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Full Moon Blocked Drains
Regardless of the season, tree roots block drains.
And there is a school of thought they occur more during the full moon :-).
However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that tree roots are more likely to cause blocked drains during the full moon.
The idea that the full moon affects tree roots and causes them to grow more or become more active is a myth that has been around for a long time.
Blocked drains can be caused by a variety of factors, including tree roots about 85% of the time.
Tree roots grow in response to a variety of factors, such as moisture, nutrients, and changes in temperature, but the phase of the moon has no effect on this process.
Tree leaves and other debris, especially from our deciduous trees can accumulate in pipes, as well as grease, oil, and other substances like paint and even cement sometimes gets poured down the drain.
Regular maintenance and cleaning can help prevent blocked drains and keep your pipes flowing smoothly.
The full moon on the east coast of Australia is at about 14.30 today April 6th, 2023.
Are you buying a house on a tree lined street? Six things to consider!
If you have your eye on a house in a tree lined street, you should read this!
While street trees can have many benefits, there are also some potential negative impacts that should be considered.
- Damage to the street infrastructure: Street trees can cause damage to footpaths, roads, and buildings if their roots grow too close to or under them. They can also damage underground utilities such as electrical cables, water and gas pipes. The tree root systems will also cause blocked drains and sewer pipes. If you get a blocked drain you should call The Lone Drainer and Pronto.
- Maintenance: Street trees require regular maintenance, such as pruning and watering, to ensure they remain healthy and safe. This can be a significant cost for utility companies, municipalities and homeowners. Radical pruning is used to shape the street trees away from overhead electric power and communication lines.
- Allergies: Some people may have an allergic reaction to certain species of street trees, such as those that produce a lot of pollen.
- Invasive species: Some species of street trees can become invasive, meaning they can spread rapidly and compete with the native species. This can have a negative impact on local ecosystems and biodiversity.
- Canopy closure: Street trees can cause a canopy closure, blocking the sunlight and view, making the street darker and less attractive in the winter months. However, in our hot summer, the shade they provide brings a welcome relief from the heat of the day.
- Your car: Parking your car under a tree like this Hill’s Weeping Fig Ficus microcarpa hillii during certain seasons can be very messy. The fig has berries….. Lots of them. They attract possums, flying foxes and birds that feast on the berries and subsequently make a BIG mess on your car.
It’s important to consider these potential negative impacts when selecting, planting, and maintaining street trees. Proper tree selection, planning, and management can help to minimize these negative impacts and maximize the benefits of street trees.
Five ways street trees affect your home!
If you’re considering buying a home in a tree lined street like this, you need to know how trees can affect houses on the street. Here’s just a few,
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Property value: Street trees can have a positive impact on property values. Studies have shown that houses with street trees have a higher market value than houses without street trees.
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Energy efficiency: Street trees can help to reduce energy costs by providing shade and reducing the amount of heat absorbed by houses. This can help to keep houses cooler in the summer and reduce the need for air conditioning.
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Aesthetics: Street trees can enhance the appearance of a street and contribute to a more pleasant and inviting neighborhood.
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Environmental benefits: Street trees can help to improve air and water quality, reduce storm water runoff, and provide habitat for wildlife.
- Some species can grow too large and cause damage to the roads, footpaths and sewers and storm water drains of houses or businesses on the street.
It’s important to note that while street trees have many benefits, they also require maintenance and care to ensure they are healthy and safe.
In Sydney Australia, local Councils as the owners, are responsible for maintaining the street trees on their property, including pruning, watering and removing dead branches or fallen leaves, and the maintenance of the blocked drains they cause.
It’s important they select the right species of tree for the location and space available, as some species can grow too large and cause damage to the roads, footpaths and sewers and storm water drains of houses or businesses on the street.
Read our previous posts about street trees and how blocked drains are managed by Randwick Council, Waverley Council and Woollahra Council here.
What happens when tree roots grow in sewer pipes #2
The growth of tree roots in sewer pipes is probably the most destructive single element that faces those maintaining a sewer collection system today. 
Sewers are ageing expensive assets that only attract public attention when they fail. There are over 35,000 kms of water and sewer pipes in Sydney and 60% of all collection systems are made up of pipes with a diameter of 9 inches (225 mm) or smaller. The potential for tree root intrusion to inhibit flows, produce blocked drains and damage valuable pipes, is enormous.
