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Found out that roots are clogging my sewer pipe from the my home to the main sewer line. The repair person ran a snake and cleared out the roots, but said the problem will come again. He said the permanent solution of replacing this drain pipe is going to be very expensive ( > $5000). But he said its not that uncommon in Nassau county.
He suggested using a chemical to flush down the toilet to kill the roots once a year. Anyone else have this problem. Have you used RootX or some other chemical to deal with this?
Found out that roots are clogging my sewer pipe from the my home to the main sewer line. The repair person ran a snake and cleared out the roots, but said the problem will come again. He said the permanent solution of replacing this drain pipe is going to be very expensive ( > $5000). But he said its not that uncommon in Nassau county.
He suggested using a chemical to flush down the toilet to kill the roots once a year. Anyone else have this problem. Have you used RootX or some other chemical to deal with this?
My dh has used RootX in the past, but never would again. This was about 10 years ago. This is very toxic and harmful to the environment. While it eats away at roots (and yes, it does take them a long time to grow back) it also eats away at the sewer system and water supply and anything in its way.
I think the source of the roots is a tree in the front yard. Not sure if cutting the tree down is going to eliminate the roots from growing.
Do you remember how much he paid for RootX. I found other chemicals similar to RootX, but I am wondering if this is going to work the same. rootX says it is not going to harm the tree, and it is approved for use by NY State ( all states except Florida).
I think the source of the roots is a tree in the front yard. Not sure if cutting the tree down is going to eliminate the roots from growing.
Do you remember how much he paid for RootX. I found other chemicals similar to RootX, but I am wondering if this is going to work the same. rootX says it is not going to harm the tree, and it is approved for use by NY State ( all states except Florida).
No, it was quite a long time ago. Sorry. I do remember the company we hired went in to the sewer line from a trap in my front porch to clean out the roots. That has kept the roots away for the last several years.
You could do two things. One is have the sewer line cleaned out every few years just to keep the roots that do grow back at bay. The other is to use copper sulfate. You flush it down the toilet at night so it sits in the sewer overnight and gets rid of the roots.
Don't cut a tree down just to save a sewer prpe. The roots continue to grow and cutting the tree down is not a solution.
I would find out where the root was intruding into the pipe, using a drain cam or even a night security cam taped to a sewer snake. Once I had the distance marked, I'd dig down with a trencher or backhoe, find the root and remove that section of it. Then I would do an outside patch on the pipe where the root had gained access - probably using fiberglass and resin for a watertight seal, then cover that in a bag of quickcrete with some copper sulfate mixed in. The cement will be weak and rot, but it'll hold the copper longer than sand or gravel.
Optionally, to discourage regrowth, I'd put sand and a little copper sulfate around the outside of the pipe if it was PVC or clay tile and not metal. If the root was aggressive, I would do the same at the end of the root. This assumes the pipe is at least two feet down and not in a swampy area of near a watershed. Using the copper sulfate this way instead of constantly flushing more of it is less damaging.
We had the same problem with our house in NJ. We looked at it this way- the RotoRooter guy cost around $150 every time he came out, and we had a price of just over $3,000 to replace the sewer line. In the 8 years we lived in the house, we had to have the line cleared 4 times, so that works out to approximately $75/year. At that rate, it'd take 40 years to hit the $3,000 mark, so it was cheaper to just have the line cleaned when it got clogged. Just another cost of home ownership, IMO.
When I was growing up we had Christmas trees in front of the kitchen and bay windows. They were little when my parents bought the house, but grew, so by the time I was 17, we were having this happen more frequently. With only one bathroom, it was a hassle. Finally had trees removed, as this was the source of the problem.
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