While I really love having big, beautiful trees in my yard, I understand those lovely trees with their big roots may someday cause my home's pipes to back-up. This actually causes more problems than you'd think. Did you know your pipes can be damaged by a tree that is hundreds of yards away or even in a neighbor's yard several houses down the street?

When roots grow into your pipes it is called root intrusion (at least in the plumbing world). But the roots aren't really aren't to blame; it's actually cracked pipes or bad joints that allow roots to break into pipes.

Roots actively seek out pipes because they like to lap up the moisture from the pipes. Because condensation forms around pipes, tree and shrub roots are naturally drawn to pipes even when they are not broken. Older pipes are the most susceptible due to cracks, deformations and leaks. This often leads to blockages in your pipes.

Mr. Rooter® service professionals can use video inspection cameras to locate roots in your pipes. In fact, here's a link to video of a camera inspection involving root intrusion: http://youtu.be/xThb66GgbUM.

If any of your drains are running slower than normal, root intrusion could be the reason. Here are two tell-tale signs of root intrusion I recommend you know:

• You notice a sudden back-up or flooding of the lowest plumbing fixture in your house.
• You don't see the water exiting the sink or bathtub in a swirling, cyclonic action.

Mr. Rooter Plumbing offers video camera inspections that can properly identify problems with your pipes and provide you with solutions. Here's wishing you a world class day.