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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.
Questions about Vaporooter?
No matter where you are in Australia, if you have a blocked drain caused by tree roots and you want to discuss the situation, please ring me on 1800 637 600.
Every situation with tree roots in sewer pipes is different!
If you know that tree roots are causing your blocked sewer pipes but you’re not sure Vaporooter will work in your situation, I want you to contact me personally to discuss the situation.
As a regular reader of this blog you already know there are several ways to Stop Tree Roots in Drains.
Root cutting: Makes the roots grow back Thicker and Stronger!
Pipe excavation: Damages gardens, lawns and footpaths. It is messy and can be very expensive!
Pipe relining: Its expensive!
Vaporooter will do what all these processes do …..at a fraction of the cost!
Council street trees and blocked sewer drains
Many of our clients say that local council street trees are the cause of their blocked sewer pipes.
Beautiful specimens like the London plane tree, Hills weeping fig (ficus microcarpa. var.) and Paperbark (melaluca) all have extensive tree root systems that thrive on the moisture and nutrients flowing through our household sewer pipes out to the sewer mains in the street.
The roots from the council trees are growing in through the pipe joints.
Some councils offer their ratepayers a drain cleaning service at “no cost” as an acceptance of responsibility for the damage caused by the council trees.
We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch………………….. or drain clean.
Ratepayers are obviously “paying” for this service through their quarterly levies and at some point these local councils will put rates up or put the responsibility of drain maintenance back on the ratepayers.
Many homeowners, upon finding out council trees are blocking their pipes, insist they will lobby the council to cut down these beautiful trees to stop their invasive roots from blocking the sewer pipes. I have seen council street trees cut down because they continue to block the sewer pipes of the nearby homes.
So who wins here? Beautiful tree lined streets are raped by a chainsaw gang.
Not to mention the dramatic de-valuation of the homes that have had the street trees removed.
In one comical instance, the beautiful (but invasive) tree that was removed by the chainsaws and 4 weeks after the stump grinder churned through, was replaced by a junior version the same species. Now call me crazy……
So, I’ve got another idea!
If you’re one of these ratepayers with drains affected by council trees, next time you get a blockage and the council plumber clears your blockage for free, look for your local Vaporooter applicator to do a Drainoscopy of your sewer pipes.
If it’s suitable, have him apply Vaporooter to your pipeline.
You will be amazed with the results.
Vaporooter Stops Tree Roots in Drains!
All ratepayers keep their council trees, the council saves your money, you maintain the value of your home and still have a free flowing pipe system!
Win Win Win Win
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.
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!”
Will this blocked drain go away?
If you have a blocked drain it is highly unlikely that the blockage will simply go away.
Blockages caused by tree roots act like a strainer within your sewer pipes. Water and liquids will pass through the strainer but the poo and toilet paper and any other foreign material you flush down your sewer will get caught in the strainer.
Most busy family homes tend to have a blockage during morning or evening peak hour, or during the weekend or holidays when there are extra visitors in the house. That’s when there are multiple individuals using the shower, bath and toilet, the dishwasher and washing machine. It’s at this time that all that waste water can’t get through the “strainer” and the blockage occurs.
Some home owners will see the blockage and promise to call an emergency plumber “in the morning”.
But, when morning comes and they use their toilet and it flushes normally, many people believe that the blockage has miraculously fixed itself and they either ring their emergency plumber to call him off visiting or they just don’t ring a plumber at all.
What has happened is this; during the night, whilst everyone is sleeping, the dirty waste water has seeped through the tree root “strainer” in the blocked sewer pipes giving the appearance that the blocked drain has fixed itself. The new morning peak hour will cause the drain to be blocked again; only this time it will be even uglier.
So, get on the phone and contact your emergency plumber to clear your blockage promptly. Ask your plumber to do a drainoscopy on your sewer pipes. Its actually quite an interesting process and if its during the holidays all the family can see what is really going on in your blocked drains.
If the drainoscopy shows tree roots in pipes, ask your plumber about a drain maintenance program at the same time.
Remember, if you have a blocked drain caused by tree roots, The tide will go out overnight……but it will come back in the morning!
Peak hour!
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.
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.