Background info:
My FFIL has a 27yo cottonwood next to the house. He loves it and his daughter and I can’t convince him to take it out. The 4″ rise in that side of the house isn’t convincing him either.
It will be gone very shortly after he is, but till then? ? ?
Any hoo, three months ago I roto’ed all the drains under the slab and after much pushing and grunting brought out a large wad of pencil sized and smaller roots.
They’re back (|:<(
THe DGF really really really does not want to excavate her bedroom to re-roto the pipes. Replacement of the drains is scheduled for three years from now and we can’t afford to move that time frame up.
Anybody know of an effective root killer and remover chemical that won’t kill the cottonwood? We’re on a septic tank, so it will have to be compatable with that.
Tanks mucho in advance. . . ya bums.
SamT
Replies
I used salt !
don't know what it does to trees,but that wasn't too important compared to clearing out a drain in January
the tank and pipe were surrounded by maples,oaks, and apple
Maddog,
How'd it work?
How much did you use? What kind? How long did it take to break up the stoppage? etc, etc, etc???
SamT
Sam, it was just table salt poured along the sides of the pipe....I had to remove the blockage and find the damaged area to make a patch,then ran the salt in the ditch all the way to the grease trap....which was also clogged... it seemed to last a couple of years
Ahhh, that won't work here, it's under the slab.
Thanks though,
SamT
......ACID......?
Yeah, it's a bufferd sulferic acid blend designed for opening drains. Normally I wouldn't consider it, but I know I'll be replacing the pipes in three years (|:>(
When we remodel the BR, I'll be moving the toilet to the other side and will probably push a new pipe in from the outside rather than cutting a trench across the house.
SamT
Ain't a plumber....but like Danno, I wonder what the stuff does to...everything??? septic???anything you put IN the drain won't keep roots from coming back in!!!!
Sam, if I were you I would get a Demo hammer and start breaking the floor NOW.....in three years ....and several $K , the project should be winding down, and you can relax......;>)
MAddog,
"Demo hammer and start breaking the floor NOW.....in three years ....and several $K , the project should be winding down"
Hnmh! 1 week to excavate DGF's closet room, three days and <$500 for the new drain, three weeks to restock the CR and it's beer:30.
But I'm gonn try and push drill the new one in from the outside.
Dint I say that already?
SamT
Maddog,
I did my research. Buffered Sulferic is THE choice for heavy duty clogs and root destryer when you can't get a powered snake down the pipes. All things considered DGF does NOT want to excavate her bedroom. We just did that a few months ago.
Sulferic acid is a nutrient for plants and animals and it will be diluted 6000:1 in the tank. It attacks organic matter much more agressively than it does cast iron.
For a root killer, I'm going with;
"Feed Grade Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate is especially designed to meet the stringent requirements of the feed industry. Feed Grade Copper Sulfate is free flowing and has excellent absorbent properties. It is 100 percent minus 40 mesh.
Coarse Crystals Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate can be used to destroy algae in water supplies. It controls tadpole shrimp in flooded rice fields and is used as a sewer treatment to destroy roots.
Fine Crystals Copper Sulfate can be used as an ingredient in Bordeaux Mixture sprays as a fungicide to control plant diseases. It is an ingredient in wood treating chemicals to protect against mildew and rotting. "
I intend to stick a balloon down the outside cleanout and let this stuff soak into the soil around the break in the pipe. It is a topical herbicide, not a systemic like roundup, meaning it only kills the parts it contacts.
SamT
Thanks Sam ....
I still think you should break a littleconcrete
I probably will today.
With my fist.
In frustration, 'cuz it's still not flowing.
AARRGGGHHH!
Sam, I know how frustrated you are getting.......
maybe let the acid work some more...........
it sounds like the drain got damaged from the last time , and roots have found the wetspot.!!
I wish I could be more help.
Flush about a cup of copper sulfate down the commode every couple months and let it sit at least overnight--we always did it before going away for a weekend or before going on vacation.
Danno,
That's our plan. Put a bottle of acid in there last night, and bought a bottle of copper sulfate at the same time.
SamT
I, like Maddog, am questioning the use of acid. Don't know what that will do to the tree roots, but it could wreak havoc on the pipes (or did you say they are PVC?--If so, it'll probably be okay). I was going to say be careful not to kill the tree, but I guess that wouldn't cause you to shed many tears in this case!
can you pull a toilet and roto from there? - I've got one I do that to about once a year -
the acid/copper thing on a regular basis might keep it open, but unless you can concentrate the acid at the clog and let it work for some days, I doubt it will remove the mat -
I've had problems with tree roots and my clean-out is in the back yard about 4-5 feet from the house. The problem I had was going back (toward the house) and not being able to clean the tree roots which had entered where the clay tile intersected with the cast iron from inside.When you're going back toward the house find some way to measure the rooter cable and be sure you're going far enough. I was hitting the cast iron ,since it's smaller, and assuming I had cleaned all the way to the starting point.Good luck!++++++++++++++++
-Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain-
An update:
Called large company named after a founding father, the tech came out and started running a root cutter up from the outside cleanout. A pretty good deal, $49 Service Call +$182 for the rooting and camera work. The really big national company wants $225 for the camera work alone and I really did want to see what was in them thar pipes.
Pushed and pushed and pushed untill finaly got water flow.
I was inside at that point and watched the root auger come out the side of the 3yo kohler (|:<O
OOOPS
While I vacuumed up the water and took out the toilet, he continued to use bigger and bigger blades. Finally got all the roots reamed out and stuck the video camera up there.
It seems the bottom of 27yo CI drain is cheesecloth and has thousands of hair roots popping thru.
About the toilet; he gave me the choice of a free install of a unit off his truck or $150 discount on the bill. Of course I already knew about the choice he didn't mention; you replace my toilet with the same model you just broke.
Well, we only paid $54 for the original and really like it so I took the $150 and we just got back with the replacement ($63) and I will put it in tomorow.
I will also buy an air bladder to plug the drain so I can fill it with root killer and let that soak and soak and soak into the ground around the pipes. I guess we'll have to do that once a quarter untill we replace the pipe. Oh yeah, they will re-sleeve our existing setup for $3000.00.
Hunh!
SamT
ps. I didn't break any concrete. I figgered broken vitreous china was a good enough substitute.
......well at least something broke, I feel better now......LOLgood luck Sam