Tree roots normally do not grow underwater and seldom cause problems where ground water covers the pipe. But in most areas, this is not the case.
Tree Roots Grow One Cell at a Time
When a seed germinates, it adds one cell at a time toward the best environment from which it might extract nutrients and moisture. The growing point of a tree moves best through loosely cultivated soil.
The most common practice used to lay sewer pipes is in an open trench. The back-filled soil offers a good growing medium for tree roots. Because the flow in sewer pipes is a higher temperature than the soil, this causes a condensation to appear on the crown of the pipe.
As the warm moisture from the sewer pipe evaporates up through the soil, the vapours offer an excellent trail for the tree roots to follow. If a vapour leak exists in the pipe, the roots concentrate its efforts at that point. Since some pipe joint compounds are of nutrient based material themselves (like rubber rings or sand cement mix), the root may entirely girdle before entering the pipe.
Roots Allow Accumulation of Debris
Once inside the sewer pipe, the root takes on the appearance of a “veil” or “horse tail” type structure. If flows in the pipes are fairly constant, the root mass hangs down like a veil to the normal flow level where they accumulate deposits of grease, slime and other debris.
Conventional methods of removing tree roots by cutting with an electric eel or a “Rattlesnake” high pressure water drain cleaner tend to increase regrowth; similar to pruning a tree. Removing tree roots inside the pipe solves the immediate problem of clearing the blocked drain, but does nothing to retard the tree root regrowth or destroy the tree roots outside the pipe.
This removal, regrowth and removal cycle of cutting and tearing roots can destroy the structural integrity of the pipe.
Herbicide Fumigants
Herbicide fumigants present the most effective method to destroy tree roots and inhibit their regrowth without affecting the above ground plant life. Vaporooter is a root control herbicide that enters the sewer as a foam. Only tree roots within the pipe and a short distance outside the pipe are affected. Trees and shrubs immediately above ground are not harmed in any way.
Tree roots never sleep
Coogee 2034 Sydney, Australia
G’day Sydney
We’re back at work in January 2022!
Our workload didn’t really let up over the Christmas and New Year period because tree roots just keep growing in pipes.
If you are having the same problem with roots in your drains and you are looking for a short-term or long-term solution call me on 1800 637 600
Or check out our site VaporooterAustralia.com.au
There may be a cost-effective solution there for you!
Stop Tree Roots in PVC pipes
Bellevue Hill, Sydney, Australia
This post is a simple one. The house shown here is quite new!
The sewer pipes are also new PVC. But, where the house sewer line joins into the Sydney Water sewer main there are roots from a large Fig tree on the footpath out the front growing into the sewer connection.
We are putting Vaporooter into the pipes to stop tree root regrowth at that single point.
It’s a simple process and I hope you have seen it before.
You can see our equipment on the rock shelf behind and also see the Vaporooter foam coming up through the cap in the footpath.
Even new houses with PVC pipes can get tree roots growing into them.
There is a simple way to Stop tree roots in Drains. It’s Vaporooter!
If you need to find out more about it, Ask me.
Call 1800 637 600
Contact The Lone Drainer and Pronto 02 9664 4990
Or check out VaporooterAustralia.com.au
How to Stop a Blocked drain in Coogee
Vaporooter Stops Tree roots in Drains
Hi, It’s Dave Conroy here from The Lone Drainer and Pronto.
I am in Coogee today and we are applying Vaporooter to a house in this tree- lined street. The people who own this house have had problems with their sewer.
Tree roots from this Hills weeping fig (ficus microcarpa) have been growing in their clay sewer pipes for over 10 years and we had been clearing blockages regularly.
We have been applying Vaporooter in those same pipes now for about four years and they haven’t had a blocked drain since. Those are great results!
If you live in a street similar to this, where there is a beautiful canopy above but underground, the tree roots are getting into your sewer pipes, then you should consider Vaporooter to Stop tree roots in your drains.
If you would like to find out about Vaporooter, call me on Sydney 02 9664 4990.
World Plumbing Day 2021
Today is the 11th of March 2021 and it’s World Plumbing Day!
