Sewer root doom - anybody know how to get rid of tree roots in your sewer line without paying a ton of money to a plumber?

SALT!

Move

Shit a Beaver !!!

buy a pigs tail and rods take half an hour to clean them out
though if they have roots in they are leaking and the next thing you will have is subsidence
in uk you can claim off buildings insurance for roots its classed as accidental damage

whatever you do, make sure to fix it now. we had a similar situation at my mom's house in nyc.

the sewage pipe was leaking, the water attracted the tree root which broke the pipe - then the sink hole came lol. it cost thousands to fix, and to refill with dirt. the city doesn't pay for it.

I had the same problem.....if the root intrusion ain't too bad, use RootX to kill the roots in the sewer....if the roots are too extensive, you'll need to get the roots cut first by a plumber......

Buy a shovel and dig yourself.

go buy a pick and shovel and start digging.

oh, and get boots too, LOL

doh!, you beat me to it. LOL

Oh....I forgot....the root trimming cost $400 bucks and the rootX is $45....I use the rootx every other year in spring and no more problems.....

And new PVC pipes as well.

Rent a rotor ruter??? Caustic soda???

Rent the machine. go on youtube and watch a video or two. search google.

Thanks for all the feedback so far, I don't think the situation is too out of control yet because when I take a plunger to the cleanout it unclogs the line (i figured out this works after spending $100+ twice in 6 months to have a plumber snake it with a machine).

The last time it was snaked I paid the plumber to run the camera down the line and you could definitely see the root intrusion but it was't bad enough where the lines were completely clogged.

I did see that foaming root killer stuff that you can buy at home depot as well for like $20 bucks. Plus rock salt is pretty cheap even though it's harder to find here in california because of the lack of snow.

Of course a plumber isn't going to tell you about this stuff because they want you to spend thousands on costly pipe repairs.

looks like no easy fix op, it's one of those crappy things that happen

Stuff a bunch of hamsters down the toilet?

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you have to get rid of the tree thats causing the problem. i had the plumber come every year until the neighbor cut down the tree that was causing the problem,

Have a Red Dragon Japanese Maple I planted right over my sewer pipe leading away from the house. Hydrostar Drain Monster tree root blades sliced them out in 5 minutes

Rent a power snake or a small excavator and fix that shit yourself.

Copper sulfate

I just flush a little foaming root killer down the toilet every 6 months or so
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dynamite works

After I used the Hydrostar. Thing worked like a champ. Home Depot wanted 60 bucks and hour to rent one

If you knew the roots were there, you should have been using RootX or some other root killer Periodically. If your toilet is slow to flush, pour some Dawn Dish detergent into the toilet (when the bowl is low) and flush. Have the top off the tank so you can close the flapper if it is about to come over the top of the toilet bowl. Repeat. repeat.
Buy a shovel if you can't get it open enough to use.

Last Edited by Bennder on 12/04/2019 08:51 PM

get a spade

agreed

They won't let us since the Civil War. You have to pay them now.

Buy a shovel or two.

Maybe put an ad looking for daily workers then read up on how your septic system works.

Is it connected to the city?

Are you in the country with a septic field?

You have clean outs under your house, rent a roto rooter and start chopping the roots out in the pipe.

Or, buy some shovels for those temp workers and dig the pipe up and replace it.

It is not rocket science and no there is no magic way of getting rid of roots. Even if you kill the roots, they're still sitting there.