Trees love to send their roots down through sewerage pipes - watch for signs and act quickly.

Mature trees add beauty and shade to landscapes, but their roots can cause extensive damage to sewer pipes. Sewer pipes contain – well we know what they contain – the thing  is tree roots like that stuff.  There’s water, nutrients (let’s call it that) and oxygen- all the essential elements for trees to grow.

The flow of warm water inside sewer pipes causes vapour to escape to the cooler soil surrounding the pipe. Tree roots grow toward the vapour to the point of its source. The source of the vapour is usually cracks in the pipes or loose joints.

Once the tree roots reach the crack or loose joint, they will grow through the opening to reach the plentiful nutrients and moisture inside. Once inside the pipe, the roots will continue to grow, and if not disturbed, they will eventually completely fill the pipe with hair-like root masses. These masses can act as a net as they catch household fats, oils, grease, grit, tissue paper, and other  – er – stuff from your house.  Slow flowing drains can be a sign your  sewerage system is having a problem from roots.

Often the first signs of a slow flowing drainage system is an interesting  gurgling noise from toilet bowls. Well it’s probably interesting – not to mention side splittingly funny – to small boys at any rate – for you it should be a signal to check things out.

It’s a good idea to find out where the sewerage pipes for your property are – and check with the council about your responsibilities for maintenance.  Try to keep trees at least 100 metres  from sewer lines to minimise root intrusion.