Root Control for Sewers & Drains

Residential and commercial properties with trees in proximity to sewer or septic systems are prone to roots growing into their sewer or drain lines. Once roots enter your pipes via joints, cracks, or service connections, they continue to grow over time, causing clogs and backups — or even breaking sewer systems. Our root control experts can remove even the toughest of roots so your lines can flow smoothly.

Why Choose Rapid Flush for Root Control

At Rapid Flush, we are one of the only companies certified by the State of Michigan to apply Vaporooter, a 40-year-old, municipal-grade foaming herbicide used by over 2,200 municipalities in the United States, to residential sewer and septic lines. Most drain cleaning services will only cut roots inside your drains. At Rapid Flush, we know this is a temporary solution and any time roots are cut, they grow back thicker, stronger, and faster. This is why we don’t just prune the roots — we use Vaporooter to kill and prevent them from growing back without damaging your trees.

We don’t take the use of chemicals lightly; our team is highly trained to provide the utmost care for you, your family or business, and the environment by ensuring the proper treatment, application, and disposal of any chemical used.

What to Expect During Root Removal

To effectively clear roots out of your sewer or drain lines and keep them from growing back, our team uses a video inspection camera and a high-pressure water jet with a specialty root-cutting nozzle to surgically remove and blast out all the roots inside a pipe. Once the majority of the roots are removed, we apply a foaming chemical herbicide called Vaporooter.
This product kills any root it comes into contact with and, because it contains a fumigant, the product also kills roots it doesn’t physically come in contact with, eliminating roots as far as 5-7 feet away from the outside of the pipe.
Rapid Flush’s experts will also follow up with you 6 months after a root control treatment to televise the line and inspect the integrity of your pipes, confirming that roots haven’t begun to grow back. If we find any signs of living roots during our 6 month follow up, we will apply a second application of the foaming herbicide for no charge.
Before & After Results of Root Removal

FAQs about Root Control

Rapid Flush’s foaming Chemical Root Control is a non-systemic herbicide, which means that it will terminate and keep roots at bay without damaging your trees. The chemical’s active properties dissipate and become inert after 24 hours.
Our root control service is the most simple and effective way to remove roots from your sewer and drains without killing trees. Our foaming chemical treatment is powerful enough to prevent roots from re-entering your drains for up to 3 years and is trusted by municipalities as the go-to root elimination process for their city sewers. It is also far superior to other ‘foaming’ root killers in that it requires a specialty foaming agent and machine to pressurize the line. This ensures that an entire pipe is filled with thick, root-killing chemicals instead of other products that simply stay on the bottom of the pipe and rarely even come in contact with the roots, which typically enter and cling to the top of the pipe.
Once our team of root control experts completes their work, your drains will be cleared and running smoothly the same day the foaming Chemical Root Control is applied.

Schedule an Appointment

Effectively eliminate tree roots from your pipes with Rapid Flush’s root control services. Schedule an appointment with one of our experts today.