I have a home that had tree root problems and was causing the sewer to back up. We snaked out the sewer line and it runs ok. The problem is the sludge and gray water that has built up. It has clogged up in a pipe that has branched off the main. Snaking does not help because it sludgy. A plumber suggested jetting out the entire system with a power jet, but this is too expensive for me and might crack my clay tile. Is there any other alternative to fix this problem? ( e.i a chemical or some other method.)

–Steve

Steve, if snaking isn’t helping, your only hope of clearing it out is hydrojetting. And if that doesn’t work you’ll need to replace the pipe. Instead of digging up and replacing, you could contact companies that do trenchless pipe replacement. They offer various types of less intrusive (but costly) solutions that eliminate the need to dig up the pipe, including pipe bursting or sock lining with a CIPP (cured-in-place pipe) method.

-Brian