I have some reduced drainage in the sewer line of my house due to roots especially for large washing machine loads ejecting the water where I see a little bit water rise in the bathtub then recede. The city side is clear and they told me I have about a two foot section on my side with some roots. I wonder if root killer solution would really work before I call the plumber to dig? Thanks in advance for any advice.
Root killer is hit or miss, and is definitely a temporary fix. The roots have found an opening, and have exploited it. The next step is running a sewer machine down the line to cut roots out. Again, this is a temporary fix, and will continue to be a problem during the grow season.
The fix is to replace the joint/section that is allowing roots in. Also, some plumbers will refuse to connect clay pipe to PVC, and say that they will only run a new service. Itâs complete nonsense, but they will try to talk you into running the new service.
If you have ideas of doing it yourself, itâs a bit of a back breaker, but not technically difficult. You need a 1/4 bubble down slope, and never chew your fingernails.
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Thanks. The city man told me the job should cost between 300-1000 dollars depending on the company with the âbigâ companies charging more.
Gotta pay for those TV commercials somehow.
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one thing to very carefully consider - which roots - which plant?
Are you about to start down a road which may kill a tree which is already leaning over your house? Or are we talking about a holly bush you can very safely live without?
Iâve got a 35 yr old elm in front of my house which may force my hand in the next few years - but then if it has to come down - Iâve got the wood burning fireplace to make excellent use of the timber.
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For less than $100 you can rent a drain cleaner and cut the roots out with it. It might be something you have to do every few seasons, but probably cheaper than digging up the lines and replacing them.
https://www.homedepot.com/tool-truck-rental/Drain-Cleaner-100-X-3-4/RK-3-4IC100/
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Just remember the longer you put off the repair being permanent, the more likely you are to get a sinkhole in your yard. That may make your tree fall over as well.
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Sinkhole from what? Are you assuming the water is not getting to the city sewer system? Thanks.
Yep. If roots are getting in, sewageâs getting outâŚ
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Sure but how much? I would expect a greener patch in the lawn if it were a major leak but there is none I can see. But that idea sure makes a good scare tactic for a completely new line if I were a plumbing company!
Snake it out until there is a problem. Then go rent one of these little bad boys and DIY.
Iâve done this a few timesâŚeasy peasy⌠cheap too.
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Timâs whole point, though, was that it will only become more and more over time, and will get worse with each subsequent cleanout.
Nobody here is a plumber trying to scare you into anything.
I personally think itâs stupid to pretend thereâs not a problem when there clearly is (even though thatâs what plumbers appear to tend to encourage), but lots of people fly their ship this way. Nothing wrong with cleaning now and planning to replace in the future, but donât forget to do the latter so you can plan downtime. Otherwise, enjoy being âsurprisedâ when/if the proverbial shit hitting the fan becomes less proverbial.
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Yep if tree roots are getting in, that means water is getting out. That also can mean that as the water passes by it takes dirt with it. That will leave a void. These are extreme cases but gives you an idea.
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Digging for sewer lines is MUCH easier in October/November than July/August.
Iâd pay to have the lines roto-cleaned now, and have them estimate where the blockage is while running the lines. Note that there may be more than one break.
Then when itâs cooler, dig and replace it yourself. Start early on Saturday so you can get to the plumbing store for the parts you forgot to buy before they close for the day. Invest in a âsharpshooterâ shovel to allow narrower trenches and less dirt moved while locating the line.
If the clog is near the foundation, consider installing a sweep Y into the line with a surface cleanout plug (pointing toward the street), to make any future clean out easier/cheaper in the future. If youâre real paranoid spend another $15 and install one pointing in each direction.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/4-in-PVC-DWV-All-Hub-Long-Radius-Sanitary-Tee-C4812LHD4/100342717
If you donât want to work with the sewer lines themselves, hire a small-firm plumber and negotiate doing the digging and back fill yourself. Saves the plumber hours and labor, which in turn saves you money and avoids working with effluent.
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It would also be a good idea to put a camera down to check for any other potential failures as Mike suggests.
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Iâm with Hank and Owen. Rotorooter that bad boy from the comfort of your AC until the heat drops off, then rent a mini hoe a week before the holidays and rip er out. Itâs super simple and the digging will be rather enjoyable.
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Since we had a stoppage a few weeks ago on our main sewer line, out experience may or may not be useful. Cleanout was about a foot from edge of slab and was dry, so blockage was upstream (under house). Tried to push hose upstream from cleanout, but would only go a foot. Plumber showed up the next day and couldnât get snake up any farther than hose. Put camera in hole and found break in line, with upstream half of break shifted upward about 2/3 height of pipe diameter. Thatâs why hose/snake wouldnât go past the break.
The break stems from having foundation leveled in 2004. The cause: drain pipe was routed through slab beam. Lifting slab = lifting drain pipe = guaranteed failure later.
Question to resident construction gurus: Shouldnât drain line have been routed under the beam to prevent this kind of failure? Of course doing so would mean that drain line trench would have to be deeper.
The blessing (if there is one) with this failure was that the pipe was broken far enough outside the slab to allow it to be fixed relatively easily. In addition to running the line through the slab beam, whoever installed this did a crappy (no pun intended) glue job. A closer inspection of the drain pipe at the break shows that the pipe wasnât glued well into the cleanout. Note the clearly visible line on the left section, which I believe indicates how far the pipe was pushed into the cleanout (while being badly glued). The good thing is that after pulling the downstream cleanouts + pipe out of the ground, I was able to use a dremel tool and smooth out the glue ridge and reuse the cleanouts.
Aside: This (crappy glue job) is why I do so many of my own home repair jobs. Also, the plumber was going to fix the problem by adding a 45 (or two) to fix/realign the pipes. That seemed to be a bad idea to me. Rather, the ideal solution would be to dig the line out downstream and elevation the downstream pipe at the break so it would be a straight shot and not another chance for a clog.
The completed repair. Flexible couplings added, which should be more tolerable of future foundation movement, and will also (hopefully) fail before pipe if thereâs any other pipe trauma. Note the dual cleanouts as mentioned by @HankCowdog.
In digging up downstream pipe to effect the repair, another issue with the pipe was found. It appears that the foundation repair folks drove a stake through the pipe during leveling setup. This was probably the issue with the downstream clog that we had a year or so ago.
Any comments and suggestions regarding this repair before I permanently cover it up would be most appreciated.
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Is the flow headed bigger to smaller or smaller to bigger? Looks like 4" to 3" reducerâŚdid they use 3" in the slab?
In either case, make sure a future plumber doesnât try to send a 4" bit down the clean out.
3" in the slab, 3"-to-4" adapter into first downstream cleanout.
Thanks for the advice on plumber needing to use a 3" cleanout bit. 
After pondering your comment, Iâm almost tempted to install a deep garden box between the first cleanout and the slab. This would give any future plumber a direct view of the reduction as well as providing access to the flexible coupling.
Is that overkill?