I just wanted to remind you that twelve months ago today, which was also World Plumbing Day, that we had a pandemic declared in Australia. While we’ve all had our lives changed over the last twelve months, the trees that you can see around me here are still growing in the drains in this house.
We have come back for our annual application of Vaporooter to STOP tree roots growing in the sewer pipes of this beautiful home.
Enjoy World Plumbing Day. Thank your local plumber, enjoy his company. Make him a cup of tea or coffee.
Why have a Drainoscopy?
Today our post is simple.
A client from Bronte called. Since Christmas they’d had 3 blocked drains causing the downstairs toilet to overflow. Yuck!
The plumber they had been using didn’t have a drain camera and it was suggested that the pipes were broken.
We were able to clear the blockage quickly, then, give the pipes a Drainoscopy. That’s Lone Drainer speak for “put a specialised drain camera in the pipes and see what is really going on.”
The pipe was full of tree roots. That’s all!
We cut out the roots and had another look.
A simple Vaporooter treatment will keep the roots away. With a Guarantee!
Yes, the pipes are old clay pipes. You can see where the roots have been cut out. But, they work and will for some time to come.
The best way to find out is to see it for yourself.
Who is responsible for my sewer pipes?
Did you know homeowners are responsible for their sewer pipes up to and including where they meet the Sydney Water sewer mains?
A lot of people are shocked when they find that out.
If you need to renew your sewer pipe line because it has been damaged by tree roots and the pipes run out in the middle the road, then, the homeowner is responsible for all the costs of the renewal, including Council road opening fees.
How do tree roots get into pipes? #2
In my last post I described how tree roots can easily travel through the soil that has been loosened by excavation for your pipe installation.
Do you know why tree roots grow in sewer pipes from the top of the pipe joints?
Condensation is formed when we run water from our water pipes, through our drains. Especially when we have a hot shower, and wash our clothes or dishes in hot or warm water. When the warm water enters the drains buried in the cold earth, condensation is formed, and it gathers on the inside top of our sewer pipes and drains.
The tree roots moving through our already loosened soils can now move along the top of the pipelines and are attracted to the warmth and moisture inside. All they need now is a way into the pipe.
This 1.58sec clip shows how.
How do tree roots get into pipes?
Tree roots grow through trenches dug for plumbing pipes.
When plumbers excavate a trench in virgin soil to lay our pipelines to take the waste water from your home, we till the soil.
The simple method of excavating the soil with a shovel or even a mechanical excavator like a backhoe actually breaks up the soil.
See the tree in our attached pic?
Its root system will be able to grow through the trench looking for weakness in the pipe line.
After we complete our excavations and lay the pipes in the trenches, we back fill the trench, putting the excavated soils back.
Sometimes we water in the soil and quite often use a compactor to help with the back fill process.
Excavations are often back filled with an aggregate like blue metal gravel.
The back filled trench is never as compact as the virgin soil. It provides the roots of nearby trees a much easier path to “wander” along in their search for water and nutrients.
Do tree roots grow in PVC pipes?
Do tree roots grow in PVC pipe?
Yes they do!
The PVC pipe shown here in this Youtube clip has tree roots growing in through the wall of the pipe in three different places. There is a significant Norfolk pine tree and a Paperbark tree within two-three metres of the pipe.
The roots were cut from this pipeline about 8 weeks ago.
This survey was taken before applying Vaporooter to the pipe line.
Vaporooter will NOT fix a broken pipe. Vaporooter stops tree roots in drains!
In this case, we are only keeping the roots at bay until the necessary repairs are undertaken.
View your blocked drain with a Drainoscopy
Today our post is simple.
A new client from Bronte called because since Christmas they’d had 3 blocked drains which caused the downstairs toilet to overflow throughout their basement. YUK!
The plumber they had been using didn’t have a drain camera and it was suggested that the pipes were broken.
We were able to clear the blockage quickly, then did a Drainoscopy. That’s Lone Drainer speak for “put a specialised drain camera in the pipes to see what is really going on”.
The pipe was full of tree roots. That’s all! We cut out the roots and had another look. A simple Vaporooter treatment will keep the roots away. With a Guarantee!
Yes, the pipes are old clay pipes. You can see where the roots have been cut out. But, they work and will for some time to come.
