How to kill roots - off topic

[Guest AlCapone]

I have a septic system in my garage that filled with tree roots. How do I kill them? They are 6 feet under ground. I have been told to add copper sulphate but can not find it. What will kill and dissolve these roots? Thanks

[Jim Bollman]

Never used it, but I remember seeing stuff for sale in the hardware that was suppose to kill rootes, I think you're suppose to use it before you have a big problem. Copper sulphate may be available in a farm store, people use it in ponds to kill algae. Your tank will still be full of roots after you kill them they will just be dead.

[plymouthcranbrook]

A substance called Root-X was recommended for me to eliminate roots in a city sewer. I don't know how it would work on septic. Only sold at plumbing supply houses. You can check into it I am sure  and see if it is suitable for septic.

[John_S_in_Penna]

The Rootes Group was a British car manufacturer,

a maker of Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam, and other cars.

But they died, and Chrysler eventually acquired them.

 

I know that doesn't answer your tree question, Wayne,

but it's about killing off Rootes, so now this is officially an

automobile topic!  Hope your other roots disappear too.

Edited November 21, 2015 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Guest AlCapone]

The Rootes Group was a British car manufacturer,

a maker of Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam, and other cars.

But they died, and Chrysler eventually acquired them.

 

I know that doesn't answer your tree question, Wayne,

but it's about killing off Rootes, so now this is officially an

automobile topic!  Hope your other roots disappear too.

Thanks John. I needed a smile today as we are in a blizzard in Canada. I appreciate your input and always look forward to your posts! You are indeed a very intelligent and knowledgable individual and a true asset to our hobby and this site ! Regards, Wayne

[plymouthcranbrook]

The Rootes Group was a British car manufacturer,

a maker of Hillman, Humber, Sunbeam, and other cars.

But they died, and Chrysler eventually acquired them.

 

I know that doesn't answer your tree question, Wayne,

but it's about killing off Rootes, so now this is officially an

automobile topic!  Hope your other roots disappear too.

Stop it.

[smithbrother]

GOOGLE YouTube, type in, HOW TO REMOVE TREE ROOTS FROM SEPTIC TANK.

You will find a good video on this.

Dale in Indy

[Guest AlCapone]

GOOGLE YouTube, type in, HOW TO REMOVE TREE ROOTS FROM SEPTIC TANK.

You will find a good video on this.

Dale in Indy

Thanks Dale! Wayne

[GARY F]

just a question. how can you have a septic system in or under a garage? all the houses i owned the tank  had to be X amount of feet from any building. thanks for your reply.

[sfair]

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/search.products.html#!q=zep%3Arelevance%3AcategoryPathHierarchy%3A1%2Fhd-classes%2Fl1-outdoors

[tcslr]

The roots can be removed however the 'root cause' of the problem remains and you will have increasing problems. Root infiltration implies terracotta piping. The gutta pecha/lead gasket between sections has been compromised so new roots will enter,water leach out and dirt accumulate.

The proper fix is complete replacement with PVC.

Depending upon how hard it is to get to, you MIGHT be able to sleeve it.

Go to a feed store and get the chemicals used to kill pond vegetation. They most likely can get CuSO4 for you also.

Household bleach does wonders.

[Guest AlCapone]

just a question. how can you have a septic system in or under a garage? all the houses i owned the tank  had to be X amount of feet from any building. thanks for your reply.

When the previous owner erected a very large 200 by 100 pole barn he did so without locating services. The tank is half under the garage and half outside. The drainage beds are all outside. Not a smart move but a problem I have to deal with. Wayne

[60FlatTop]

About 40 miles from my house.

 

Bernie

[Mark Gregory]

Wayne you might have this under your garage .http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/news/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/after-the-second-world-war-canada-thought-it-would-be-a-good-idea-to-install-cardboard-sewer-pipes&pubdate=2015-11-09

[Guest AlCapone]

Wayne you might have this under your garage .http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/news/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/after-the-second-world-war-canada-thought-it-would-be-a-good-idea-to-install-cardboard-sewer-pipes&pubdate=2015-11-09

Thanks Mark, just what I wanted to hear, ugh ! Wayne

[greenie]

Wayne: tree roots that have reached this extent are not going to be resolved, or dissolved by copper sulfate or any other chemicals. If you haven't removed the trees the problem will simply get worse. You should be investigating the installation of a new tank outside the building that can connect to the drain field, and then try to get the old tank pumped out and crushed- or filled with pea gravel or sand. Please remember that biological digestion is taking place in the tank and gasses are produced that are not only Hazardous but can be explosive. You don't want that venting into your building. I know we all like to fix things ourselves, but this sounds like you may need professional help. Good luck!

