The roots from trees can cause trouble for your underground pipes and are the leading cause of sewer line breaks. With temperature changes, pipes can break and roots can penetrate the pipe, causing it to rupture. Royal Plumbing is familiar with the process for root removal, so you can restore your pipes.
RootX® makes it easy for your plumbing professional to kill roots in residential sewer lines, storm pipes, and septic systems. Root intrusion may be the single most destructive element facing your home’s wastewater collection system. Left untreated, roots will spread throughout the pipe. Material passing down the drain gets trapped in the roots, restricting the flow or even causing a complete blockage. Root intrusion can eventually destroy a sewer or septic system, costing thousands of dollars to repair or replace. We recommend annual RootX® treatments by a plumber to keep your system root-free and avoid costly sewer and septic tank repairs. Ask your plumbing professional about our annual reminder program.
The patented RootX® formula foams on contact with water to reach the top of the pipe where 90% of the roots are. Degreasing agents strip away grime so the RootX herbicide can penetrate the roots, killing them on contact. RootX® sticks to the pipe walls, preventing re-growth for up to three years. Dead roots decay over time, restoring pipes to their full capacity.
RootX® kills roots using the aquatic herbicide Dichlobenil. It’s non-caustic, non-fumigating, and non-systemic. Plus, it does not contain diquat dibromide, copper sulfate, or metam sodium. It will not harm pipes, septic systems, or above-ground vegetation.
RootX® is registered for use in all 50 states as well as Canada, and it’s classified as a General Use product by the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, RootX® carries the signal word CAUTION, the lowest chemical hazard rating according to the ISO 3864-2 standard for hazard severity panels.
Mechanical root cutting is an immediate and short-term solution to relieving pipeline blockages caused by root intrusion. However, cutting roots is like pruning a tree; it stimulates even more vigorous and destructive root growth in the remaining roots. That means new root growth can fully clog your pipe again in just nine months.
Having a plumber treat your pipes with RootX not only kills all the roots on contact, it also leaves a thin layer of the herbicide on the pipe walls to prevent roots from coming back. New root growth after treatment with RootX is much slower and less destructive to the pipe. If this is the first time your plumber is treating a pipe or if it is completely blocked, it makes sense to use mechanical cutting to remove the root mass and restore pipe flow right away.
However, Royal Plumbing can kill any remaining roots in the line and stunt re-growth longer by applying RootX immediately after mechanical cutting. It’s important to have a plumbing professional apply RootX® within the first hour after cutting or wait six to eight weeks. That’s because roots release a traumatic acid to cover the cut ends and protect them against further injury. If your plumber applies RootX immediately after cutting, the herbicide can penetrate the root ends before the traumatic acid coating is complete. After six to eight weeks, the traumatic acid will have dissipated, leaving the most vulnerable part of the root—the white tender meristem growth where cells are actively dividing—exposed to the herbicide. The more root tissue you can treat with RootX®, the better. Once you’ve talked with Royal Plumbing and put your pipelines on a maintenance program with annual RootX® treatments, you should be able to eliminate mechanical root cutting in most cases.
RootX® is only available from your plumber; it is not sold directly to homeowners. As plumbing professionals, we are authorized RootX® dealers. Contact us if you’d like to speak to a plumber directly about RootX® or any other plumbing needs.
