my drain that im planning to move runs slow sometimes and I ran a spring type snake thru it last yr and brought out some fine pcs of roots...its been good now for awhile but someone told me to use copper sulfate once a yr and that would kill the roots.

Does this work and if so how...you would think if you run water down the drain it would wash the copper sulfate right thru....

Istill want the drain to take my dehumidifier and condensate so I want to keep using it and really dont want to dig it up

clean the drain first and use once a month. i works!!

Salt water will do the same thing and cheaper. In most cases the waste normally runs thru the bottom 1/3 of the pipe's interior, so if you have root invasion coming from the top, they may not come in contact with salt brine or common root killer. Salt water (brine) can be used every month. Its just another option to consider.

Best Wishes

how would you do the salt ?? Again its a floor drain, there is a trap about 12" away from the opening..so would I dumo the salt brine then a bucket of water and just let it sit overnight ??

How much salt ?? And how to mix ?? And wouldnt the salt eat the cast pipe ??

A 3 pound coffe can should be enough. Fill it with the cheapest rock salt,add water and allow to sit overnight. Once a month, down any open drain. You will know after the 1st year if it works..... or not.

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wont it rot the pipe ?

no, not at one application per month. It will destroy roots.
Best Wishes

The roors are NOT in the floor drain, or if they are then you have a much bigger problem, because the only place the roots should be able to enter the pipe is at a connection OUTSIDE the building. Therefore, you do not want the chemical to stay in the drain, but rather to flow down the pipe to where the roots are. ANY chemical, whether it is salt or copper sulfate, only works while it is in contact with the roots, meaning that if the drain is not occluded, the liquid is going to flow right past it with just momentary contact. The "foaming" root killers keep it in contact longer, but no matter what you use, it is a matter of "it may not help the problem, but at least it doesn't cause any new ones".

No, but even if it were "corrosive" to the pipe, by this time the pipe has a "hard" patina of rust inside it already which the salt could not damage.

Ok so salt, clorax, or copper sulfate ?

Copper sulfate will be the most expensive, but MAY work better than the others. Bleach is basically useless, however.

our pipe was caved in and had serious root invasions ... after years of calling out really expensive rooter guys (some of whom can make some serious mess of your bathroom and hallyway !) we finally 'caved in' and replaced the pipe outside, and flush root stuff down it on a regular basis. No problems since, but couldn't tell you if it was the pipe replacement or the root killer.