Roots can grow and expand underground and can, unfortunately, intrude upon your pipes. This can result in major leaks, pipe breakage, water blockages and backups and a host of problems. Plumbers may have a very difficult time dealing with roots that have impacted a sewer line and there may be times when you need to entirely replace pipes after removing roots that have become intrusive.
If you have roots in your sewer line, this is not a problem that you are going to be able to solve on your own and this is not a problem that all plumbers can deal with. You need an expert who knows how to handle root intrusion and who can provide you with an effective and long-term solution to your issues.
Problems with Roots in Sewer Lines
Roots could form in you sewer line even if trees grow thousands of feet away from your home. Many different factors impact whether a root can get into your sewer line or underground pipes. For example, one of the biggest things that can result in roots getting into your pipes are weak spots in the pipes.
Clay pipes are made up of different segments that are each around three to six feet in length. When the clay pipes are installed, the segments are connected to each other using joints. The joints can have weak spots that roots are able to push through them. If the clay pipes are older, the joints may be weaker and it may be very easy for a root to push through and to take hold within the pipe.
If segments of underground pipe of any material have been welded, this can also result in a weak spot where a pipe may be able to intrude. The quality of the welding job and the skill of the welder will dictate whether the pipe is vulnerable to root intrusion.
Pipes made out of plastic may be less vulnerable to root intrusion and can be a good option or sewer lines. However, even these types of pipes could potentially be vulnerable to roots because of bad joints.
Regardless of the type of pipes that you have, you do not want to have roots growing in your sewer line. To protect yourself, you may want to have an annual sewer camera inspection. This is a preventative measure so that you can detect problems with the sewer line as soon as root intrusion begins and before the damage is so extensive that the line needs to be replaced.
If it is too late and you already have roots in your sewer line, you will need to trust a professional to help solve your plumbing issues. Excavation may be required, but professional plumbers have embraced new technologies to fix damaged sewer lines in a more cost effective way than ever before.