[Guest AlCapone]

Wayne: tree roots that have reached this extent are not going to be resolved, or dissolved by copper sulfate or any other chemicals. If you haven't removed the trees the problem will simply get worse. You should be investigating the installation of a new tank outside the building that can connect to the drain field, and then try to get the old tank pumped out and crushed- or filled with pea gravel or sand. Please remember that biological digestion is taking place in the tank and gasses are produced that are not only Hazardous but can be explosive. You don't want that venting into your building. I know we all like to fix things ourselves, but this sounds like you may need professional help. Good luck!

Thanks Greenie, your point is well taken! The entrance to the tank and the vent are outside the wall of the garage. Half the tank is inside / under the garage and half outside. The inside part is cemented over ( garage floor ) so removal is a bit of an issue. Having said that I am at the point of strongly considering replacement. Regards, Wayne

[Ivan Saxton]

As with everything, You have to look at the basics. For a septic system to work reliably and continuously you have to consider the purpose in relation to chemistry, botany, plant nutrition, microbiology and soil science for a start. Here, regulation seems to perversely be dictated by eco-Nazis and lower primates in employment of so-called local government, who know little about the overriding purpose, the science involved, and land-holders' rights and obligations which were established in 1289-1290 by King Edward the First by Quia Emptores.

The purpose of a septic system is to re-cycle waste into plant nutrients in such a way that pathogenic microflora cannot persist to cause sickness, by ensuring that neither water, nor nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur can move to either surface water or ground water. Plant roots are important in two considerations, and exactly what plants grow near the inflow to the system, and to flourish down-slope from the contour of the effluent dispersal trenches are different. You want to build up the soil organic matter,because the plants grow better, which means that they work better as water pumps, so no water containing plant nutrients leaves your property: This means that no plant nutrients are wasted nor cause algal blooms in waterways. Then because the water goes nowhere, bacteria go nowhere they can infect anyone. You can safely use effluent water and plant nutrients to produce food; but you have to know exactly what you are doing: On no account do you produce root vegetables like this. Of course it is ancient oriental tradition to use raw waste for the water and nutrients: We should not be supplied with vegetables grown like this in supermarket produce. Swamp ecosystem trees are excellent water pumps; but you need to plant them far enough down-slope that they interfere with the contour distribution.

On the inflow side, trees with vigourous roots can intrude and block the plumbing if it has not been properly constructed. The power of growing tree roots can be quite amazing with some species. An interesting curiosity is those few species, which to establish from seed must produce a wrap-root. For example, our native Quandong, or bush plum, which is valued "bush-tucker", has to rely on nutrients from a semi-host plant like tree Lucerne until it is strong enongh to survive on its own. In some areas the multi-strand telephone wires were strangled and ruined by ravenous quandong feeder roots that presumed the cable was a root of another plant. I am told that the cables had to be laid very much deeper. Small plants and ferns are less trouble than trees, unless there are bad gaps in the plumbing joints. The septic tank and linens really need to be reasonably accessible by shovel in case the tank needs to be cleared of foreign matter that does not break down. An autistic family member can flush away a lot of things like wrist watches, shredded clothes, cardboard, paper, back packs, and even zippered containers intended to protect their I-pad from accidental damage.

The worst long-term fault with septic tank systems is due to official ignorance of a little bit of basic soil science.

When most of the ion-exchange sites of clay component of the soil are saturated wit Calcium, the soil has a very friable, water-absorbing structure. When most ion exchange sites are saturated with Sodium, the same soil is sticky or greasy, boggy, and does not readily absorb or be permeable to water. When laundry waste water is run through the septic tank, sodium from the sodium tri-poly-phosphate eventually ruins the water handling characteristics of the contour dispersal trenches. This would not happen if sodium was not used in laundry detergent; perhaps it could be replaced by potassium.

"Environmental scientists" are apparently vaguely aware of the basic sciences, but have too often not studied them. Their religious belief is that the Phosphorous in the laundry detergent is the veil element that causes "nitrification" of the river systems. They have lost the lizard, and make a small meal of its tail.

As for inhibition of plant roots by Copper Sulphate, it is soluble, and will not necessarily stay where you put it. You would be better to re-cycle copper sheet from a super-annuated hot water tank. It is cut easily and accurately with

good tinsnips, and you canbend it to protect plumbing joints.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Ivan Saxton (see edit history)

[DavidAU]

Any chemicals you pour in to kill the tree roots will also kill all the Microbs in the septic tank and it will not function as it should do, ie. break down the sewage. 

