Septic System Root Clog Repair FAQs

Root-Clogged Septic Piping Q&A

Roots in the Septic System Piping FAQs

The septic system pipes are root clogged and the cleanout is only 2-inches in diameter!

I bought this house with septic tank system 1.5 years ago, and pumped the tank right after the house was purchased.

I don't have much info about the system, and recently it's blocked and we have a plumber came and temperately fixed the problem. So here is the problem and any recommendations will greatly appreciated.

I was told: the plumber can't really run his 'big machine' to clean out the blockage because the cleanout is only 2 inches, and he got a lot of roots out. He didn't have the camera with him, so he wasn't able to see what was main issue.

The feedback from them is: pay them to run the camera line to see what happen; Or replace the 2 inches cleanout with a 4 inches one so they can run bigger machine to clean out the problem (very expensive).

And here is my if there is roots invasion problem, does replacing 4 inches cleanout and running bigger machine to clean help solve the problem?
What is the realistic solution? Should I wait until next blockage and fix problem then? On 2012-04-02 by Carissa

by (mod) - root invaded septic piping means roots are also in the drainfield trenches

Carissa,
I'm sorry to say if your piping is root-invaded most likely it needs to be replaced.

I've occasionally had a drain line routed out (call "Roto Rooter") but even when the line could be successfully cleaned, the trees or shrubs send roots back into that attractive nutrient source very quickly - surely you are not going to live with a costly drain line rout-out every year.

And even if you tried to do that, roots are clogging and invading the septic drainfield trenches and system, interfering with effluent disposal.

The example of old root-clogged drainfield pipes shown in our photo above are of Orangeburg pipe that we explain further

at ORANGEBURG PIPE 

Yes, you can wait until the next blockage but consider scheduling the job of finding out just what sections need replacement and having the work done when you don't have holiday guests or bitter freezing weather. It's more costly to have such work done as an emergency repair.

You might be lucky - the bad line section may be short and you might not need to replace the entire length - it depends on what materials were used and how much damage there is.

Be sure to read ROOT KILLERS in SEWER LINES or SEPTIC PIPES

Leaks appear at septic tank lid whenever we run water in the house - I tried root killer

I have a septic tank that leaks out the lid whenever we use the water in the house. I had the tank pumped out in May.

The lid does have a broken out corner but it looks like it seals pretty good. Need direction.

I have used root killer thinking it could be a root issue in the drain field. On 2011-08-16 by Curt O

Explanation & advice by (mod) - I suspect a root-blocked septic line or a failed septic drainfield

Curt:

Watch out: If there is leakage out of the septic tank when you use water in the house your system is in trouble.

Normal sewage level in the tank is below the top of the septic tank - and effluent is intended to flow out of the tank into the drainfield.

So for effluent to flood out of the tank top, the tank is flooding, which in turn means the outlet from the tank must be blocked or the drainfield flooded.

Pumping the tank is good maintenance and it affords the pumper a chance to inspect the septic tank for damaged inlet or outlet baffles (intended to avoid clogging in the inlet our outlet piping) as well as for evidence of drainfield saturation such as abnormally high effluent levels in the tank. But pumping wont' fix the tank.

Root killer won't have caused this problem either, but roots sure could. Further investigation is needed.

You might want to have the drainfield inspected further or to scope the lines for more root invasion.

See CAMERAS, SEWER / SEPTIC INSPECTION

And for the effectiveness of chemicals to kill roots in drain piping or septic pipes

see ROOT KILLERS in SEWER LINES or SEPTIC PIPES

Our Septic tank Leaks at the Tank Lid and we may have roots in the pipes

I have a septic tank that leaks out the lid whenever we use the water in the house. I had the tank pumped out in May. The lid does have a broken out corner but it looks like it seals pretty good. Need direction..I have used root killer thinking it could be a root issue in the drain field. On 2011-08-16 by Curt O

by (mod) - septic tank leakage & flooded septic system won't be fixed by a root killer

Curt:

If there is leakage out of the septic tank when you use water in the house your system is in trouble. Normal sewage level in the tank is below the top of the septic tank - and effluent is intended to flow out of the tank into the drainfield.

So for effluent to flood out of the tank top, the tank is flooding, which in turn means the outlet from the tank must be blocked or the drainfield flooded.

Pumping the tank is good maintenance and it affords the pumper a chance to inspect the septic tank for damaged inlet or outlet baffles (intended to avoid clogging in the inlet our outlet piping) as well as for evidence of drainfield saturation such as abnormally high effluent levels in the tank. But pumping wont' fix the tank.

Root killer won't have caused this problem either, but roots sure could. Further investigation is needed.

What is "Bump and Brush" Root Removal for Septic Systems, and Does it Work?

Should I use the bump and brush" method for clearing roots from LPP laterals?

