Tag Archives: tree root intrusion

How to Detect and Prevent Tree Roots in Your Sewer Line

a sewer cover.

Tree root intrusion into a home’s sewer line is a leading cause of sewer line damage. Keyrenter Knoxville explains this issue happens when tree roots contact the nutrient-dense wastewater inside sewer lines. In a bid to access as much of the water as possible, tree roots can pierce the sewer pipe, causing it to leak and sometimes blocking it completely.

How do you detect, solve and prevent this problem?

How to detect tree root intrusion in your sewer line

The signs accompanying a blocked sewer line are the same signs you can expect when tree roots are growing into your sewer line. These include:

  • Slow drains

Slow drains in your home are not a sign that tree roots have blocked your sewer line unless multiple drains on the ground floor are slow simultaneously. Usually, this problem is more severe with floor drains and drains closer to the floor level, such as toilets. In addition, to slow draining, you may also notice water movement in drains when other drains in the home are being used.

  • Backed-up drains

If drains are slow and the problem is not addressed, it can eventually cause the sewer line to back up. When tree roots initially penetrate a sewer line, they don’t block the pipe; wastewater is still able to pass through. But as time passes and the roots grow larger, they can stop the sewer pipe, leaving wastewater with nowhere to go except back into the home.

  • Sewer odors from your drains

Sewer lines have features that prevent sewer gases from flowing backward into the home. But those features will not work if tree roots block a sewer line. The trapped sewer gases may find an outlet by escaping through one of the home’s drains. One sign that this is happening is hearing gurgling sounds every time you use your drains.

  • Sinkholes in the yard

Sinkholes happen when water soaks into the ground directly beneath the surface. Eventually, the spot above the area will cave in, leaving a cavity or small depression. Tree roots may cause sinkholes if they penetrate a sewer line and force it to release its contents into the soil. Also, if areas of your yard are greener than usual, you may have tree roots with your sewer line.

a sewer cleanout.


What to do if you suspect tree root intrusion in your sewer line

If you see any of the above signs in your home, how can you tell if tree roots are in your sewer line? The best way is to have a sewer line camera inspection. A sewer camera inspection is the most efficient, non-invasive, and affordable method for accurately assessing the true condition of a sewer line.

It involves a professional plumber running a video line into your sewer line and monitoring the live feed on a small screen. A sewer camera inspection is the best diagnostic tool for exploring the cause of sewer line issues. It not only helps the plumber detect the location of the blockage, but it can assess the seriousness of the problem.

This method will save you money because it doesn’t take time and does not involve expensive digging in the yard. Once the blockage has been detected via a sewer camera inspection, the next step is clearing the tree roots. This is usually done by hydro jetting the sewer line. Hydro jetting uses high-pressure water to remove obstacles inside a sewer line.

a series of sewer pipes.

How to prevent tree root intrusion in a sewer line

  • Do not plant trees near your sewer line

Planting trees where their roots can reach the sewer line is asking for trouble. If you are unhappy with having only grass in the area, you may plant shrubs and small trees with less invasive roots.

  • Install a sewer barrier

If you don’t want to cut down the trees in your yard, you can install an impenetrable barrier around your sewer lines. Although this approach is somewhat more invasive, it can give you peace of mind.

  • Use chemicals

Periodically spreading chemicals like potassium hydroxide and copper sulfate around the sewer line will protect them from damage by tree roots. Note that these chemicals may also kill your trees.

  • Replace your sewer line

PVC pipes are less vulnerable to tree root intrusion than metal or clay pipes. Another option is replacing your current sewer line using a non-invasive technique like pipe bursting.

Keeping your sewer line safe from invading tree roots and other dangers requires constant vigilance. The best way to avoid costly damage to a sewer line is to catch problems early. Periodic inspection and cleaning of the sewer line – sewer camera inspections and hydro-jetting – are the best ways to keep your home’s sewer line healthy. 

5 Signs of Tree Roots in Your Pipes and How to Fix It

tree roots with yellow leaves on them

Trees are beautiful additions to our gardens, and not to mention they can be quite useful as well. They are a major source of oxygen, and their shade provides a nice escape during hot summer days. But, in-between these numerous benefits of having trees around your house, there are some negatives as well. Unfortunately, tree roots can inflict a lot of damage to your pipes, and if you don’t act on it early, things will deteriorate swiftly. Make sure you get in touch with local plumbers when dealing with tree roots in your pipes so that you do not have to deal with more serious issues.

