How Tree Roots Endanger Home Sewage Lines

Trees are a terrific resource that can beautify your property and give it a cooling shade during the summer. Unfortunately, what you see above the ground could hide the danger that trees create beneath it. Whether your home has a septic tank or municipal sewer service, a main sewer line carries the sewage away from your home. Tree roots are a very real danger that could cause significant damage that requires repair or replacement of the mainline.

How Tree Roots Damage Sewage Lines

Sewage is like a delicacy for the things that grow beneath the ground, including tree roots. The roots seek water and nourishment from the ground, and a sewer line provides both. If your sewage mainline has any defects that cause sewage to seep out, a nearby tree root could enter through the same defects. It doesn’t take a large opening for a tree root to find a way into a sewage line. A tiny crack could be enough for the slender ends of the root to work their way into the sewage line.

Once the roots enter the sewage line, they can nourish themselves and the tree from which they have grown. Those roots will continue to grow and cause more damage to the sewage line. What once was a small and slender root will grow into a thicker and more durable one that can easily crack and break ceramic or plastic sewage lines over time. Until the problem is discovered, the roots will have plenty of time to damage the mainline until the need for sewer line repair becomes obvious.

Signs that You Have a Sewage Leak

You might notice signs inside your home as well as outside of it when a sewage line is damaged and leaking. Your plumbing might become less efficient — especially the toilets inside your home. They might become harder to flush and possibly back up with sewage. You also might have drains that are slower to empty water, and a foul odor might accompany the slowly draining water or poorly flushing toilets.

Outside your home, you might notice an especially lush and green area of your lawn. There just might be a tree nearby, too. The lush lawn might be due to the sewage line leaking and giving the nearby plants especially good nourishment. You also might notice a spongy area or a bad smell above where the sewage line is leaking. Those are sure signs of a problem with your home’s septic system. If any trees are nearby, their roots almost certainly would have found the leak long before you noticed any problems

How to Tell Roots Damaged Your Sewage Line

You can hire a contractor to inspect your sewage line and determine if mainline repairs or a replacement are needed. The plumbing contractor could start by doing a sewer scope inspection that literally enables the plumber to see inside the sewer line using the camera of a  sewer scope. The scope can go deep into the sewage line and give a very clear view of what is happening inside the line. If roots are in it, the sewer scope will find them and make it much easier to tell where and the extent of the problem.

If the damage is repairable, the contractor can dig down to the problem spot and fix it. If the damage is extensive, you might need an entirely new line. The contractor can help to show you the results of the sewer scope inspection and what digging down to the mainline has revealed so that you know if you need to repair the line or invest in a replacement.