How do I know roots are the cause?
A camera inspection can show roots at a joint or crack. A slow drain alone does not prove roots are present.
Waukee, Iowa
Waukee was laid out in 1869, and roots are a fair question for any line that has been underground for decades. Root trouble needs two answers: how to clear the line and whether the pipe has a defect that let the roots in. Tell us where roots were found and what happened afterward.
The EPA sewer guidance notes that roots can inhibit flow, collect debris and reduce a line's capacity, and that inspection can show where roots intrude into a sewer.
Clearing opens the line. It does not close the joint or crack where roots got in. Ask whether a camera inspection shows a defect that needs repair, because roots can return to the same spot.
Downtown and the older streets around it have had more than a century for trees to grow near buried lines. Newer subdivisions have young trees, so the question comes up less often. An inspection shows whether roots are actually in the pipe.
A camera inspection can show roots at a joint or crack. A slow drain alone does not prove roots are present.
They can return to the same spot if the joint or crack stays open. Ask whether the line needs a repair assessment.
That is a separate question for the property owner and an arborist. Cleaning addresses the line, not the tree.
They can, though a young line has had less time for roots to find a joint.
Tell us about the affected drain, what you have noticed, and whether hydro jetting may suit the line.