Homes in places like Newmarket or Barrie, Ontario typically have efficient plumbing lines that make for comfortable indoor living, as well as beautiful trees that provide shade and outdoors comforts. Unfortunately, these two staples of the good home don’t exactly go well together, despite the fact that they often intersect in your yard. When they do meet, it’s usually a sign to call your reliable Newmarket emergency plumber for help.
Tree Roots and your Septic System
Tree roots burrow their way into your home’s septic system by working their way through cracks or even the smallest openings of the joints in your plumbing. For the entire tree to survive, the roots have to constantly search for sources of water; if your septic system seems like the best one in the immediate vicinity, there’s nothing stopping these roots from latching on.
Root-Caused Plumbing Clogs
When the roots successfully work their way into the insides of your pipes, they will just keep on growing, building themselves up with the water that flows inside. Eventually, they will grow large enough to completely block efficient water passage, and if things get out of hand, some tree roots could even break through your sewage pipes.
Wise Yard Tree Planning
SF Gate contributor Christina Piper wrote about what you, as homeowner, could do to prevent tree roots from damaging your plumbing lines:
Homeowners should choose small, slow-growing species to plant around sewage lines. Evergreen trees with these characteristics include the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), which grows 10 to 30 feet tall and wide in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 to 10, and the water gum (Tristania laurina), reaching 20 to 25 feet high and 15 to 20 feet wide in USDA zones 10 to 12. The lemon bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), in USDA zone 9, grows at a medium rate with a height and spread of 10 to 15 feet. The strawberry guava (Psidium littorale) is also medium-growing, but small, with a mature height of 15 to 25 feet and a spread of 12 to 20 feet, growing in USDA zones 10 through 11.
Getting Professional Help
It’s best to have your plumbing system inspected by professionals like Harris Plumbing, Inc. to detect tree roots that might have found their way into the system. These professionals also provide efficient tree root removal services that can get the clog out and restore the damaged pipes to full efficiency.
Don’t forget to call your local Newmarket or Barrie emergency plumber whenever there’s a plumbing problem that, left alone, might cause your utility bills to balloon.
(Source: Evergreen Tree Root & Sewer Danger, SF Gate)