Has anyone heard of the "bump and brush" method for clearing roots from LPP laterals?

Method as it was explained to me involves taking a hammer to the end of the lateral and literally hammering it about 8" to move it to break up the small roots in the biomet, which are clogging the drain holes of the LPP laterals, and moving the pipes to a different area of the trench where there is minimal root growth to allow effluent to move through the lateral's small holes (5/32").

After the LPP is moved, a brush is then inserted in the line to brush debris, clearing the holes.

The entire line is then flushed. Copper sulfate is then flushed through the system after the procedure, then a month later, and then every 6 months. The 2 lbs. copper sulfate is mixed with water and introduced into the pump tank for dispersal through the system to deter further root growth. Thoughts, anyone? On 2016-03-20 by Stephanie

Reply by (mod) - OPINION: Bump your wallet and brush the money

Unfortunately no magic bullet repairs for failed septic systems work, and the risk is that you spend a lot of money with little benefit. Bump your wallet and brush the money into someone else's pocket, maybe.

More seriously, NO drain line or septic drainfield system that simply removes roots from a pipe is going to give long-lasting repair: the roots grow back.

Root poisoning contaminates the environment, does not offer a rapid repair, and may not be permitted in some jurisdictions.

Moving the drainfield is an option - costly. Would it be less costly to remove the offending trees and shrubs and most of their root systems?

Details by Stephanie on Bump and Brush septic maintenance

I had posted a question about the "bump and brush" maintenance on 3/20/16 since I had not heretofore heard of this method.

This is a follow-up post. I confirmed that this is a real procedure for our area in North Carolina with our county health department. It is considered the last resort to temporarily restore a drainfield, to help it along for a while longer before a new drainfield is needed. Eventually the drainfield will fail as LPP systems are supposed to have a usable lifespan of 25 years or so.

LPP systems (septic tank/holding tank contents which are pumped into a drainfield at specific dosing intervals) are notorious for having problems because the trenches for the laterals are only 10-18" deep (ours are 10") which makes them prone to tree root infiltration, which was our problem (we have a lot of trees in the yard). The septic company came out and did the bump and brush.

This consisted of digging up the distal ends of all 10 laterals and disconnecting (sawing) the pipe to lift out the elbow turn up, digging up where the laterals joined the manifold and sawing the lateral pipe away from it, and with a 4 x 4 and a sledge hammer literally bumping each lateral in the dug out distal end trenches, moving the laterals 10-12" toward the manifold, afterwards a huge brush was pushed through each lateral to clear out whatever roots were in the pipes,

then reconnecting everything, flushing the laterals and resetting the gpm pump rate by adjusting the gate valve in the pump tank and the gate valve between laterals 3 and 4. This was done on 3/28/16 and we have not had any surfacing effluent since.

The health department verified the usage of copper sulfate to deter any root growth into the newly moved laterals.

This is a stop-gap measure to buy the homeowner time before having to have a new drainfield installed.

The health department said the temporary fix could last 5 months, or 5 years or longer.

It depended upon the number of people in the household, how much water usage in the home, and how careful the people were to take care of the system by putting copper sulfate into the pump tank every 6 months and then having the laterals flushed a month afterwards to keep new root growth at bay.

Only time will tell in our case, but so far, it seems to be working. Hope this information might help someone else in a similar situation. On 2016-04-22 by Stephanie

by (mod) - bump and brush septic system maintenance utility is questionable, and using root killers in the septic is a bad plan

Thank you Stephanie, for the informative comment.

Watch out: My opinion and experience is that root killers don't work, don't kill off roots past the actual septic drainfield pipe, and don't remove "dead roots" from the pipes, and worse, may kill off the aerobic and anaerobic soil bacteria that are needed to properly break down and process the pathogens in septic effluent being discharged into the soil.

Watch out: My opinion is that bump and brush is a tempting "magic bullet" that will tempt homeowners who face what's really needed: a septic field replacement. I agree that there is no predictable forward life of the system after that procedure. You end up pouring money down the toilet and having to replace the drainfield anyway.

Consider that what clogs, when a drainfield has "failed" - that is when the field no longer accepts effluent at a functional rate - is not the pipe but the trenches that have become clogged first at the trench bottom then up the trench sides.

The clogging is a bacteria/organic slime that becomes water resistant.

Disturbing the pipes and trenches may buy some time. But you don't state the cost of this procedure.

What % of the cost of a new field is being paid for each bump and brush treatment? How long does that treatment last on average?

by Stephanie: Septic bump and brush costs $125 per lateral - we have ten of them - total cost $1,250.

The cost in our area (Durham, NC) for the bump and brush procedure is $125 per lateral and we have 10 laterals. The cost of the B & B procedure was far less than a new drain field which we cannot afford at this time.

I don't know if another B & B procedure would be allowed by the County, but I got the feeling from the septic company foreman who initially told me about the procedure that this is a "one chance to dance" procedure.

