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Hi Everyone,
My Dad just called to tell me, that he has tree roots in his septic system. Yesterday it backed up into the house. We tried to fix it, but he called Roto-rooter. He fixed the problem for the time being. My question is, has anyone used the products on the market to get rid of roots in the septic? I found Rootx, Rootout, and Roebic K-77 Root Killer so far. Anyone used any of these products, or maybe something better? Thanks in advance for any help.
Kent
Hi Kent!
Our Water Utility has a company under contract this year that uses a foam that floats on water to eradicate tree roots in sewer lines. I don't know if the product is available retail, or even the name of the product. I'll check with someone on Monday and see if I can find out for you. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Garry
Hi Kent, Garry,
Tree roots can enter sewage and drainfield lines and cause plugging of the lines. Lines should not be placed near trees, and trees should not be planted near lines. Remove tree roots mechanically or flush copper sulfate crystals down the toilet to help discourage or destroy the roots where the solution comes in contact with them. Some time must elapse before the roots are killed and broken off. Recommended dosage rates are two pounds per 300 gallons of tank capacity. No more than two applications per year are recommended. Time the application of copper sulfate to allow minimum dilution and maximum contact time. Copper sulfate will corrode chrome, iron and brass, so avoid contact with these materials. Used in recommended dosage, copper sulfate will not interfere with septic tank operation. Neither mechanical removal nor copper sulfate contact is a permanent solution for tree roots. Remove the trees for a permanent solution to the problem.
Well Kent, it's Tuesday evening and I don't have the information for you yet. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
My contact I was going to talk with yesterday wasn't in and won't be back until tomorrow. Even if I had gotten it for you yesterday, I wouldn't have gotten it for you. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
What that means is that I never had a chance to get on the computer last night. We had to go to the visitation of our Office Manager's father in a town about 40 miles west of here. On the way back, we got a flat tire on my wife's van. So, adding in all the extra time that took, and the things that we needed to do when we got home, etc., etc., etc.
Anyway, I'm hoping to get you the info tomorrow. With any luck (yeah, right!) I'll check in tomorrow evening! [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
My Apologies Guys, I check this forum everyday, but my wife does too. Which means I can't tell if there is new messages. I just decided to look through them all today. Anyway thanks for the answers, My Dad is trying Root Killer. I hope it works, I don't feel up to digging that up. The block is in the pipe which goes into the tank. Dad said if this doesn't work, we're going to replace the whole pipe. Shovel Work, I hate it.
Thanks again,
Kent
[img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] Kent - Bad news Buddy! I checked today, and the product that this contractor is using is not available retail. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] I guess that means it probably is a REALLY good product!! [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
My contact did say that Root X (?) usually works pretty well, and unfortunately did not have any other suggestions. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
Sure wouldn't like the idea of shovel time. Any chance you can make more seat time than shovel time?? [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
Good luck!
Thanks Garry,
The neighbor's got a larger tractor with a backhoe. He said he'd help, but I know who's climbing in the trench. Me!! So far the Root Killer product has been in for about 2 weeks. I'm hoping for the best. I really am grateful for the effort. Thanks again.
Kent
Question I would have is how do you know it is tree roots causing the problem? At best the chemicals can only kill the growth. The roots won't likely be disolved by any chemical that you can get in there, IMO.
You say the blockage is in the pipe leading into the tank. Best bet would be to dig it up, as something may have shifted (ground, tank?) causing the pipe to break.
If the blockage is at the outlet of the tank, it may be due to the common use (years back) of an outlet pipe called 'orangeburg', which corrodes and plugs up over time. It needs to be cut out and a replacement plastic pipe plumbed in. Just a thought, as that is what I had to do to mine. It had about 95% blockage, due to the pipe corroding. The corrosion was as hard as brick.
Good luck, as this activity is pretty minimal on the fun scale. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
Thanks for the reply, Beenthere. My Dad had Roto-Rooter down and he didn't mention anything about the pipe being broken, but that doesn't mean it's not. So far nothing new on the blockage but it seems to be working fine. I guess time will tell. Thanks again.
Kent
You ought to ask the roto-rooter guys how far down they fed their snake before the hit the blockage.... Did they make it all the way into the septic tank? You might have roots entering a break in the sewer line.
I had the pleasure a few years back cleaning out my mother-in-laws pipes from a root problem (on my birthday no less [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ). It turned out that the 75 year old iron pipes had a tee that that was never capped-off properly after some re-modeling. The dang tree root grew right down the pipe!
Hi Henry,
Its close to the end of the pipe, where it enters the tank. We used Root Killer on it, and "knock on wood" , no problems since. I know next to nothing about septic tanks, so I let it to the pros. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Sorry to hear about your bad luck on your birthday. Thanks for the reply.
Kent