If you live in a wooded lot or a house that’s 20 years old or more, and you live next to large trees over the area in your yard where main drains are located, then you may have tree roots in your drains. Roots in the main drain are a pain. Fixing them by removal and replacement of the drain is very costly and cost several thousands of dollars depending on how much needs to be replaced and how easy it is to access the drain. These drains are usually buried quite a bit underground and, since there are roots involved, it may be tougher under a main tree root or two. It’s a big job. Tree roots work their way through cracks or joints in older drains made of clay or cast iron. These materials are rarely used anymore because of the loose-fitting joints that tree roots can penetrate.
Tree roots in sewer and stormwater drains have been a big problem for homeowners for more than a century, and tree root technology has only recently advanced to a point that actually cleaning out a blockage can be done without any kind of serious excavation. The drain snake, which is a rotating auger affixed to a flexible cable basically run through your drain and rip through the roots. When the snake is retracted from the drain it will have roots tangled on the end of it, which is why it has been replaced in recent decades to such a useful and amazing tool.
Obviously, if your drains are blocked you need to get a plumber in to clean or replace them, but that is only going to last so long. You will need to prune and remove roots near the drains and install a root barrier to prevent this from happening again in the future.
It’s a good idea to call a drain cleaning company and schedule a yearly drain maintenance session if you’ve had problems with root blockages in the past. Call a Gold Coast company like Jetset Plumbing that use a high-pressure water jetter to blast any tree roots and debris out.
