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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!
Tree roots grow through pipe joints to block your sewer.
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.
They 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.
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!
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!”
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 are the main causes of blocked drains?
Today’s post is a simple one.
Amazingly, 83% of all blocked drains in Australia are caused by tree roots!
Cooking fats, oils and grease, human and pet hair, sanitary products, facial tissues and napkins used instead of toilet paper, dental floss and broken or collapsed pipes make up the other 17% of blocked drains.
If you have persistent problems with your sewer pipes caused by tree roots then this simple instruction found in the “head” or toilet of an ocean racing yacht, makes a lot of sense to me. I’m sure the yacht owners won’t mind if you put a similar sign in your troubled bathroom.
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?