On Oct 5, 11:37*am, (anon44)
wrote:
anon44 had written this in response tohttp://www.thestuccocompany.com/maintenance/Re-Collapsed-Sewer-Lines-...
*:

wrote:
Ever notice how rocksalt kills grass around sidewalks?
Dump a 25 pound bag in a wash tub mix hot water to help it dissolve
and try and get most of it down line, then go out for day so the salt
stays in contact with the roots kiiling them
been doing this for 10 years now with no problems, just repeat 3 to 4
times a year, to keep the roots from regrowing.
you can use rock or softener salt, it can do no harm and may just save
you the cost of a new line
my 80 foot line estimate was about 8 grand I can buy salt forever to
save that much $

Just going through this ordeal. I'd like to try the rock salt. My concern
would be that the roots are growing down from the top of the pipe and the
rock salt will sit on the bottom of the pipe. Won't make contact with the
roots causing the problem.

The salt might work if the drain were still clogged but now with water
quickly flowing out.

Unless there's some way to keep the salt in place?

Not sure what research you have done, but if you can get a video shot
of where the problem is, it is worth it.

In our case we were preparing to sell our home and the inspector
discovered roots from the big fir tree out front had blocked about 75%
of the flow. We did need to do some smaller excavation, then the
sewer contractor used a cutter of some kind to travel inside the pipe
and shear off the roots. They sucked out the root fragments, then a
slightly smaller diameter pipe was inserted inside the existing one to
"replace" the section that had allowed the roots in.

We used the "after" video following the fix to show the prospective
buyers. The cost of this approach was about half of the original
estimates to dig up and replace the line. However, they managed to
confine the excavation to a small area at the edge of the lawn, so
that was a bonus. The contractor even joked that we could plant an
ornamental tree on the dug-up section and make it look like
landscaping ;-)