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Tree roots enter pipes through the joints

Clay sewer pipes provide a great opportunity for tree roots to get into your pipeline.

These pipes are usually 2-3 foot or 600-900mm long and there could be up to 50 individual pipes, bends and junctions in a 30 metre (100ft.) pipeline.

That means there are at least 50 pipe joints for a tree to get its roots into your sewer pipes and helps explain why you can have multiple blockages in your pipes.

To excavate and repair or reline where the tree roots are getting in today doesn’t mean the tree roots won’t get in a little further downstream.

Vaporooter treats every joint in the pipeline.

Tree roots get in through the joints

Tree roots grow through pipe joints.

Tree roots usually enter your pipe line through the pipe joints.

Did you know each clay sewer pipe is usually 2-3 foot long? That’s 600-900mm each.

So, in a pipe line 100 feet in length (30 metres), there could be up to 50 individual pipes with bends and junctions.

That means there are at least 50 different places for tree roots to get into your sewer pipes.

That’s a lot of opportunity for tree roots searching for moisture in our hot Australian climate where rainfall is unpredictable.

If you’re considering pipe relining, root cutting or a pipe renewal as options for keeping the roots at bay, remember, the tree roots can just move down to the next pipe joint that hasn’t been protected.

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.

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.

How tree roots get into pipes #2

In my last post I described how tree roots can easily travel through soil that has been loosened by excavation to accommodate your pipe installation.

Do you know why tree roots grow in sewer pipes from the top of the pipe joints?

Condensation is formed when we run water from our water pipes, through our drains; especially when we have a hot shower, wash our clothes or dishes in hot or warm water.

When the warm water enters the drains buried in the cold earth, condensation is formed, and it gathers on the inside top of our sewer pipes and drains.

The tree roots moving through our already loosened soils can now move along the top of the pipelines and are attracted to the warmth and moisture inside. All they need now is a way into the pipe.

This 1.58sec clip shows how.

How tree roots get into pipes #1

Tree roots grow through trenches dug for plumbing pipes.

When plumbers excavate a trench in virgin soil to lay pipelines to take the waste water from your home, we till the soil.

That’s right, the simple method of excavating the soil with a shovel or even a mechanical excavator like a backhoe actually breaks up the soil.

After we complete our excavations and lay the pipes in the trenches, we back fill the trench, putting the excavated soils back.

Sometimes we water in the soil and quite often use a compactor to help with the back fill process.

Some pipe line excavations are back filled with an aggregate like blue metal gravel. Even so, the backfilled soil is never as compact as virgin soil. That provides the roots of nearby trees a much easier path to “wander” along in their search for water and nutrients.

Neighbours tree roots in your pipes

Tree roots growing under the fence is multiplying the number of over the fence disputes between neighbours.
As trees mature, their roots spread and sometimes, go under fences and into neighbouring properties’ sewer pipes.
Periods of no rain will see tree root systems spread in all directions in their search.

Many homeowners without a single tree on their property will still get a blocked drain caused by tree roots from their neighbours’ trees; sometimes 2 or more houses away. That is an inconvenience!

However, Vaporooter is a cost-effective way to stop tree roots in your drains and maintain neighbourly relationships.

Cutting tree roots makes them grow thicker and stronger

Did you know when you cut tree roots from your blocked sewer pipes, they grow back thicker and stronger?

You see, getting a blocked drain specialist to cut tree roots with high-pressure water or an electric eel is like pruning your hedge or rose bush, it encourages tree root regrowth.

Over a long period, when the tree roots in your sewer pipes grow back thicker and stronger, it reduces the time between cuts. And blocked drains occur more frequently!

Eventually, the roots that grow in through the small cracks and joints in your sewer pipeline will begin to damage or break your pipes.

So is the only remedy to dig up that section of pipe and carry out expensive repairs?
No! Find out more about Vaporooter.

I don’t want to live like this!

Sonia, from Bronte asked, “What does your Vaporooter Guarantee actually mean?” You could hear the fear in her voice!

Sonia lives on the first floor of an 8 storey block of home units. “About every 3 months we get a blocked drain caused by tree roots in the pipes under our building.”

“Depending on the type of tree, that’s not unusual,” I said.

“You don’t understand,” she said as her throat began to tighten. “When we get a blockage, all the sewer and waste water flushed by the residents on the 7 floors above, hits the blockage in the carpark and backs up through the floor drain in my bathroom.”
overflowing toilet Yuk!
“Ouch, Do you mean everything?’

“Yes, everything. Poo, condoms, tampons, cotton wool buds, toilet paper. It’s absolutely disgusting. It makes me want to throw up just thinking about it, running from the floor drain in my bathroom, out the door and all over the hallway and lounge room carpet.”

“But, why are you so upset now?” I asked.

“It’s been 4 months since it happened, so it’s gonna happen again soon. I don’t want to live like this!”

I actually had this conversation on April 8th 2016.

The Body corporate committee are getting other opinions on Tree root treatments for drains.

I feel for Sonia.

Tree root Poonami closes Coogee beach

Sydney Australia has many world famous beaches. Yesterday morning, April 14th 2016, one of her crown jewels, Coogee Beach, had to be closed after a Sydney Water sewer main in nearby Dudley Street had a blockage that overflowed into the Randwick City council stormwater drains.

Daily Telegraph 2016 04 14

Daily Telegraph 2016 04 14

The blockage was caused by tree roots growing in the Sydney Water sewer main.

The overflowing sewer spilled into a stormwater pipe that discharged into the ocean, right under Coogee Surf club.

Randwick City council closed the beach and drained the Ross Jones pool next to the Coogee Surf club in the afternoon on a day when holidaying school kids and tourists alike were enjoying our beautiful autumn weather and pleasant 21 degree water temperature.
2014 04 14 Whats that smell
The Sydney Morning Herald reports the beach has been re-opened today after time and tide have cleaned up the beach overnight. Sydney Water technical crews were testing the water quality this morning.

The disappointing part is that this tree root blockage in the sewer pipe was totally preventable.

Cities across Australia are currently using Vaporooter to protect their sewer assets, drastically reducing maintenance costs and preventing sewer overflows like the Poonami that closed Coogee beach.