Slow-draining

This is usually the first warning sign. While slow drains have multiple causes, more often than not, they will be due to tree roots in your pipes. It can affect every drain in your house (sink, shower, toilet, etc.), and it happens gradually. At first, it will be a barely-noticeable slower draining. At this stage, the damage isn’t huge, and it would be good to tackle the problem at this stage. However, since it’s so difficult to notice, many people wait for the bigger signs of concern. While the situation is far from ideal when the draining is extremely slow, it can still be resolved if you can find experts in hydro jetting drain cleaning services. Our only advice would be, don’t procrastinate when you see this warning sign and get some assistance as soon as possible.

Bathtub drain empties slowly due to tree roots in your pipes

If there are tree roots in your pipes, you’ll probably have slow emptying drains

Bad odor

The roots of one tree can be up to three times as big as the tree itself. They spread in all directions looking for moisture, and when you have a large tree, you’d be surprised how far these roots can go. Therefore, they can cause damage to all the pipes around your house, including the sewer lines. When the tree roots enter the sewer pipes, they will block the waste from flowing away from your house. That, naturally, leads to bad smells in your house. The smell of rotten eggs (sulfur) is the most accurate description. It can cause major problems if you don’t deal with it right away. Tree roots in your pipes aren’t the only reason for rotten eggs smell in your house; it can come from malfunctions of these home appliances:

  1. Gas leak from your heater
  2. Gas leak from your stove
  3. Water heater malfunction that causes it to circulate stinky water through your home

Low water pressure can be another sign of tree roots in your pipes

As we saw earlier, tree roots can cause a slower outflow, and now we’re going to show you that they can cause a slower inflow as well. Well, this is not surprising considering that no pipes around your house are safe from tree roots that are developing rapidly. They can affect your inflow pipes and block them, which will, naturally, lead to low water pressure inside your house. Truth be told, low water pressure can have many different causes. However, whichever it is, it is usually a sign of pipe blockage that needs to be fixed. If you’re about to move into a new home, experts at Gibraltar Van Lines think that potential pipe blockage is something to keep an eye on, so ask your home inspector to check it thoroughly.

A faucet with a drop of water coming out of it

Low water pressure in your faucet might be due to pipe blockage caused by tree roots

The sudden appearance of sinkholes in your yard

Finding sinkholes in your yard is not normal and is quite concerning. If the tree roots entering your pipes are the reason behind these sinkholes, the damage is, more often than not, huge. This is because, in order to form a sinkhole, tree roots will not only block your pipes, but the blockage will be so big that it will cause pipes to break and leak into the ground. In this case, you will likely need emergency plumbing services because the damage is quite significant already. To make things worse, this may increase your water bills drastically. This is because, in most cases, you’ll be paying for the water that leaks, although that may depend on which pipes were affected.

If you notice that one of your trees is growing rapidly, that might be due to tree roots in your pipes

Tree roots are in search of a water source that helps them grow. So, if you see a tree that’s growing rapidly, know that it has found a large water source that improved its growth. Unfortunately, your pipes may be the water source in question. If this has happened to you, it can quickly cause all of the aforementioned problems. So, if you notice your tree growing rapidly, it is a matter that’s definitely worth looking into. The same goes for green patches on your lawn, as they can be other signs of tree roots entering your pipes. 

A big house with lots of greenery surrounding it

If you see a tree that’s growing surprisingly fast in your yard, its roots may have caused damage to your pipes

Tree roots in your pipes are among the priority repairs to make after interstate relocation

While tree roots in the pipes shouldn’t be the reason to avoid purchasing the property altogether, it is something that needs fixing as soon as possible. We’re aware that the last thing you want after an exhausting relocation is to deal with more problems. But, if you handle this right away, there won’t be any issues further down the line, and as soon as you get it over with, you can start enjoying your new life chapter. 

How to fix it?

Since tree roots in your pipes can lead to even bigger problems, this is something that should be left to professionals. Many things can go wrong, so if you don’t have any experience with this, calling professional plumbing services would be our recommendation. Most local plumbers have the necessary tools to tackle this problem, and in the blink of an eye, your pipes will be repaired. Remember, if you have any suspicions that the tree roots have entered your pipes and are causing damage to them, don’t procrastinate and call plumbing professionals as soon as possible.