Sewer lateral root abatement

[Carmudgeon]

Had to have a plumber visit to clean out the sewer lateral.

Pulled up a root ball as the cause of the obstruction, despite there being no current planting along the path of the lateral, which runs under a driveway.

Recommended waiting a couple weeks, then applying RootX as treatment.

The stuff is not cheap (relatively, it is, but…) and I guess the active ingredient it employs is what drives the cost. The OTC product on Home Despot's shelf with the same formula is cheaper, but in a much smaller container.

Any experiences with it, or alternatives?

 

[GaryMX5]

Did the plumber scope the line after he removed the obstruction. I ask because it's very easy for roots to continue to invade and damage the sewer line. If the roots found their way in through a joint or coupling odds are good it will happen again and actually cause physical damage to the line. A tree only needs to be within 50 to 100 feet to find a water source like a water or sewer line. Odds are good the line had a leak even if very small (it's like a rodent finding food). The RootX is a temporary fix.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Way back when I had clay sewer pipe, I used copper sulfate from Ace Hardware with pretty good success. Did it on periodic basis. Don't recall it being that expensive.

 

[Nukeman7]

Most root killers are Copper Sulfate crystal based that may be blended with a foaming additive. Pure Copper Sulfate is available for much less.

 

[doitmyself]

No experience here. Both Root X and Roebic foaming root killers contain the active ingredient Dichlobenil herbicide. Root X seems to be the gold standard that others are compared to. Beyond it's active ingredient it claims to have better adjuvents to increase it's effectiveness. An A.I. inquiry of cost effectiveness is actually interesting and helpful (if believed). It claims that Root X works the best, especially early on when getting control over the roots. It implies that once controlled and relatively clean, the Roebic "might" be good enough and cheaper.

Both are annual (maybe more) herbicide treatments to manage root intrusion. I did not study copper sulfate treatments, another alternative. $100 +/- a year to manage a potential huge expense is not too bad.

My choice would be to use the Root X and continue monitoring.

 

[grasscutter]

The best course of action is to replace the sewer line with a pipe that won't allow the roots to get in.

That's coming from a guy who's too poor to follow his own advice.

 

[Jerrysends]

Rock Salt is the inexpensive way to kill roots.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Did the plumber scope the line after he removed the obstruction. I ask because it's very easy for roots to continue to invade and damage the sewer line. If the roots found their way in through a joint or coupling odds are good it will happen again and actually cause physical damage to the line. A tree only needs to be within 50 to 100 feet to find a water source like a water or sewer line. Odds are good the line had a leak even if very small (it's like a rodent finding food). The RootX is a temporary fix.

The line has been scoped before, and shown to be mostly intact, but there is a point close to the connection the municipal system where it kinks, and even transitions from plastic, to a clay segment. But that was done at least a couple years ago, and the current situation is unknown.

The driveway will be needing replacement sooner rather than later, so when that's redone, the lateral can be exposed and addressed as needed.

No experience here. Both Root X and Roebic foaming root killers contain the active ingredient Dichlobenil herbicide. Root X seems to be the gold standard that others are compared to. Beyond it's active ingredient it claims to have better adjuvents to increase it's effectiveness. An A.I. inquiry of cost effectiveness is actually interesting and helpful (if believed). It claims that Root X works the best, especially early on when getting control over the roots. It implies that once controlled and relatively clean, the Roebic "might" be good enough and cheaper.

Both are annual (maybe more) herbicide treatments to manage root intrusion. I did not study copper sulfate treatments, another alternative. $100 +/- a year to manage a potential huge expense is not too bad.

My choice would be to use the Root X and continue monitoring.

Interestingly, RootX says their 2 lb product will cover 50 ft of 4 in pipe. Roebic claims that their 1 lb product will cover the same distance. I suppose, for $20, it's possible to double up on the Roebic, and still come out ahead.

I've seen reference to Copper Sulfate before, but I guess it's not considered environmentally friendly.

In the longer term, all of these are practical band aids, but it will still take a lot of plumber visits, at the apparent rate of need, to equate to the cost of an excavation and repair.