Serving Clovis, Portales & Surrounding Areas

Tree Roots vs. Your Sewer Line: It’s a Problem

Sewer line split with rootsThe sewer line is vital for a hygienic home and working drains and toilets. Like any pipe, it can become clogged, and the sewer line can often end up with obstructions from fats, oils, and grease or objects disposed of down toilets that shouldn’t go there, such as baby wipes. You may need to arrange for sewer cleaning services in Clovis, NM to get rid of those sewer pipe clogs that can end up making a nightmare in your home, such as sewage backing up.

But basic drain cleaning won’t take care of one of the major troubles that can assault a sewer line, and that’s tree roots growing into the sewer line. You’ll need plumbers with the best tools to take care of this and may require larger sewer line repair work or possibly even a sewer line replacement.

Why Tree Roots Create Trouble for Your Sewer Line

People are sometimes surprised to find out that roots from the trees and other plants in their yard or garden can end up inflicting damage on a sewer line. But the roots of plants grow toward high nutrient areas and spots of higher temperatures. The sewer line is a key spot where tree roots can find a high level of nutrients. Most of what’s in the sewer line is, after all, a type of fertilizer. If you’ve heard stories about how grass over a leaking septic tank will turn bright green, that’s because the fertilizing power of the waste in the septic tank encourages faster, more vibrant grass growth.

But what’s good for the trees is not good for your sewer line! Trees and plants that have deep roots will send their growing roots toward the pipeline, where they’ll infiltrate any small weakness or connector on the pipe material and get inside the sewer line. This can mean a massive clog inside the pipe, and it can also cause the pipe to crack. Tree roots are powerful, and their continued growth can cause enough force to break the sewer pipe apart.

Are There Ways to Avoid This Problem?

The best way to prevent this is with landscaping that keeps roots away from the sewer line. If you know where the sewer line runs on your property (and it’s good to know this information for a variety of reasons), you can plan to have trees and plants with strong roots kept away from it.

However, if you already have your landscaping done, there isn’t much you can do to stop the root growth—but you can have regular sewer line inspections from professionals to fix the problem before it can become a serious problem. Video pipe inspection equipment allows plumbers to locate spots where tree root infiltration is starting so they can solve the issue inexpensively rather than having to later do a major repair or even a full pipe replacement.

But no matter how extensive tree root damage to your sewer line is, our plumbers can take care of the problem. We can use hydro-jetters to clear out some root growth, and we have other tools to resolve more extensive tree root infiltration as quickly as possible.

When you need a plumber, call a Carpenter! Mark Carpenter Plumbing serves the Clovis, NM area.
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