All homes connected to a municipal water system contain a sewer pipe, which is used to move wastewater from your home to the city sewer
lines. Most sewer pipe sexist beneath the soil of a home's front lawn. While these pipes have a heavy-duty nature, they may begin to degrade and
cause problems as the years - and decades - roll by.
One frequent issue involves hair-thin tree roots growing into sewer pipe bells or pipe-hub connections. If you would like to learn more about
diagnosing this common plumbing problem, keep reading. This article outlines three sure fire signs of tree roots in your sewer pipe.
1. Sinkholes
Invasive tree roots don't offer a lot of visual clues, which can make this issue difficult to diagnose. That said, one clear cut sign of tree roots in your
sewer pipe involves sinkholes or creases forming in your front lawn. Sinkholes may run the gamut from relatively minor dents to canyon-like
depressions.
Sinkholes form because of waste water escaping from your sewer pipe. At first, only a small amount of water may escape. Yet as roots penetrate
into the pipe through cracks, the cracks quickly grow, leading to progressively more pipe damage. As a result, more and more wastewater spills
out into the soil of your yard.
Be aware that sinkholes may also stem from a variety of other issues, including poorly compacted soil, rotting sub-soil debris,and even
underground springs. Yet if you notice a smell of raw sewage around the sinkhole, chances are the issue stems from a damaged sewer pipe.
Contact Equisure Inspectors to determine the precise cause of the leak.
2. Fast-Growing Trees
Another way to identify invasive roots involves observing the behavior of trees in your yard. A tree whose roots have managed to penetrate your
sewer line will experience much more rapid growth, thanks to its easy access to a nutrient-rich water source. As a result, the tree will appear
fuller, greener,and simply more robust than other trees in your yard.
Naturally,changes such as these take longer to show and require a careful eye. You should also make a point of knowing exactly where your
sewer line lies. The closer a tree lies to your sewer line, the more likely the tree is to cause problems.
When looking for signs of abnormally fast growth,also consider the species of trees in your yard. Some species form much more aggressive root
systems than others do. Cotton wood sand willows, in particular, represent especially potent threats. Such species have roots that can invade a
sewer line even from as faraway as 30 feet.
3. IndoorPlumbing Problems
Once a tree root has penetrated your sewer pipe, the root grows very quickly. As time goes on, the invading root restricts the pipe more and
more. As a result, your home's plumbing system begins to experience the sort of problems that clogged sewer lines usually cause.
You may notice that your drains run more slowly than usual,even after you have cleaned them. This problem will affect venting. In addition, you
may notice water backing up into your bathtub when you flush the toilet. Running bathroom faucets may also cause the toilet to bubble and/or
gurgle if the sewer is plugged.
The problems that invasive tree roots cause only grow worse as time goes on. For that reason, you must contact a professional drain cleaner as
soon as possible if you suspect that roots have compromised your sewer pipe.
Even if roots have grown into your sewer system for over 30 years, Equisure Inspectors, your sewer solution specialist,can remove 98 to 100
percent of this growth and restore your main line sewer system without digging up your sewer.
Call today for your video inspection to verify and find out how inexpensive we can be.
