the drain to kill the roots and prevent future growth.
2. Cut the roots: Tree roots can be physically cut out of the pipes using specialized tools like High-Pressure water drain cleaning or an electric eel. Depending on the circumstance both are great ways to cut roots.
3. Regular maintenance: Regular cleaning and maintenance of your pipes can help prevent root re-growth by removing debris and preventing blockages.
4. Excavation and renewal: Just as it sounds, excavate the existing pipe line and replace it with PVC pipe and fittings. That usually includes excavation by hand or a machine like a back-hoe and depending on where the pipes are located under your lawns and gardens, driveway or swimming pool, reparations to your site can be huge.
5. Tree root barrier installation: A barrier, like a root-resistant liner or metal mesh, can be installed around the pipes to prevent roots growing around and into the pipes.

In some cases, a combination of these methods may be used for an effective solution.

When fixing your blocked drains, a “one size fits all” approach is outdated!

The best approach depends on your circumstance and specifically, what is going on with the drains at your place.

If you’re not sure which method is best for your circumstance, ask me. Call 1800 637 6oo

How do Tree roots grow?

Tree roots grow in different ways depending on the species of tree.

Some trees have a taproot system, where the main root grows straight down and branches off into smaller roots.

Other trees have a fibrous root system, where many small roots grow out in all directions from the base of the tree.

Roots also grow towards moisture and nutrients, so they may grow deeper in dry or nutrient-poor soil and closer to the surface in moist or nutrient-rich soil.

Additionally, tree roots can grow laterally, horizontally or vertically depending on the species of the tree and the soil conditions.

How do you Stop Tree roots in Drains?

Its called Vaporooter. Click here to find out more.

Tree Roots are a pain in the drain!

Tree Roots never stop growing in your sewer pipes.

Cut them out and they just grow back!

Depending on the tree, it can take up to 3, 6 or 12 months, or sometimes more, but they do grow back…Like a time bomb ticking away.

When you get a blocked drain and have your plumber cut tree roots from your sewer pipes, every 3, 6 or 12  months, the cutting action, whether by electric eel or high-pressure water damages the pipes.

The cutting action is like pruning. Any gardener will tell you that pruning will make the tree grow stronger, and thats what happens with your tree roots.

You cut the tree roots, and they grow back Thicker and Stronger.

You know all the symptoms.

The smell, the gurgling, ankle deep shower water, you lift the lid on the loo, AND IT’S STILL THERE!

Now your plumber is a likable bloke.

His number is on your auto dial. He knows where the door keys are, and the dog just wags his tail when he shows up.

He’s put his kids through private school because the tree out the front of your home keeps growing in your sewer, blocking your drains

There must be another way to Stop Tree Roots in Drains

There is. It’s called Vaporooter!

When you’re ready to talk about it, Call us on 1800 637 600

Who can Help me Stop Tree Roots in Drains?

Vaporooter will Stop Tree Roots in your Drains!

It’s not a DIY process. Vaporooter must be applied by a Certified Applicator to ensure:

# The pipeline is suitable
# You have the right access to the pipes
# The job is done properly
# You get a Guarantee

If you have any questions, call me on 1800 637 600.

Vaporooter – There are some setup costs

G’day! Its Dave Conroy. I’m here today to talk about Vaporooter.

There are some set-up costs if you are considering putting Vaporooter down your sewer pipes if you’ve got repeat blockages caused by tree roots.

The setup costs are a one off thing and, what they include is putting a drain camera through your pipes to survey exactly what is going on inside your pipes to determine if your pipes are actually suitable for a Vaporooter application. 9/10 times they are!

Now, the most common question people ask me is “Does the product work?” Yes, It does!

We’re actually applying Vaporooter at this property in Vaucluse in Sydney’s eastern suburbs this morning. This is a client who has had it applied for five years in a row.

So, to sumarise:

Yes, there some setup costs.
Yes, It does work.
Yes, you need to have it applied annually.

If you’ve got any questions, through Vaporooter Australia, please contact me on 1800 637 600
Or go to our website: VaporooterAustralia.com.au

Plumbing Terms

You’re going to want to be prepared for what your plumber has to say about the tree roots blocking your pipes. Maybe you’ve already talked to your plumber but you didn’t completely understand everything he said.

In any case, here’s a list of terms that may be basic to your plumber, but not so basic to you:

Backfill: Soil used to refill a trench that was dug up to excavate pipes.

Bedding: Material laid under a pipe that supports it and keeps the pipe from shifting in the soil.

Boundary Trap: A point of disconnection between your property/properties sewer and the local authority’s  main. All your sanitary  plumbing runs to this trap. It has a water seal to stop the smell from the sewer coming back up the line.

Cement Mortar Joint: A socket joint or pipe bend made out of cement.

Choke: A blocked drain.

Clearout: See I.O.

Conduit: A fancier word for pipe.

Defect: Decaying material, abnormality or obstruction in pipes that affects your plumbing.

Sanitary Drain: The plumbing (within your property line) that carries waste water away from your home or business. This type of drain includes any fitting or pipe that’s outside of the building.

House Drain: Plumbing within your sanitary drain system that carries waste water from sinks, toilets, equipment and tubs. This type of drain includes any plumbing that’s inside of the building.

Drainage Diagram: A map or plan of the approved sewer lines throughout your property; available from your local water authority, usually attached to a property ”contract of sale”.

Drainoscopy: A drainoscopy is the process of surveying your drainage pipelines with a high tech purpose-built camera. It really is the only way to see what is going on underground. A drainoscopy will show pipes, pipe joints, tree root penetrations, damage or even collapsed sections of pipe. A drainoscopy can be  recorded and forwarded to you via email.

Helio: Plumbers over the age of 30 refer to this. See Drainage Diagram.

Infiltration: Unintended ground or storm water that makes it’s way into the sanitary/sewer drainage system, usually through cracks in pipes or joints, or tree root penetrations.

Installation: The creation of your network of pipes and fixtures or just your network of pipes and fixtures.

I.O. Inspection opening; a point of access into your house drains and branches.

Main: Usually owned and maintained by the local “Water authority”.

Pulling: Manually removing pipe obstruction by pulling a disk through the plumbing.

Rodding: Manually removing pipe obstruction using a system of jointed rods, like an electric eel.

Root Foam: A chemical foam mixture applied to pipes after mechanic root removal to prohibit future plant intrusion and reinforce pipes.

Root Penetration: Tree roots growing into plumbing, pipes, drains and sewers.

Rubber Ring Joint: A type of pipe joint seal that’s made out of chemically treated rubber circa; 1970-85

Sewer Main: The publicly owned pipes that carry waste water away from your property.

Sludge: Sort of the opposite of scum, this is pipe obstruction that sinks to the bottom of plumbing.

Spigot or Socket Joint: The male end of a pipe.

Sullage: Household waste water; specifically from sinks, kitchens and laundries.

Surcharge: Pipe or drain overflow cause by a combination of plumbing blockages and an abundance of rain. It could be from the main.

Surcharge Gully: An outside drain which may have a tap over. It is lower than your lowest floor drain, so that surcharge occurs here, not inside your home. It also has a water seal.

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.

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!

Tree roots in drains start out small

Do you know how small tree roots are when they enter your sewer drains?

Believe it or not, the tree roots that enter your drains through the small cracks in the pipe joints are finer than the hairs on your head or the purest Australian wool.

Once they find their way into the cracks and pipe joints they multiply.

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.