You likely have tree roots in your Aurora sewer line if you notice slow drains across several fixtures at once, gurgling toilets, repeat backups, or a strip of bright green grass running across an otherwise normal yard. Roots chase the water leaking from small joint gaps, and those gaps open up often around here because Aurora’s shifting clay soil pulls older pipe joints apart over time.
If your home was built before the mid-1980s and sits near mature trees, your buried sewer line is probably clay or cast iron, the kind of pipe roots can find and slip into through the smallest cracked joint.
Here is what is actually happening underground. Your sewer line holds a steady level of moisture, and tree roots grow toward it like it is a meal. They do not punch through solid pipe. Instead, they slip through the tiny gaps at pipe joints, which is exactly where Aurora’s expansive clay soil does its damage. Wet ground swells, dry ground shrinks, and that constant push and pull works the joints slightly apart. Once a single hair-thin root finds the gap, it fans out into a thick mat inside the pipe and starts catching toilet paper, grease, and waste.
That is why the first warning sign is usually slow drainage in more than one fixture at once, not a single clogged sink. A grease or mineral clog builds up in one spot. A root blockage shows up as backups that clear for a week, then come right back, because the root mat keeps regrowing across the same break.
How serious are roots in a sewer line?
Very serious if you ignore them. A small root intrusion starts as a slow drain, but over a year or two that root mat traps enough waste to cause a full sewer backup into your lowest drain, usually a basement floor drain. Left alone, growing roots widen the original crack and can crush the pipe, which turns a routine cleaning into a dig-and-replace job. Catching roots early is the difference between a quick service call and a four-figure repair.
Who is responsible if tree roots are causing damage in Aurora?
In most cases, you are. In Aurora, the property owner is responsible for the sewer service line, also called the lateral, that runs from your home to the city’s main sewer. The City of Aurora maintains the main line in the street, but everything on your side of that connection is yours, including roots that grow in from your own trees or a neighbor’s. Any major repair or replacement that ties into the city main also needs a permit and inspection, so this is not work to hand to an unlicensed handyman.
How do plumbers get rid of tree roots?
Most root removal happens in two steps. First, a mechanical cutter or auger spins through the line to chop the root mat and clear the blockage. For a longer-term fix, a plumber follows up with high-pressure hydro jetting, which blasts water at the pipe walls to scour the roots back and wash out the debris. Drain camera inspection services in Aurora before and after the work confirm the line is actually clear instead of leaving you to guess. Pairing root cutting with a routine drain cleaning on a set schedule keeps the line open, rather than letting the roots win back ground between visits.
What types of trees cause sewer problems?
Fast-growing, water-loving trees are the worst offenders, and Aurora yards are full of them. Cottonwoods, willows, silver maples, elms, and aspens send out wide, aggressive root systems that can spread two to three times the tree’s height in search of water. That reach is why a mature cottonwood or willow does not have to sit right on top of the line to find it, and why a tree in your neighbor’s yard can cross the property line underground and tap into your pipe.
How fast do tree roots grow back in sewer pipes?
Faster than most people expect. A basic cable cleaning is a short-term fix, because the auger chops the root mat but leaves the roots alive at the crack, so they grow right back into the same spot. Fast-growing trees can reinvade within months, and how long you get depends on the tree, the moisture, and the condition of the pipe. Hydro jetting clears the line far more completely, and a foaming root treatment is what actually slows the regrowth by killing the root ends inside the pipe. Repairing or relining the cracked section is the only thing that removes the entry point for good, so most root-prone lines need a sewer drain cleaning maintenance plan in Aurora about once a year to stay clear.
If You’re in Aurora, Here’s How We Can Help
If you are in Aurora and your drains keep slowing down or backing up every few months, you are likely fighting roots that grow right back after each cleaning. At Superior Mile High Plumbing, our Aurora drain cleaning work starts by camera-scoping your line, then clearing the roots at the source so your drains run the way they should. The smart move is to get ahead of it before the next backup, not after.
Call us at (303) 304-0784 to book a camera inspection, and ask about joining our drain cleaning maintenance schedule. It is the simplest way to stay ahead of root problems with ongoing drain cleaning maintenance in Aurora, and it costs far less than the emergency dig that comes from waiting. For homeowners who want straightforward drain cleaning in Aurora, CO without the runaround, it is the place to start.