The best way to find out what is causing a blockage is to see it for yourself.
Get your personal pipes checked…. I did!
November is Men’s Health Month and my reminder came in the mail. “Its time to get your pipes checked again” said the friendly letter from my Colorectal surgeon. It spelt out the process, the fasting, the preparation, the costs, the procedure on the day, what to expect afterwards, the discomfort but most of all…….. the benefit!
So on Sunday I began the preparation for a colonoscopy on Monday. After a healthy and hearty breakfast on Sunday morning it was a time of fasting. No food! Then, from early afternoon into the evening I had to take not 1, not 2, but 3 doses of fairly unpleasant medicine that would clean my internal pipes so the surgeon could put his camera through them.
Now all this makes sense to a 54 year old father of 3 healthy and happy sons whose father, after being diagnosed with Prostate cancer passed away a few years ago.
So, I hear you ask, why is your plumber telling you this?
If your body is a temple as mine is, and your home is your castle, then it’s appropriate to get your pipes checked, especially if your castle has a history of problems or blockages in your sewer pipes.
There are many parallels between a Colonoscopy and a Drainoscopy.
To get a Drainoscopy is easy!
We clear your pipes and then put a specialized drain camera through the pipes to find out what is actually going on in there. Then we take the vision and put it on our YouTube channel with a description of what is going on in the pipes. You can see it, you can share it, you can get a second opinion, you can evaluate the information and understand exactly what is going on underground or in your pipes.
Yes, it is a little uncomfortable. But now I know that after Dr “L” has treated 2 areas of interest and checked my prostate, my pipes are in good condition. I’ve seen the pictures. And at the appropriate time, he will send me a reminder for my next Drainoscopy er Colonoscopy.
So to end on a high note watch this fun YouTube clip.
5% of blocked drains are fixed with an electric eel
Less than 5% of blocked drains in Sydney are cleared by an electric eel. The rest are cleared and cleaned by high-pressure water drain cleaners that operate by pumping clean water at very high pressure into the sewer pipe through a series of hoses to clear the blockage.
Over 85% of blocked drains are caused by tree roots and we can show you how to Stop Tree Roots in Drains. Watch this short 2 minute YouTube video to see how we use the “Rattlesnake” drain cleaner to clear your blockage!
Blocked Pipes and Council Trees
Did you know many blocked sewers are caused by the tree roots from Council street trees?
This issue is becoming a very big drain on the budget of many local councils.
The council owned trees that make some of our more sought after suburban streets very special, are creating havoc underground by repeatedly blocking the sewer pipelines from many of the homes on those streets. Councils are fighting a losing battle trying to bring the tree roots under control.
The budgets of many local councils are strained as they just can’t keep up with the demand of their ratepayers to attend to sewer blockages caused by these street trees.
There is an economical way for local councils to Stop Tree Roots in Pipes and ease the burden on the budget and the ratepayers who have regular tree root blockages.
Vaporooter Kills Roots. Period!
Happy Plumbers + Great Service = Happy Clients
We have a great team of plumbers here at The Lone Drainer and Pronto! They are good at their job. They Love their work. We call it “Furk”! Having FUn..at..woRK
On Monday afternoon, 27th October 2014, I got the following email:
Hi Dave,
Thank you so very much for taking my phone call early this morning and organising Chris and Leigh to come to my house so quickly.
Chris and Leigh arrived, knocked on my door, introduced themselves with smiles and put me at ease that my sewerage problems would be fixed.
Such a relief. I could not have had nicer people to arrive on my door step. Both well mannered and very pleasant people to talk to.
I also had a problem with my kitchen sink tap. Unfortunately I had to leave Chris at the kitchen sink as I had to go to work. He did a good job and I now have a brand new tap looking at me! Both men were very efficient.
Again, thank you for being so prompt and getting the job on its way.
Kind regards,
Julie B. Randwick NSW
Leigh and Chris with Plunger
Don’t play Noughts and Crosses when you have sewer problems
Today’s post comes courtesy of Dr Marc Dussault, The Exponential Growth Strategist. At his recent Exponential Business Building Bootcamp, he showed a series of “impossible pictures” from Swedish Artist Erik Johansson. This photo was of particular interest. This is what we want to avoid with the use of Vaporooter when tree roots get into and block your pipes and drains.
