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Rant: my basement drain started backing up every time it rained
Tried a regular snake twice, didn't work. A plumber quoted me $800 to dig up the yard. Instead, I bought a $40 drain bladder from the hardware store, attached it to my garden hose, and shoved it down the cleanout. Ran it for about 15 minutes and it cleared a solid foot of roots and mud. That was six months ago and no problems since. Anyone know a good way to stop roots from growing toward the pipe in the first place?
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hugomurray4d ago
Root killer is a temporary fix, the chemicals just slow them down. Those roots are after the water and nutrients inside your pipe. The only real solution is to dig up and replace the problem section with new pipe. You can wrap it in a special fabric barrier too. It's a big job, but it's the only way to stop the cycle for good.
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the_jordan1d ago
Hugo's totally right, it's just kicking the can down the road. We tried the root killer stuff for a couple years and it was a total waste of money. Every heavy rain we'd get backup in the basement. Finally bit the bullet and had the line replaced with PVC wrapped in that barrier cloth. The yard was a disaster zone for a month, but it's been clear for three years now. You just can't win a fight against a tree that wants into your pipes.
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logan2363d ago
My neighbor spent like 5 grand digging up his front yard to fix a sewer line last year. They found a massive maple root had crushed a whole section of the old clay pipe. He said the mess was unreal, mud tracked everywhere for weeks.
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