 

Unfortunately I think you are going to have to bring in an expert.

[greenie]

And they might confer with one of those Eco-Nazis or worse, a lower primate. Maybe a lower primate would have stopped the building from being constructed over the tank- if he had the chance.

[Larry W]

I recently found this at Meijer's in Detroit.

[Guest MelvinBradley]

You can use the chemicals to kill the roots. I also faced the same problem in my own home. But there was a small tree that was about 12 feet tall. I had used the simple foliar spraying that was too much beneficial to kill the tree and its roots.

 

To kill large tree roots, you may use special herbicides that reach directly into plant’s root.

[Dave Henderson]

And while we're talking about "copper sulfate", cupric sulfate can be used to make paint adhere to galvanized metal, which it doesn't do ordinarily.  Apply it just as you would apply metal prep and allow time for the chemical reaction take effect.  Then just wash and prime.   This is an old rain gutter prep technique from before the era of aluminum gutters.

[Dwight Romberger]

Vintage car owners and you are looking for an easy fix in a can (or bottle in this case)! Shame Shame

 

Greenie has it right. Install a new tank and hook up to your existing drain field. Fill the old tank with sand.  Some localities consider a new tank a "repair" and will not require extensive testing.

 

Contact your local primate. He/she will be very helpful and can even refer you to honest installers.

 

Please get a permit if required in your area. 

[Guest AlCapone]

Vintage car owners and you are looking for an easy fix in a can (or bottle in this case)! Shame Shame

 

Greenie has it right. Install a new tank and hook up to your existing drain field. Fill the old tank with sand.  Some localities consider a new tank a "repair" and will not require extensive testing.

 

Contact your local primate. He/she will be very helpful and can even refer you to honest installers.

 

Please get a permit if required in your area.

Dwight Romberger. In comparison I am sure you don't buy a new tire when the valve stem leaks. You would more than likely repair it. They sell carburetor and water pump repair kits rather than buy new ones. Having said that your logic escapes me. If it can be repaired why replace? Wayne

[Guest AlCapone]

An update, I used the root killer called Industrial root Killer and Dishsolver. I used two bottles ( $21.00 each ) a week ago. It worked unbelievably well. As of yesterday roots are gone. Now I have to reactivate the bacteria. I will use the commercial product rather than a dead chicken! Problem corrected for less than a hundred dollars instead of $9000 dollars. Many thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. Wayne

Edited December 7, 2015 by AlCapone (see edit history)

[Dwight Romberger]

Excellent!!!!!

 

I am so glad you didn't listen to me!

 

Let that be a lesson to the rest of you.

 

Dwight

Edited December 7, 2015 by Dwight Romberger (see edit history)

[Guest AlCapone]

Excellent!!!!!

 

I am so glad you didn't listen to me!

 

Let that be a leason to the rest of you.

 

Dwight

Dwight, I thank you for your opinion. Sometimes we are right and some times other people are. Have a great day! Wayne

[GARY F]

i just have to ask, how do you know they are gone and dissolved in 2 weeks.. can you see in there?

[Guest AlCapone]

i just have to ask, how do you know they are gone and dissolved in 2 weeks.. can you see in there?

Yes you can see in the tank when you take the cover off. We then had it pumped and you can see the bottom of the tank. Previously it was a mass of tangled roots. Thanks for asking? Wayne

[GARY F]

Yes you can see in the tank when you take the cover off. We then had it pumped and you can see the bottom of the tank. Previously it was a mass of tangled roots. Thanks for asking? Wayne

Thanks for the answer. glad the magic stuff worked

[Guest AlCapone]

Thanks for the answer. glad the magic stuff worked

Me too my friend. The other option was the price of an antique car! Waynei

[countrytravler]

I have the best solution.

Sell

Buy our place.

40 x 100 30 car garage.

Snow shovels not needed

Drive your old cars 360 days a year.

Problem solved HEHE

[Guest AlCapone]

I have the best solution.

Sell

Buy our place.

40 x 100 30 car garage.

Snow shovels not needed

Drive your old cars 360 days a year.

Problem solved HEHE

Sounds like a great idea but two problems. One is my present garage is about 15000 sq feet and I love snow. I have a 10 hp snowblower that I use rather than a shovel. But I do love the idea of driving the old cars 365 days a year! I must say you caught my interest. Wayne