How To Apply RootX: Explained by Dan Lawrence
By Dan Lawrence | August 8, 2008
When considering RootX, you have three basic sizes; two pound jars, four pound jars and the forty pound boxes (2 - 20lb bags). RootX can be applied several different ways for each size and sometimes we need to find unique ways to apply RootX given a specific situation.
The two pound jars can be applied through a commode, stack and preferably the clean out. The four pound jars can only be applied through a clean out, stack or directly through the commode flange. This is, of course, dealing with a sewer line and not a septic tank. With the RootX jars you want to unscrew the lid then poor the dry powder into a bucket and stir the dry powder until you have one consistent color. Pour RootX down the clean out directly. Use a funnel if needed. After that, then add five gallons of water per pound.
Another option is to plug the bathtub filling it using a five gallon bucket to measure the amount of water. Then pour the dry powder down the clean out and cap off the clean out then go back and unplug the bathtub allowing all the water to drain.
For use in a commode mix RootX dry and pour into the commode flushing immediately to prevent the foam from over flowing. You want to add five gallons of water behind the flush. Do not keep flushing the toilet for the best application. Add all the water at once to move the foam down the line. Do not apply four pounds of RootX down a commode. Two pounds of RootX will treat up to fifty feet of four inch line so if you have more than fifty feet to treat then use the clean out or stack for the application with a four pound jar.
Application through a stack should be used as the last resort given it being the most dangerous and the most work to complete the application. You can apply two or four pounds of RootX down the stack and then add five gallons of water per pound. For this application you will need to mix the dry powder to a consistent color and use a funnel to pour it down the stack and then add the water behind it. Depending on the situation one option instead of having several five gallon buckets of water one could take a five gallon bucket and count how long it takes to fill that bucket with water then place the hose down the stack and multiply the time it took to fill the bucket by two or four depending on how many pounds of RootX you are using.
Forty pound boxes of RootX is typically used for municipal applications from eight to eighteen inch lines. Each forty pound box has two twenty pound bags of RootX. It’s a simple and fast method to treat up to three hundred feet of eight to ten inch pipe line. You mix the RootX in the twenty pound bags and pour them into the upstream manhole add twenty to thirty gallons of water which will activate the foam. The foam can flow down the line or one could run a cleaning nozzle about one hundred to two hundred feet up the pipe and then retract from the downstream manhole. This creates a vacuum that draws the foam down the pipe further.
The preferred and most cost effective method is using the FDU 100 or Foam Dispersal Unit 100. This will effectively treat eight to eighteen inches of pipeline for eight hundred feet per forty pound box. The FDU is hooked up to a cleaner truck and the line is retracted from the upstream manhole down and it sprays foam spray through out the entire pipe line killing any roots it comes in contact with.
I hope this helps, call us if you have any questions regarding specific applications.
Our number is 1-800-844-4974
Topics: General Public, Municipalities, Plumbers | 2 Comments »
Mechanical and chemical root control: can they work together?
By Janty Yaqoub | August 5, 2008
Very often I find myself at my desk and on the phone with a utilities director or superintendent who has only been treating root intrusion by cutting. They seem sure and confident that cutting is the best and most cost effective way to treat root intrusion. I have to say that one advantage to cutting is the immediate result. But that result is short lived and that root will return bigger and stronger then before. At the joints this can cause what was once a small gap (the size of a hair follicle) to increase, shift, and separate the sections of the line as the root grows. Cutting is also hard on the pipe and can cause stress fractures, and depending on its age, even collapse the section of line entirely.
However, cutting does have its place. In some instances the line had gone so long without any attention the pipe becomes chocked with roots and limits or blocks flow. I recommend my caller cut the roots in the line to allow flow to return and if possible, treat the line with ROOTX right away. (Within two hours).
If immediate treatment is not an option I suggest waiting for at least 6 to 8 weeks before applying the ROOTX to the line. Trees react to injury by forming physical and chemical barriers to contain the injury and its effects. Waiting 6 to 8 weeks will allow the trees to recover from its reaction to the injury and return to its normal state allowing for optimal results.
Once the line is free from obstruction a simple and preventive maintenance plan can be put into place by simply applying ROOTX on an annual or bi annual basis. This is due to the cationic character of the Dichlobenil which means that it binds to pipe surfaces and stays active for years to continue inhibiting root growth.
Many customers that have used to cut roots frequently in troubled sections have found that they only have to return once every two years after each application.
This allows service crews to attend other matters and saves the city time and money.
Topics: Municipalities, Plumbers | No Comments »
Septic Service and Roots: What are the options?
By Jim Athens | July 28, 2008
You’ll be happy to know that you can treat root intrusion in your septic service without harm to the bacteria. RootX is safe to use anywhere within the system and actually creates a salt that feeds the bacteria.
The challenge with any root killer is getting it to where the problem is. If the problem is in the leach or drain field, you can not just flush something down the toilet in the house and expect it to end up in the drain field. That will not happen with RootX or anything else. If the problem is between the house and the tank, that’s a fairly easy fix. Just determine the right amount of RootX needed to treat the length and diameter of pipe. Then, through an outside cleanout or other introduction point (toilet, roof vent), add the RootX followed by the appropriate amount of water.
If the problem is in the tank itself, again that is a fairly easy fix. Make sure the roots are exposed and add eight pounds of RootX per thousand gallons of tank. If there is liquid in the tank, it will activate the RootX, otherwise add water.
A lot of the time the problem is in the drain field. This presents the most challenge in a septic service. To properly treat the leach lines, you need to have, preferably, a cleanout on each line. The other option is to have a distribution box where you can add the RootX. You can not add RootX to the tank in hopes it will find its way to the field. Assuming you have either cleanouts or a distribution box, add the appropriate amount of RootX and water.
Remember, RootX will kill the roots, but is not an acid or caustic, so it doesn’t “eat’ the roots away. The natural bacterial in the system will do that…over time. If the line is blocked or very slow flowing, you should open it first and then apply the RootX.
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