Your sewer lines are an important part of your home’s plumbing. They travel from several locations inside your home to the main sewer line outside your home, eventually meeting up with the main city’s sewage system or your septic system. Cracks or damage to your home’s sewer line can lead to backups, structural damage, and costly repairs. Today on the blog, the expert team at Quality Plumbing & Heating Inc. is discussing how tree roots can cause this damage to your sewer lines, and what you can do about it.

How to Avoid Tree Roots in Your Sewer Lines

Get a Sewer Camera Inspection

Tree roots gravitate toward moisture and food for the tree. And because sewer lines provide both, the roots naturally try to invade any small crack in your sewer line and take over. The best place to start when combatting tree roots is with a sewer camera inspection. The process is very straightforward and involves a plumber inserting a flexible rod with a camera on the end into the drain or pipe so the camera can broadcast everything to a small screen. The entire process is recorded so they can go back and locate any issues they find.

Maintain Vegetation

The next thing to do to avoid tree root damage is to manage your tree roots. Be sure to trim trees and bushes and keep large trees away from where your sewer lines are traveling. If you are unsure of where your sewer lines may be, look for sewer clean-out caps in your yard. These caps are generally next to the home and then near the street or septic tank. If you do have large trees close to your sewer lines, have them professionally removed before they can cause any damage.

Address Drainage Issues

Finally, to prevent tree roots from finding your sewer lines, it’s important to do everything you can to prevent erosion. A good way to do this is by maintaining your grading by adding gutters and gutter extensions to your home. Make sure all water is directed away from your home, and add soil where needed to prevent further soil erosion.

If you suspect sewer line damage in your Kokomo area home, contact the experts at Quality Plumbing & Heating, Inc. today at (765) 450-4008. We make sewer line repairs a breeze with our professional sewer camera inspections.