Apparently my sewer line has a crack about 70 feet out from the house.
Roots are able to get into the line and clogs it up about once a year.
Any one know of fix short of digging up to repair

Walt wrote:
Apparently my sewer line has a crack about 70 feet out from the house.
Roots are able to get into the line and clogs it up about once a year.
Any one know of fix short of digging up to repair

Unless you want to deal with it repeatedly by having it rooted out
periodically, dig it up and fix it. It won't get better and may get
worse in a most unpleasant way.

R

On 20 Apr 2006 22:40:32 -0700, "RicodJour"
wrote:

Walt wrote:
Apparently my sewer line has a crack about 70 feet out from the house.
Roots are able to get into the line and clogs it up about once a year.
Any one know of fix short of digging up to repair

Unless you want to deal with it repeatedly by having it rooted out
periodically, dig it up and fix it. It won't get better and may get
worse in a most unpleasant way.

R

Is it your sewer line or the city sewer line? My city will come to my
house twice a year and clean out the roots free.

the best fix is replace the line, followed by removing the
offending tree thats generating the roots.


in our case the line is terracota and almost every joint had roots.


i dump 20 pound sack of rocksalt in the washtub 3 or 4 times a year,
espically early spring. it kills the roots while leaving the tree
safeand is so cheap its nearly free.....


just plain old rock salt, add lots of hot water stir, then leave for
work so salt water remains in line.


no clogs since i started doing this about 7 or 8 years ago.

another option is this, they clean the line really well and dig it up
at both ends. they pull a kinda sock thru it, then pump it fast with
very hot water and let it sit for a day. the plastic expanded to the
interior of the line is smooth and prevents leaks which attract roots.

open both ends and you are back in business with no major digging.

this material is expensive but can be done fast.

frankly the salt water works great for us. although when theres extra
money the line will need replaced

Thank for all the advice. I will try the rock salt thing, at least
till can more afford replacing the line.

Walt wrote:
Apparently my sewer line has a crack about 70 feet out from the house.
Roots are able to get into the line and clogs it up about once a year.
Any one know of fix short of digging up to repair

There are chemicals you can flush down periodically to stun the roots.
Not terribly toxic, unlike the old days when you would just flush
copper sulfate down. But much more expensive. Otherwise, about the only
other choice is to roto-rooter it every couple of years. The last place
I lived, the clog was so bad that the roto-rooter couldn't rotoroot it
any more, they had to dig out the pipe; it was like solid hardwood
inside for a foot thick. You could see where the auger thing had sort
of ground away at the surface for a while before they gave up. And this
was a big diameter sewer pipe for an apartment building, so we're
talking a lot of roots.

wrote in message
...
On 20 Apr 2006 22:40:32 -0700, "RicodJour"
wrote:

Walt wrote:
Apparently my sewer line has a crack about 70 feet out from the house.
Roots are able to get into the line and clogs it up about once a year.
Any one know of fix short of digging up to repair

Unless you want to deal with it repeatedly by having it rooted out
periodically, dig it up and fix it. It won't get better and may get
worse in a most unpleasant way.

R

Is it your sewer line or the city sewer line? My city will come to my
house twice a year and clean out the roots free.
BTDT, and IMHO it falls in the Life Is Too Damn Short category. Replace the
line with plastic all the way to the street or septic, and never have to
worry about it again. Added bonus, it is a BIG plus at resale time, to any
potential buyer who has ever had a failed line at a previous house. Yeah,
expensive, but what is YOUR time worth dealing with it whenever it starts
failing?

aem sends...

On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 12:18:39 GMT, "ameijers"
wrote:


wrote in message

Is it your sewer line or the city sewer line? My city will come to my
house twice a year and clean out the roots free.

BTDT, and IMHO it falls in the Life Is Too Damn Short category. Replace the
line with plastic all the way to the street or septic, and never have to
worry about it again. Added bonus, it is a BIG plus at resale time, to any
potential buyer who has ever had a failed line at a previous house. Yeah,
expensive, but what is YOUR time worth dealing with it whenever it starts
failing?

In my case, the city would never let me dig up the sewer line, or any
part of the sidewalk or street.g

You might try Root-X (http://www.rootdoctorusa.com/index.html).
I've used it once and it worked although slow-acting. A lot cheaper
than repairing the pipe properly.

Walt wrote:
Apparently my sewer line has a crack about 70 feet out from the house.
Roots are able to get into the line and clogs it up about once a year.
Any one know of fix short of digging up to repair

if you rock salt it first roto rooter it out, then salt regurally tto
prevent reoccurence

salt will kill existing roots but cant make clog go away

www.Rootkill.com is a product you flush down the commode to eliminate
roots in sewer line.

wrote:
On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 12:18:39 GMT, "ameijers"
wrote:


wrote in message

Is it your sewer line or the city sewer line? My city will come to my
house twice a year and clean out the roots free.

BTDT, and IMHO it falls in the Life Is Too Damn Short category. Replace the
line with plastic all the way to the street or septic, and never have to
worry about it again. Added bonus, it is a BIG plus at resale time, to any
potential buyer who has ever had a failed line at a previous house. Yeah,
expensive, but what is YOUR time worth dealing with it whenever it starts
failing?

In my case, the city would never let me dig up the sewer line, or any
part of the sidewalk or street.g

www.RootKill.com is a product you flush down the toilet to eliminate
tree roots in the sewer lines.

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 12:18:39 GMT, "ameijers"
wrote:


wrote in message

Is it your sewer line or the city sewer line? My city will come to my
house twice a year and clean out the roots free.

BTDT, and IMHO it falls in the Life Is Too Damn Short category. Replace
the
line with plastic all the way to the street or septic, and never have to
worry about it again. Added bonus, it is a BIG plus at resale time, to
any
potential buyer who has ever had a failed line at a previous house. Yeah,
expensive, but what is YOUR time worth dealing with it whenever it starts
failing?

In my case, the city would never let me dig up the sewer line, or any
part of the sidewalk or street.g
There is a procedure in place, I guarantee it. They may have their crew do
it, or have an approved expensive contractor, but there is a way to get the
line replaced. They don't want it leaking into the storm sewers- that brings
EPA in real fast. Call the city, tell them the line is failing, and ask what
the procedure is. In many situations, they can dig a man-size hole at street
and at the foundation, and the rest can be done with a pulled pipe and a
splitter, or a skinny trench, with water jetting under the sidewalk. Nasty
and disgusting and costly, but not technically hard.

aem sends...