Sydney Water fights tree roots in sewer pipes
Sydney Water, the guardians of our main sewer pipes, are constantly waging war against tree roots in our main sewer lines!
Many clients from Double Bay, Rushcutters Bay, Edgecliff, Woollahra, Paddington, Rose Bay, Point Piper and Darling Point, residents with lots of trees and tree roots growing in the sewer pipes around their homes, report Sydney Water are systematically surveying the mains around their neighbourhood.
If you have a tree root problem on the branch to the sewer pipes for your home, they will advise you.
To cut tree roots from your sewer pipes before it becomes a plumbing emergency follow their advice.
To keep the tree roots out of your sewer pipes you should seriously consider using Vaporooter.
Drainoscopy technology works for a shoe fit!
All plumbers know that apart from looking after our hands, our feet are equally as important. No feet, no action!
I was busy speaking to the smart Real estate property managers of Bondi Beach about the benefits of having a great plumbing team like The Lone Drainer and Pronto, look after their emergency plumbing repairs and the benefits of using Vaporooter for sewer tree root control.
As I walked down Gould street I came across The Running Company Bondi. The owner Chris Chapman had a smile as big as Bondi and it was only minutes before he had me on his treadmill, filming my walking/running gait with some simple, but powerful video tools.
Buying shoes from someone who actually knows about running shoes makes a huge difference. Chris’ advice was so professional and made so much sense. Chris had me on his treadmill in each different shoe I tried on, to check how my feet were landing with his video equipment. Buying running shoes from a shoe expert who is also a runner makes a lot of sense. Since a bad lower leg injury about 14 years ago, I have been suffering with knee and hip pain whenever I run. When Chris showed me the running analysis he uses I realized why.
As with advice on emergency plumbing repairs, if you’re wearing the wrong pair of trainers you could be setting yourself up for all sorts of problems in a few weeks, months or years from now. It seems most sales people at the big chain stores just don’t know this stuff, which is why it’s important to get checked now before you get injured. If you suffer from any sort of knee pain or shin splints when you run, or want to prevent future problems I highly recommend you spare an hour of your time and come along to meet Chris at The Running Company Bondi.
The importance of getting the right advice about plumbing repairs or your trainers is self evident. Oh, I made a decision about my new runners pretty quickly!
The drainoscopy camera survey makes it easier for our clients to also make an accurate decision about their plumbing problems!
Plumbing Products – Bio-Clean and Vaprooter
Plumbing Products Have Come a Long Way: A Look at Some Products and Their Benefits
Sir John Harrington, the godson of Queen Elizabeth I made a new invention for his godmother: Sir John created the flush toilet and built it for his godmother. This all took place in 1596, according to history records.
Alexander Cummings obtained the first patent for a flushing toilet in 1775. Toilets started gaining popularity, and a city wide sewer system was constructed to handle the flow of refuse. As science advanced, it was recognised that poor sanitation caused diseases and in 1880 the officials of the day decided that toilets and sewer systems were not luxuries but priorities to control human waste and disease.
Jumping to modern day plumbing, the innovations and possibilities are endless when you have plumbing services like The Lone Drainer and Pronto, experts in the field of plumbing with 40 years combined experience. Any type of renovation, plumbing emergency or plumbing need can be taken care of with just one phone call to The Lone Drainer and Pronto.
Sewer lines brought whole new problems to society that had not been faced before. Many old trees had roots that sometimes stretched for a block. These roots invaded the sewer lines because the roots are attracted to the plumbing pipes where they find a constant source of moisture. Today there is a product that eliminates this problem for you. Vaporooter is 100% safe and has been used successfully for more than 40 years. Paying for repairs is much more expensive than using Vaporooter to prevent the problem in the first place. Vaporooter stops tree root blockage from occurring.
Are you tired of having plumbing problems where roots have crushed, cracked or blocked your sewer pipes? It gets very expensive trying to keep up with repairs. So call The Lone Drainer and Pronto plumbing services and get insurance on your drains with Vaporooter.
