QUESTION:
Our basement floor drain backs up. We had a plumber clean out the drain, and they found tree roots. What can we do?
–JOE
ANSWER:
The typical problem with a sewer drain line from a house to the street sewer is tree roots. The symptom will be water backing up into the lowest drain in your home. The tree roots are looking for moisture and can enter any little gap in the sewer drain line. Once the roots find the moisture and the gap in the line, they grow inside the pipe.
Your only realistic solution is to periodically have the line cleaned with a sewer machine by a professional. You could also consider cutting down the offending tree in the area. A final option is to have the sewer line checked with a camera, potentially replace it, or line it with a custom sewer re-lining system. The actual repair will depend on the condition and age of the line.
–MR. FIX-IT