We are hoping that this procedure will buy us some time to save the money for a new drain field since we have been told by the County that hooking to a public sewer is not an option at this time and probably won't be for the foreseeable future.

Removing all the trees on the lot will not really help either since there are SO many of them. The root infiltration is part of our problem, but I do agree that the bacteria/organic slime is the ultimate culprit in the death of any drain field.

I can only hope that we can "limp along" as the health department official said until we have the money for a new drain field. I did not mean to offer false hope to someone in a similar predicament, only that there was a more affordable, albeit temporary, solution to the problem.

LPP systems are not allowed in our County anymore because of their premature failure and short lifespan. I understand that a pressure manifold is its successor, and the trenches are deeper and about 3 feet wide rather than the LPP trenches which are on 10-18" deep and about 12" inches wide.

by Stephanie: Septic bump and brush treatment lasts 5-months to 5 years?

In answer to how long the bump and brush procedure effects will last, I was told by both the septic company foreman and the County health inspector anywhere from 5 months, to 5 years, or longer. It really depends upon how many people are in the house, the water usage, and if the system is maintained properly.

I checked with a different septic company in the area who is highly recommended as was the one we decided upon and was told that the success rate for the B & B is 80-90%.

There was no guarantee that the drain field would not fail in the near future, since it is really difficult to know exactly what each lateral trench looks like (how invasive the roots are, how thick the bacteria/slime layer is). My husband and I can only hope this will buy us some much needed time to get the money together for a new drain field.

by (mod) - Highly questionable value of Septic Bump and Brush

Really?

I asked an attorney who specializes in advertising law just what is the legal definition of "up to" claims in advertisements.

Bottom line: from the information you were given even by the bump and brush septic company, nobody is promising you that you won't be spending more than $2,500 a year on septic cleaning and even then there's no promise that your septic system has not failed already or won't fail during that time.

My OPINION is that that's hardly an economically-justified service.

Details: I agree that " ... no guarantee that the drain field would not fail in the near future" in fact it's generally likely.

The range of promises is opinon rather than having basis in objective data. In advertising law, "up to" claims such as "your drainfield will last up to 5 years longer" need to be correct only a small percent of the time to be legally defensible.

Watch out: I understand the wish to defer the major expense of a new drainfield, but it would be smart to plan on the need.

Removing tree roots from pipes is of very brief benefit as the roots outside the pipes but nearby will quickly find their way back to that nutrient-rich area. Only by removing trees near the drainfield can that problem be stopped.

Read details at PLANTS & TREES OVER SEPTIC SYSTEMS - how far away must shrubs & trees be from septic components

Worse, if you have trees near the septic drainfield it's likely that you're going to have to add the cost of tree removal to the septic drainfield replacement projcet.

by Stephanie

Thank you for your objective and wise advice. The sweet gum trees, tulip tree and maples along with huge pines were here when we bought the place in 2006.

We have had three maples and a pin oak tree taken out already back in 2010 since they were inside of the drainfield or very close to the laterals and were causing issues.

The one lateral is directly underneath the huge tulip tree (which is problematic to take out because of the height and size of the tree and its location directly over a lateral and it is within the drainfield) and the remaining sweet gums (which we were originally told were not going to cause a problem) are outside of the drainfield, but tree root invasion I'm sure can still take place.

Both my husband and I were new to the area and did not know a thing about LPP systems or how invasive tree roots could be causing problems, or I would have said "no thanks" on the house. But we are kind of stuck at this point and have to make due as best we can. All we can do is start saving for a drainfield replacement as it will be inevitable.

Use of Rid-X or Other Root Killers with Septic Pumps Q&A

Will Rid-X Root Killer damage my septic pump?

Will Rid-x damage my pump in my interceptor tank? On 2021-08-17 by James Lechel

by inspectapedia.com.moderator - no but why are you using that treatment

@James Lechel,

No, but you should read our warnings

at ROOT KILLERS in SEWER LINES or SEPTIC PIPES 

Is Rid-X safe to use at a septic grinder pump?

Is it safe to use Rid-X in a grinding station- pump station On 2020-05-10 by Lottie -

Suggestions by (mod) -

Safe, sure,

Useful, IMO, no.

Can I put Rid-X in through the toilet and through a sewage ejector pump?

Please respond via email if possible ;
Lirealtor72@yahoo.com
Can I put Ridex in the toilet in my basement - there a sewage ejector pump/ when I flush the toilet it whistles On 2019-09-25 by Laura

Suggestions by (mod) -

Li Realtor

Why are you using Rid-X? See the discussion at SEPTIC TREATMENTS & CHEMICALS

What kind of septic system is installed?

Rid-X won't harm a toilet nor sewage pump but it should not be flushed into an aerobic septic system.