Older homes with older pipes can produce a foul odour, but there is a way to solve that problem. The plumbing services of The Lone Drainer and Pronto have a product that will solve this problem for you faster than you could have ever imagined. You will no longer have to be embarrassed about the odour coming out of your pipes when you use Bio-Clean. This environmentally friendly bacteria waste eliminator will get your pipes spotless and odour free. What a relief it will be to walk into your home and smell the cut flowers instead of sour old pipes!
Bio-Clean performs several functions such as cleaning out the hair in the drains and pipes, and dissolves paper and cotton without using toxic chemicals. This environmentally green solution to an ageless problem is safe, will clear most of the obstruction in the drains and pipes and will not damage your pipes and/or fittings. Bio-clean is friendly to your plumbing pipes and drains.
Just what is your peace of mind worth when the plumbing goes on the blink and the missus is upset because your drains are blocked? Call The Lone Drainer and Pronto, and keep the peace in your household with Vaporooter and Bio-Clean.
How do Tree Roots Get in Sewer Pipes And what Damage Can They Cause?
Homes that are connected to a municipal or mains sewer system have their biggest plumbing problems when tree roots have grown into pipes. In days gone by, one of the plumbing services would be called in to clear a blockage in the pipe, getting rid of those tree roots, but the tree roots would regrow and block up the sewer up again.
Regrowth of tree roots and the aggressive action of repeat cleaning earthenware or clay pipes with an electric eel or other drain cleaning equipment, is destructive to the integrity of the pipes. The pipes split, crack and crumble after the roots repeatedly find their way into the pipes. The pipe then has to be replaced at the home owner’s expense.
Tree roots are going to head for the easiest source of water they can find. A sewer pipe is the perfect environment; there is warmth, a constant stream of water and nutrients from degraded food matter. This is the perfect environment for those tree roots to take over your sewer system because the nutrient leakage through these pipes makes it even more inviting for the tree roots, and they just keep coming.
So the cycle continues!
Several things can be done to prevent root intrusion into the sewage system.
Liquid ambar, camphor laurel, ficus (fig) and London Plane trees are the worst offenders when it comes to sending roots to a convenient water source. Do not plant these varieties close to your sewage system.
Calling plumber services Sydney to make sure that you can identify where the roots are, where the crack in the pipes is, and how to finally get rid of your root problem, can be costly. It is a good idea to find a plumber that uses a sewer pipe camera in order to identify exactly where the problem is.
There is a chemical treatment that can kill the tree roots invading the pipes without killing the trees; by using an experienced plumber in Sydney that can provide this plumbing service to get rid of those tree roots, you can save yourself costly repair bills.
The best way to avoid tree roots in your sewer pipes is to remove any young trees that are trying to grow near or above the sewer pipe lines. Call in a professional from one of the reputable plumbing services and make sure that when you do engage that plumber, they do all the diagnostics necessary to identify exactly where the problem is before they set about repairing busted pipes and removing those tree roots that will continue to invade the pipe system.
Tree Roots Growing In Sewer Pipes
Are the Roots of my Neighbours Trees, or the Trees Growing Out the Front of My Property, Growing in my Sewer Pipes?
One of the major plumbing concerns is trees that send roots into sewer lines, especially in homes that were built over twenty years ago. Trees are equipped with water finding capabilities that send tiny roots in every direction in a quest for water. The trenches where there are sewer lines do not usually have hard packed soil therefore, roots gravitate to this loose soil. When these roots invade from trees growing out the front of your property or from across the street and get into the sewer system, it is time to call in the professionals who do plumbing that know how to deal with a blocked drain. Read More
Eradicating tree root problems
Tree roots are a very common cause for blocked drains, however the extent of damage that tree roots can cause before a problem is recognised, can vary greatly. To get rid of a tree root problem you must know what condition of the pipes are.
The Lone Drainer and Pronto has a number of weapons in its arsenal to combat those all-invasive tree roots; but in order to decide on the correct solution for the situation at hand, it is good practice to know what is happening with the drain. In many cases we insist on the use a special drain camera to view the location of the blockage and the condition of the connecting pipes.
The drain cameras we use are an enormous cost saver and allow us to determine the condition of underground pipes. Our pipe locating equipment shows us where to dig, minimising the need for large excavations to locate them. This reduces the guesswork and helps us make informed decisions on how to treat your particular blocked drain. In 2009 it makes great sense to use the technology available to us; it helps us help you!
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