Prevention Before Installing a Septic Tank

• If you're fortunate enough to be able to choose the location of your tank prior to installation, make sure the tank and lines going in and out of it have no trees near them. A clear field or lawn area tend to be the best location choices. Do not plant elm, willow or maple trees near your system, as these tree types grow big with large roots that spread far.
  
  

How Roots Work

• Tree roots are constantly growing and digging into the soil for more nutrients and water to feed the tree. Roots use time and pressure to find small cracks in metal pipes and cement tanks, which are already corroding from exposure. Settling helps cause bends in pipes and tanks as well, giving minute entries to roots. The penetration may start as an almost microscopic root end, but over time the root grows thicker and pushes its way in deeper, growing more tendrils along the way. Once inside the pipe or tank, the root will mesh, creating a natural net of branching tendrils. This can catch solid material and cause blockages in the septic pipes and system.
  
  

Results of a Root Invasion

• With a partial blockage, the septic tank outflow will begin to slow down. This will reduce the amount of fluid that gets removed from the tank regularly. Backup can occur and the solid material doesn't break down as easily. Full stoppage in the outflow pipes will flood the septic tank; the first signs will be a flooded ground area above the tank. In addition, the inflow pipes connected to the house or building will back up, and every toilet and drain affected will eventually fail to function properly.
  
  

How to Stop the Roots

• Once the septic system is compromised by a root invasion, the repairs can be very costly. In severe cases, it can involve digging up the septic tank and piping to clear them out or replace them. This can go into the thousands of dollars for service costs.
  
  However, there are chemical treatments that can be tried first that are much cheaper. Most of these chemical treatments involve the use of copper sulfate crystals. A straight root killer or a foaming root killer chemical can be used to saturate the system with root poison. The chemical is specifically designed to poison roots so that they die off. Unfortunately, these approaches don't remove the dead roots or dry them out enough to whittle away. Fortunately, the bacteria in the tank will eat up the remains, solving the problem.
  
  Absolute permanent removal usually involves digging up and manually clearing the system of roots and removal of the trees causing the roots in the first place.
  
  

Avoid Overuse of Chemicals

• Root killer or copper sulfate treatments should be no more than 2 lbs. for every tank capacity of 300 gallons or less. The treatment shouldn't be used more than twice a year. If done more frequently or with higher dosage, you run the risk of the copper sulfate causing corrosion that rusts away the integrity of your inflow and outflow pipes. This is because the copper sulfate can cause corrosion to piping made of iron, steel, brass and other metals.