Call Today! 1800 637 600
For Immediate Service

Archives

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.

When will you do my Vaporooter?

I just had a phone call from Deborah wanting to know when we are doing her annual Vaporooter treatment.

Deb said “You usually come at the end of October. You’ve been coming every year since 2010.”

“Oh, my pipes aren’t blocked but, I don’t want to go back to those days with horrible sewage overflowing and my toilet won’t flush” she said.

Deb has a large fig tree growing on the nature strip at the front of her home.

Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered Deborah

Apologies for the wind noise at the start of this 2.01 min clip.

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.

How can Vaporooter help save time and money?

Vaporooter eradicates tree roots in drains, while inhibiting their future re-growth.

The cost saving is significant.

The Vaporooter process provides a simple Guarantee:

“If your drains, treated with Vaporooter, have a blockage caused by tree roots, We will clear the blockage for FREE”

Vaporooter kills tree roots in drains – Period

Sanafoam Vaporooter II is a foaming mixture of herbicides which stops and prevents drain line blockages produced by tree root penetration through the pipe joints. This technology tackles the problems caused by live root infestation by attacking the roots inside the pipe.

The foam containing the combination of Metham Sodium (herbicide) and Dichlobenil (growth inhibiting agent) is introduced in the sewage pipe, so that it can have direct contact with the intrusive roots. The treatment softens and kills the live roots, leaving them to naturally disintegrate within six months.

If the pipe blockage is in a very advanced stage and requires the cutting of tree roots, a period of at least six weeks should be left between the cutting and the Vaporooter treatment, so that roots have time to regrow.                      

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.

Neighbours trees blocking drain pipes

Did you know that the number of “over the fence” disputes between neighbours about tree roots in sewer pipes is multiplying?

Yep, as suburban trees mature they go in search of moisture and nutrients in neighbouring properties’ sewer pipes, so the root systems spread in every direction in their search for sustenance.

Many homeowners without a single tree on their property will have blocked sewer pipes caused by tree roots from their neighbours trees; sometimes 2 or more houses away.

Vaporooter is a cost effective way to stop your neighbour’s tree roots in your sewer pipes!
#13

Neighbours tree roots are in my pipes

It can be quite frustrating when your neighbour has a beautiful big tree and its roots are growing under the fence between you and feasting in your sewer pipes.

In the interest of neighbourly relations it is very important to speak to the neighbours and work out a compromise on the control of the tree and its root system.

Vaporooter is a simple and effective way to stop the growth of tree roots in drains and control this persistent problem; because the tree roots will grow back after you cut them. Its just what trees do!

If your neighbour’s trees are blocking your pipes, they may be blocking the sewer pipes of the other neighbours around you. Why not find out if they’re affected and together work on a simple and cost effective drain maintenance strategy like Vaporooter.

Remember the Guarantee!

If you have a blocked drain caused by tree roots after we apply Vaporooter, we will clear your blockage for FREE!

Contact me for a copy of our Vaporooter Home Owners Guide to Tree Root control.

Vaporooter has a Guarantee! Homeowner advises.

Some companies offer a Guarantee on their product or service and it’s just a lot of talk with un-realistic conditions.

The Vaporooter Guarantee goes like this, “If you have a blocked drain caused by tree roots after an application of Vaporooter, we will clear your blocked drain for free”

Listen to Kari talk about that Guarantee.

“It’s a no brainer, I’d go Vaporooter!”

Vaporooter – The History

>Sanafoam Vaporooter  was created  in the late 1960′s and has been a major contributor in big and small cities across North America in maintaining their sewer systems.

In 2010, whilst attending the Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Louisville Kentucky, I worked and trained with Hunter Dance one of the key Vaporooter personnel.

Watch this short YouTube video and listen as Hunter talks of the history of Vaporooter.